Infor to acquire SSA in $1.4bn deal (FT)

SSA Global, a provider of software that powers companies’ customer relationship and human resources management systems, on Monday became the latest enterprise software group to be taken private.

It announced a $1.4bn deal to be acquired by Infor Global Solutions.

Infor, which is controlled by Golden Gate Capital and Summit Partners, the private equity groups, said it would pay $19.50 a share in cash for SSA, a premium of 25 per cent above Friday’s closing price for SSA shares.

SSA’s shares jumped more than 22 per cent to $19.04 by midday trading in New York.

The deal will add to Golden Gate’s growing stable of enterprise software companies. In November, Golden Gate announced a $1bn deal to acquire Geac, a Canadian software group specialising in financial and supply chain management systems.

Enterprise software has emerged as a favourite target for private equity groups working in the technology sector.

“We are seeing increased consolidation in the marketplace,” said Judy Sweeney, an analyst at enterprise software research group AMR Research. “[Private equity groups] are looking for financial gains by assembling these companies for economies of scale.”

Silver Lake Partners, another Silicon Valley buyout group, last year said it would buy Serena, an infrastructure software provider, for $1.2bn.

Last March, Silver Lake and six other private equity groups announced a deal to buy SunGard, a financial services software group, for $11.3bn in one of the biggest private equity deals of all time.

Enterprise software is viewed as a mature business, with little growth in new customer accounts.

However, many enterprise software companies see steady or even growing inflows of cash from providing maintenance and other services to existing clients.

Because Wall Street tends to value enterprise software groups based on new deal flow, many private equity groups consider the sector to be chronically undervalued, and some have been taking advantage of what they see as an opportunity to capture lucrative cash flow.

Jim Schaper, Infor’s chairman and chief executive, said the combined companies would have $1.6bn in annual revenues.

SSA and Infor said they expected the deal to close in the third quarter. SSA Global was advised by Schulte Roth and Zabel LLP and JPMorgan Securities. Infor was advised by Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

Infor Acquires SSA Global (Line56)

SSA loved to acquire and consolidate ERP companies; now it has been bought by Infor, leaving one fewer applications player

SAP stresses master-data management (InfoWorld)

Agassi says companies looking to consolidate IT resources must first define a list of master

SAP on Tuesday emphasized the importance of users continually maintaining master data, a single version of attributes that best describe products or customers, as corporations work to rearchitect their IT systems.

SSA taken over by ERP arch-rival (CMC - InsightExec)

It came out of the blue and it certainly won’t have gone down well inside Oracle, but the takeover of arch-acquirer SSA by rival Infor changes the landscape of the enterprise applications market.

SSA Global Technologies, which last year gobbled up CRM firm Epiphany, is itself being acquired for about $1.3 billion by Infor to create the world's third-largest corporate software developer.Infor Chairman and CEO Jim Schaper said: "With this acquisition, Infor will become the third-largest enterprise software provider in the industry with approximately $1.6 billion in revenue."

CRM Professional Services (Forrester)

Spending on CRM professional services providers (PSPs) will remain robust due to theshift from customer functional management to customer process management, the needto deliver a better "branded" customer experience, the shift to SOA as the basis fortechnology solutions, and the growth of high-value CRM offshore/near-shore servicesproviders. However, four out of 10 enterprises would not fully recommend their CRMPSP to others. To avoid disappointment, select a PSP that most closely matches yourneeds by understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the six types of CRM PSPs: 1)management consultants; 2) global full-service systems integration firms; 3) NorthAmerican regional specialists; 4) European regional specialists; 5)offshore/near-shore technology services providers; and 6) software vendorprofessional services organizations (PSOs).

CRM Services (Forrester)

Spending on CRM professional services providers (PSPs) will remain robust due to theshift from customer functional management to customer process management, the needto deliver a better "branded" customer experience, the shift to SOA as the basis fortechnology solutions, and the growth of high-value CRM offshore/near-shore servicesproviders. However, four out of 10 enterprises would not fully recommend their CRMPSP to others. To avoid disappointment, select a PSP that most closely matches yourneeds by understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the six types of CRM PSPs: 1)management consultants; 2) global full-service systems integration firms; 3) NorthAmerican regional specialists; 4) European regional specialists; 5)offshore/near-shore technology services providers; and 6) software vendorprofessional services organizations (PSOs).

Ariba LIVE 2006--It's time for spend management (AMR)

The gaming industry now generates $10B in actual gambling revenue, with the typical visitor to Las Vegas losing an average of $665 annually. Against this backdrop of excess and free spending, Ariba held its annual user conference, Ariba LIVE 2006. The theme: “It’s time for spend management.” With more than 1,300 customers and prospects in attendance, including 50% of the Fortune 100 companies, procurement practitioners gathered to hear what’s on tap from Ariba, as well as best-practice expertise from its leading customers.

DDSN Versus SCM: Look to the Sky for the Differences, Part 2 (AMR)

“There are a lot of parallels between what we’re doing and an expensive watch. It’s very complex, has a lot of parts, and it only has value when it’s predictable and reliable.”—Gordon Bethune, Chairman and CEO of Continental Airlines, 1997

In the first part of this series, “DDSN Versus SCM: Look to the Sky for the Differences, Part 1,” I looked at what we can learn about the implementation of demand-driven supply networks (DDSNs) by comparing them to our frequent experiences with airline travel. After a lot of positive feedback, I decided to do a sequel.

The Enterprise Application Market Is Destroying Its Fragile Ecosystem (AMR)

The enterprise application market looks remarkably healthy...on the surface. It passed the $50B revenue mark in 2005, and the leading vendors, SAP, Oracle, Sage, UGS, and Microsoft, are all growing at double-digit rates. But peel back that surface, and you find that the success of these giant global players is not indicative of the state of the market.

Radical consolidation, several years of recession, and a major change in corporate buying preferences have combined to stunt the growth of most of the hundreds of smaller software firms that once drove much of the industry’s vibrancy and innovation. These companies, which have traditionally distinguished themselves on the basis of vertical, functional, or geographic specialization, simply don’t seem to be participating in the economic recovery.

Microsoft to Enhance IT Asset Inventory With AssetMetrix Buy (Gartner)

By purchasing AssetMetrix, Microsoft will acquire a library of known applications to improve asset reconciliation in Systems Management Server 2003.

It's a Duet: SAP/Microsoft Formalize Mendocino Project Offering (Gartner)

The integration of Microsoft Office capabilities into business applications is not new, but unlike previous announcements, Mendocino captured market attention. The latest announcement of the product, now called Duet, answers some user questions.

Lawson Finally Closes Acquisition of Intentia (AMR Research)

A year after the process began, Lawson has finally closed on its acquisition ofIntentia. The long delay has allowed the two companies to come to terms with varyingstructural and technological differences, positioning the combined company to almostseamlessly merge without the customary sales disruption and support hiccups.

JDA Buying Manugistics (AMR Research)

JDA Software is acquiring Manugistics for $211M. For Manugistics, once a high-flyingsupply chain planning star, this is a low revenue multiple. For JDA, this is a largetransaction.

Securing the Global Supply Chain (AMR)

The fallout from Dubai Ports World’s takeover of several U.S. port operating companies thrust international supply chain security into the global spotlight, making it front of mind for U.S. politicians.

Kinaxis Goes On Demand (Line56)

Continuing to address a supply chain problem for which ERP is not optimally suited

JDA Acquires Manugistics (Line56)

Supply chain software pioneer goes for $211 million; transportation prospects solid, discrete and process manufacturing less certain, says analyst

The People Side of ERP (Line56)

Green Beacon explains why enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation is about more than technology

Strong growth in the US boosts SAP (FT)

SAP, the world’s biggest maker of business software, on Thursday said software sales rose 22 per cent in the first quarter, thanks to strong growth in the US and a solid performance in Germany.

SAP Starts 2006 With a Strong First Quarter (AMR Research)

SAP posted a very strong first quarter (ending March 31, 2006), with software revenue up 22% from 1Q05 and total revenue up 18%. The results were generally in line with financial analyst expectations, reflecting excellent execution by SAP and a continued improvement in the market for business applications.

SAP Update; salesforce.com To Go; Rapt, Pricing, and PLM (AMR)

SAP’s first quarter earnings were the big news this week. As you can see from Jim Shepherd’s write-up in this week’s Alert, the company had another very strong quarter. Needless to say, there will be plenty of press coverage devoted to the topic.

SAP: Full Speed Ahead (Line56)

In wake of Q1 2006 results, enterprise apps giant has no true weakness, notes analyst; but margins cause passing concern

mySAP ERP & Enterprise Services Architecture: Delivering Operational Excellence

Enterprises are burdened with complex IT landscapes, driving up the cost of innovation and slowing down the pace of change. With rapidly shifting business conditions such as mergers and acquisitions, business consolidations, new partnerships and changing market dynamics -- enterprises must find a better way to effect change and employ innovation. Read this white paper to learn how to overcome these challenges using an Enterprise Services Architecture (ESA) approach to SOA to achieve:
- Greater efficiency
- Reduce IT complexity
- Lower TCO
- Increase agility to change

ERP Market Tops $16.6 Billion and Still Growing Strong (ARC Advisory Group)

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) continues to be an amazing market that has evolved and grown over the past three decades. While consolidation abounds in this segment of enterprise applications, the market continues to grow in spite of itself. As many industry leaders attempt to encroach on SAP’s dominant market share through aggressive acquisition strategies, they face challenges of the post-acquisition phase such as defining a forward strategy for integrating various products and the installed base.

Invensys Launches 'Sensor-to-Boardroom' Asset Controls (Gartner)

Invensys' new enterprise endeavor, InFusion, aims to improve manufacturing asset performance by rationalizing plant systems in an ERP infrastructure. SAP users will benefit most from joint technology developments.

The Formula for Product Success: Focus on Flexibility and Cooperation (TEC)

This is Part Two of the series Jeeves—Thriving Organically as a Humble Servant.

One pillar of the success of Jeeves Information Systems AB (JIS) is the way it has developed its main product from scratch. While most competitors work painstakingly to rewrite or merge their many (often recently acquired) complex and rigid systems, Jeeves has always had a product with built-in open and flexible architecture. Recent studies by an independent market research company, DPU Research, show that Jeeves Enterprise repeatedly receives the highest rating among European users in terms of ease of use, value for money, functional breadth and depth, and so on. Jeeves Enterprise tries to emulate the user thought process, and to accommodate multiple ways of building systems, according to needs. It is modular, flexible, and customizable, with an integrated, broad-scoped, functional footprint catering to many business processes and industries.

Oracle fires a shot across Red Hat’s bows (FT)

For long-time watchers of Larry Ellison, the revelation that Oracle is looking at launching its own version of the Linux open source operating system has aroused a suspicion: is the software industry’s most acquisitive CEO stalking his next target?

Mr Ellison made the comments in an interview with the Financial Times this week, laying out strong reasons why the database software company should embed a version of Linux into its existing software.

Such a move would make life far harder for Red Hat, which has emerged as the leading Linux company so far – particularly if, as Mr Ellison suggested, IBM decided to follow suit.

As a shot across Red Hat’s bows, the comments have had an immediate impact. The Linux company’s shares have dropped 8 per cent this week – although at $5bn, the company is still worth around three times what it was a year ago. “We want them to be successful, because Red Hat is to some degree our way of competing with Microsoft down at the core level,” the Oracle chief executive officer said. “But they’re a small company and they’re not supporting the customers very well.”

One answer, he suggested, was to launch a new version of Linux, or simply embed the Red Hat version in Oracle’s products and offer support from its own service organisation.


Simply offering the Red Hat version of Linux to its own customers could create a legal dispute, according to Rick Sherlund, software analyst at Goldman Sachs.

But Oracle would still be free to create its own version from the free component programs available over the internet.

For now, Mr Ellison has advanced two reasons for not buying Red Hat or Novell, which became the second biggest distributor of Linux after its acquisition of the German company SuSe two years ago. One is price. Open source companies have started to attract fancy valuations, as evidenced by Red Hat’s purchase last week of JBoss – a company that Oracle had itself tried to buy. Without control of their own intellectual property, these companies are not as valuable as Wall Street thinks, according to Mr Ellison.

“If an open source product gets good enough, we’ll simply take it,” he said. “We can do that, IBM can do that, HP can do that – anyone with a large support organisation is free to take that intellectual property and embed it in their own products.

“I believe JBoss is a $16m company breaking even, MySQL is a $30m company breaking even,” said Mr Ellison.

“You can build a sustainable business [in open source], you just can’t charge a lot for it. There’s brand value – there’s real brand – there’s people, and that’s it.”

The second reason for not buying a Linux company, according to Mr Ellison, is the risk that other big technology companies would abandon it.

“I don’t see how we could possibly buy Red Hat – IBM would just say, ‘Larry, congratulations, we’re going our own way’,” he said.

Despite that, Red Hat’s growing dominance of the Linux business, and its decision to acquire JBoss and start building out a fuller “stack” of software that competes with companies like Oracle and IBM, could alter the balance of partnerships in the software world and prompt a more drastic response.

Transcript: FT interview with Larry Ellison (FT)

April 18 2006 05:01
Richard Waters of the Financial Times interviewed Larry Ellison, the chief executive officer of Oracle. The following are excerpts from the interview:

FT: In an interview with the FT four years ago, you predicted an end to the period of disruptive innovation from small technology companies and said that, in a maturing industry, there would be slower growth and a consolidation of power in the hands of the market leaders. However, the software world seems to be awash with disruptive innovation again, in the form of open source software, software-as-a-service, and the Web 2.0 movement. What has changed?

LE: I still think that to tackle the big jobs, the consolidation will continue. Take software-as-a-service. [The stand-alone software-as-a-service ventures] are tiny companies. I do believe in it, Oracle has offered software-as-a-service for some time. I own 5 per cent of Salesforce.com, I was a founding investor. It’s a delivery mechanism for software. I believe, over time, more and more software will be delivered as a service – I totally believe that. I would argue I started the first big software-as-a-service company, [Netsuite]. I think you’ll see SAP and Oracle simply adapting to that.

FT: Mark Benioff of Salesforce.com would say, though, that the multi-tenanted architecture of a true software-as-a-service company is a very different business to the kind of hosted software Oracle sells.

LE: It wasn’t his idea. And it’s sheer nonsense: most companies don’t want multi-tenant. It’s a convenience for a supplier. Most companies don’t want their data co-mingled with other customers. Small companies will tolerate it.

We make more money selling software-as-a-service than we make just selling software. I’d much rather be in the monthly service charge business, I’ve said this repeatedly. [At present] a huge percentage of our sales are done in the last week of the quarter: all of that goes away, it’s a much better business model.

FT: But would Wall Street appreciate it? The stock market doesn’t seem to value Oracle’s recurring maintenance revenues as highly as your new licence sales.

LE: I guess they don’t think recurring revenue at 90 per cent margins is very valuable. But then, Wall Street thought that Ariba was worth more than Daimler Benz [during the dotcom bubble.] All I can say is, our profit margins are now north of 40 per cent and will continue to grow past 50 [per cent] because more and more of our business will be in this recurring form, the form of subscription renewals rather than software sales.

FT: But won’t your profit margins fall?

LE: We make more margin dollars. In the end, the only thing that really matters is how many billions we make this year. I’d much rather make $10bn at 40 per cent margins than $8bn at 50 per cent margins. I want to make $10bn. Our margin dollars will increase at a higher rate with software-as-a-service. Plus there’s no piracy, and no need to maintain old versions. There are huge advantages to the model.

FT: Will there be a difficult transition from new licence sales to regular recurring subscriptions?

LE: If all people measure is our licence sales, they’re going to be really disappointed in our open source acquisitions, because I can tell them exactly what the open source new licence sales will be next year - it will be zero. On the one hand, people say open source and software-as-a-service are really hot – on the other hand, all they look at is our new licence sales. It’s the kind of absurdity that you find in the world at times.

All I care about is that we keep growing our profits every year. We have a five-year plan to grow our profits at 20 per cent a year. Last year we overshot, we grew at 28 per cent. This year we will grow at 20. We’re growing our profits very, very rapidly.

FT: Is open source going to be disruptive to Oracle?

LE: No. If an open source product gets good enough, we’ll simply take it. Take [the web server software] Apache: once Apache got better than our own web server, we threw it away and took Apache. So the great thing about open source is nobody owns it – a company like Oracle is free to take it for nothing, include it in our products and charge for support, and that’s what we’ll do. So it is not disruptive at all – you have to find places to add value. Once open source gets good enough, competing with it would be insane. Keep in mind it’s not that good in most places yet. We’re a big supporter of Linux. At some point we may embed Linux in all of our products and provide support.

Just like software-as-a-service, we have to be good at it. We don’t have to fight open source, we have to exploit open source. At some point we could very well choose to have Linux as part of the Oracle database server. We certify it, we test it. We could have JBoss as part of our middleware. It costs us nothing. We can do that, IBM can do that, HP can do that – anyone with a large support organisation is free to take that intellectual property and embed it in their own products.

I’ve had this discussion with the CEOs of open source companies. We’ve looked at buying some, some with very high price tags – but since we already have access to all the intellectual property, why wouldn’t we just embed this technology in our technology and provide support.

FT: Yet you have bought an open source database company – what did you buy it for?

LE: The people. If the price is reasonable, and you’re getting a high quality development team – we love the Berkeley DB guys. It’s a great team.

The way open source companies are valued now is interesting. Wall Street looks back at the historic growth rate and extrapolates it out forever, that’s the way it works. It’s kind of funny.

What if IBM were to decide to support Red Hat Linux – what does that do to Red Hat? One of the big problems we have with Red Hat today is, they’re not very good at supporting the customers, so we help them a lot – we want them to be successful, because Red Hat is to some degree our way of competing with Microsoft down at the core level. But they’re a small company and they’re not supporting the customers very well.

FT: What are the arguments against Oracle distributing its own Linux version?

LE: They’re not very strong – now that Red Hat has bought JBoss and competes with us in middleware, we have to relook at the relationship – so does IBM. If Oracle were to have its own Linux distribution, or just provide paid support for Red Hat, that’s one thing – if Oracle and IBM both did it, it’s a whole new world. I don’t think Oracle and IBM want to create a second Microsoft in Red Hat. But you can’t – because Red Hat doesn’t own anything, they own nothing. They couldn’t [become the next Microsoft], they own nothing.

FT: How well has Novell done in becoming a viable competitor to Red Hat? [Encouraged by large technology companies like Oracle and IBM, Novell bought German Linux company SuSe two years ago.]

LE: I would say, not very well. Several of our big customers have switched to Novell because they get better service from Novell. But still, Red Hat competing with a Novell is one thing – Red Hat competing with IBM or Oracle is quite different.

FT: Why didn’t you buy JBoss?

LE: JBoss wanted to sell the company to us. Clearly if we wanted to buy JBoss we’d have bought JBoss. Why didn’t we buy JBoss? Because we don’t have to – if it ever got good enough we’d just take the intellectual property – just like Apache – embed it in our fusion middleware suite, and we’re done. We always have that option available to us – IBM always has that option available to them.

The reason I have a hard time writing checks for billions or hundreds of millions of dollars for things that are open source is that if we could do this, other people could do this too. I don’t see how we could possibly buy Red Hat – IBM would just say, Larry, congratulations, we’re going our own way. They could hire Red Hat people and they’d be in business straight away. So I don’t see how anyone can buy Red Hat, not at anything near these prices, because anyone who feels like taking the code – they have no intellectual property.

We see in China and India, all that stuff is freely available and Red Hat is just cut completely out of the market. I’m not gong to spend $5bn, or $6bn, for something that can just be so completely wiped off the map. They take all the Red Hat code, have their own equivalent of the Red Hat network, and Red Hat gets zero.

So its all very interesting. You can build a sustainable business [in open source], you just can’t charge a lot for it. There’s brand value – there’s real brand – there’s people, and that’s it.

Jeeves—Thriving Organically as a Humble Servant (TEC)

The maturing enterprise applications market should not overlook the lesser-known vendors which deliver the requirements users are increasingly demanding, such as interoperability, or intuitive interfaces.Prominent among these small specialist providers is Jeeves Information Systems AB (JIS), based in Sweden. In essence, Jeeves develops and supplies flexible and technologically advanced business systems. This is meant to enable smarter business practices (bringing to mind the "Jeeves knows the answer before you know the question" motto) for enterprises in the manufacturing, wholesale and retail, and service and maintenance sectors...

Prophet of Oracle’s evolving future (FT)

Sitting in a sparse Japanese pavilion beside a private lake hidden among the wooded hills of northern California, the software industry's second-richest man seems fully in command of his domain.

This is Larry Ellison's personal Xanadu. Designed, he says, to resemble a Japanese village with structures from different parts of the country's history, it has taken five years to plan and 10 to build.

Enterprise Resource Planning for Services, and Professional Services Automation: Where Do You Draw the Line? (TEC)

Since the late nineties, it has been evident that the enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendors that originally serviced the needs of manufacturing organizations have slowly extended their functionality to service the needs of non-manufacturing industries also. By the year 2000, when many of the major ERP implementations for the manufacturing industry had tapered off, tier one ERP vendors, such as SAP and Oracle, had refocused efforts to market their integrated solutions in the greener pastures of service-oriented vertical markets, such as the health care sector, the public sector, and service based businesses. Simultaneously, professional services automation (PSA) solutions appeared, and best-of-breed vendors such as Changepoint (today Compuware) and Evolve (now part of Primavera’s PSA offering) were developing project- and service-oriented functionality. These PSA solutions were aimed at providing the missing pieces linking back-office solutions (typically provided by ERP or accounting vendors) to project management systems, which remain the heart of most professional services organizations (PSOs).

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Market to Exceed $21 Billion (ARC Advisory Group)

Dedham, Massachusetts; April 12, 2006: The worldwide market for Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions continues to grow on the plethora of acquisitions and will exceed $21 billion in 2010. The worldwide market for ERP is expected to grow at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 4.8 percent over the next five years. The market was $16.67 billion in 2005 and is forecasted to be over $21 billion in 2010, according to a new ARC Advisory Group study.

SAP Fills Its Compliance Gap With Virsa Acquisition Deal (Gartner)

SAP's planned purchase of Virsa Systems will help put compliance at the center of its strategy. But Virsa customers not using SAP products should re-evaluate how Virsa fits in their environments as their contracts expire.

More ERP Consolidation: Intuitive Makes Two Acquisitions (AMR)

The flurry of merger and acquisition activity in the midmarket continues with Intuitive Manufacturing Systems making two recent acquisitions: SupplyWorks and Relevant Business Systems. For those of you unfamiliar with Intuitive, it is a private, .NET-based ERP vendor primarily targeting discrete markets.

SAP Acquires Virsa (Line56)

Getting compliant by bringing aboard controls software from partner; building on a good fit, say analysts

SAP Snaps Up Virsa Systems To Enhance Compliance Story (AMR)

Virsa Systems, the business controls compliance vendor that made its name untangling segregation of duties (SOD) issues for SAP customers, is soon to join SAP permanently. The acquisition is set to close in May; financial terms were not disclosed. In our compliance profiles research in 2005, we estimated that Virsa’s FY05 revenue would be approximately $40M.

SAP Buys Compliance Firm (Red Herring)

SAP said Monday it bought Virsa Systems, which provides governance, risk, and compliance management software, underscoring compliance software as the latest acquisition trend among larger business software companies.

Clarifying Oracle's Fusion Strategy (AMR)

Oracle first unveiled its Fusion strategy about 15 months ago at the event that celebrated the conclusion of its PeopleSoft acquisition. Since that time, Oracle’s marketing team has valiantly struggled to refine and clarify the Fusion message, while the internal landscape has been constantly changing. The Fusion name is now also being used for the middleware suite, the overall software architecture, and as a code name for the next generation ERP product. Meanwhile, management has acquired 10 or 11 additional software companies.

Free ERP (Line56)

Here's a list of free enterprise resource planning (ERP) products that could be of big interest to small companies

SAP Service Marketplace (SAP)

The SAP Service Marketplace contains a variety of internet portals that enable true collaboration among SAP, its customers and partners. These portals offer target group specific content.

SAP MDM Value (Line56)

Rubbermaid explains why good master data management is a requirement for best-in-class manufacturing

Lawson's ERP upgrade adds SOA capabilities (InfoWorld)

Lawson Release 9 includes improved BI capabilities and BPM tools

More Industry Consolidation as SSA Global Acquires Provia (Gartner)

SSA Global Technologies' purchase of Provia Software indicates market consolidation is in full swing. SSA Global extends its customer base, but the product gains are minimal.Event

Software for the Software Company (Line56)

Hosted applications specialist NetSuite has debuted a set of enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) functionality, topped by dashboards, specifically for software companies.

SAP Safe Passage (Line56)

Arizona Electronic Power Cooperative discusses reasons for going with SAP over rival enterprise applications vendors

Agents in the Supply Chain: New Technology Offers Planning Promise (AMR)

Lift the hood on most supply chain applications, and you tend to find the same linear programming-based engines. ILOG, the France-based leader in linear programming, is most often the brand of choice.
As a mature technology, it is worth asking what alternatives are around, and if these present real opportunities for distinction in the market. While still in an early phase in terms of application development, agent technology offers one such alternative, with often faster, more reactive, more realistic planning, decision support, and simulation.

SSA Buys Provia (Line56)

Good acquisition following questionable acquisition, says analyst; SCE complements SCM, other enterprise applications

SSA Global Technologies, the company best known for buying a string of enterprise applications vendors (including Baan as well as plenty of others), has now acquired warehouse management specialist Provia. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

SAP/R3, Oracle (PeopleSoft), MAPICS, move over. There's a new guy in town. (xperia)

Gene Bonett's company Xperia took the mainframe portion of Apparel Business Systems, the premiere package for apparel developed in the 1970's by Paul Harkins and others, and brought it to the AS/400 platform and with continual enhancements from his 30-person firm of analysts and programmers created a very successful software business for himself. Based in Allentown PA, about 75 miles from Wilkes-Barre where I live, Bonett has taken this leading edge package designed for apparel manufacturers and importers and has recently created a generic ERP package from it with many of the avante garde features that were the hallmark of its success in the apparel industry.

Xperia Takes on Tier One ERP Vendors in the SMB Market (itjungle)

Where do small- and mid-sized businesses find ERP systems when they have outgrown the ones they have or can't afford to maintain the ones they have? There are niche ERP software vendors that know the requirements of a specific industry and have applications that are not very modern; there are large ERP application makers with reputations for not being very supportive or very cost effective for midrange shops. Getting the right fit of function and finances is not easy, but a software company called Xperia Solutions thinks it has what OS/400 shops need.

Dassault Systemes to Expand PLM Scope With MatrixOne Purchase (Gartner)

Dassault Systemes (DS) has focused more on engineering aspects of product life cycle management (PLM) than product management. This deal will provide more PLM balance, but sales, service and software issues must be addressed.

Agassi wants Microsoft more visible than SAP (InfoWorld)

SAP moves ahead with integration of its R/3 ERP system with Microsoft's Office suite

Microsoft To Shift ERP Pricing (CRN)

In a huge shift, Microsoft is moving to per-user pricing for ERP. The goal of the planned transition from per-module pricing is to put its wares on a comparable footing with SAP and Oracle offerings, sources said.

Dassault buys US rival MatrixOne

Dassault Systèmes, the French software group, yesterday agreed to buy MatrixOne, a loss-making US competitor, for $408m in cash.

SAP in China (Line56)

Search for improved profit margins drives enterprise apps giant further east

SAP employees in Germany vote against workers' council (InfoWorld)

Vote may have been swayed by SAP cofounder who warned of possible relocation if council were approved

Dassault Acquires MatrixOne (Line56)

Consolidation in the product lifecycle management (PLM) space, and emergence of a bigger vendor


Buzzword: PLM

Warehouse Intelligence (Line56)

How Hanson Logistics uses Provia to offer customers detailed information about inventory, orders, and movement

SAP Denies Big M&A Plans (Line56)

And disses Oracle into the bargain, expecting more of a challenge from emergent Chinese competition than from its closest actual competitor; a jab at Salesforce.com as well

IBM Positioned in Magic Quadrant for Product Information Management Software (Market Wire)

ARMONK, NY -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 02/24/2006 -- IBM today announced that Gartner, Inc. has positioned IBM in the visionary quadrant in its Magic Quadrant for Product Information Management, 2005.

Supply Chain Risk Management and the Avian Flu: Is Your Supply Chain Ready? (AMR)

I recently read an article in the New York Times entitled “Bird Flu Detected in Swans in Greece, Italy, and Bulgaria.” This is the first time the H5N1 avian flu strain has been detected in the European Union. Last week (February 8), it was reported that 40,000 domestic fowl died from the strain on a farm in Nigeria—the first time it has shown up in Africa. We learned December 30 that this virus hit Turkey and Romania, including 12 reported human cases in Turkey. Of note, 165 human cases have been reported to date, and Turkey is the first significant number outside Asia.

i2 Buys RiverOne (AMR)

The consolidation of the B2B e-commerce and supply chain markets continues, with i2 Technologies acquiring multitier supply chain management (SCM) vendor RiverOne. The price was not disclosed, but AMR Research believes the company was under pressure to sell from its backers, and netted less than $2M. Following last week’s acquisition of Viacore by IBM (see the AMR Research Alert article “B2B E-Commerce Consolidation: IBM Buys Viacore”), it is part of a trend we expect to accelerate over the next year as small supply chain vendors reach for—or are pushed to—an exit strategy.

Supply Chain Organization Success (Line56)

Three simple suggestions from AMR as to how to make your supply chain better

Ansys' Acquisition of Fluent Will Raise the Stakes in CAE (Gartner)

Ansys' Fluent acquisition will catalyze the computer-aided engineering (CAE) market's transition from analysis automation to the provision of multiphysics simulation and product life cycle management (PLM) support.

Buzzword: Product Life Cycle Management (PLM)

Mere SCM (Line56)

Even basic supply chain management software can reap great rewards; just ask Hampton

Enterprise Resource Planning Vendors Address Lean Manufacturing (TEC)

Intentia, Fujitsu Glovia, QAD, and SSA Global's solutions supporting lean manufacturing are examined. Which areas the extended enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendors excel in depends on their original ERP system's suitability for repetitive versus to-order environments.

Oracle outlines ambitious business software plans (USATODAY)

SAN FRANCISCO — Oracle laid out the fruits of its acquisition spree on Wednesday here, with details of an ambitious business software service for customers.

Fusion is a linchpin in Oracle CEO Larry Ellison's quest to unseat the top corporate applications company, Germany's SAP, in the $26.5 billion global market for software that companies use to run human resources, accounting and other business functions.

Sleepycat Acquisition Brings Oracle Open-Source DBMS (Gartner)

The acquisition of Sleepycat Software extends Oracle's experimentation with the open-source community, while strengthening its embedded database management system (DBMS) strategy.

Oracle Acquires Sleepycat (Line56)

Open source company brings aboard embedded database offering Berkeley DB; plenty of opportunity, says analyst

News Brief: SAP Presents Solutions and Trends with Strong Partners at CeBIT 2006

Oracle to lay off 2,000 people (San Francisco Chronicle)

Oracle detailed its plans to cut jobs in the wake of its $5.85 billion takeover of Siebel Systems, saying that 2,000 people -- culled from both firms -- will be let go.

Warehouse Intelligence (Line56)

How Hanson Logistics uses Provia to offer customers detailed information about inventory, orders, and movement

SAP Premium Support Offering Unlikely to Sway Users (Gartner)

SAP missed an opportunity to include key items in its new support offering. Users face new questions about SAP's plans to support ecosystem products, along with a 5 percent increase to the cost of maintenance.

Has SAP Nailed Plant Level Leadership with Lighthammer? (TEC)

At the end of June, SAP announced that it was delivering enhanced connectivity between the plant floor and the enterprise by acquiring Lighthammer Software Development Corporation (www.lighthammer.com), a privately-held supplier of enterprise manufacturing intelligence and collaborative manufacturing software, based in Exton, Pennsylvania (US). Lighthammer and SAP shared a vision of adaptive business networks (ABN), as illustrated by their longstanding partnership, during which Lighthammer was a premier “SAP Powered by NetWeaver” and SAP xApps partner. The company’s approximately sixty employees have reportedly remained in their current facilities, and have become a part of SAP America and SAP Labs. Mufson Howe Hunter & Company LLC, a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (US)-based investment bank, served as financial advisor to Lighthammer on this transaction.

SAP ventures into on-demand software field (FT)

SAP announced its long-awaited move into the on-demand software business on Thursday, which analysts and competitors said could raise questions about the software company’s business model.

RedPrairie's Acquisition Binge: Snags Alta A/S and Marc Global Holdings (AMR Research)

The consolidation frenzy isn’t the dominion of just the big ERP vendors. In one week’s time and backed by Francisco Partners, Supply Chain Execution (SCE) suite vendor RedPrairie acquired two companies: Alta A/S, which will extend RedPrairie’s execution reach to automotive manufacturing, and Marc Global Holdings, a rollup opportunity in the broad Warehouse Management System (WMS) market. Terms were not disclosed.

Enterprise Resource Planning Giants Eye the Shop Floor (TEC)

Because production systems on the shop floor are typically not synchronized and integrated with the planning ones, there is a lack of timely and accurate information that results in disconnected business processes.

Microsoft Business Solutions Turns Profitable (TechWeb)

Microsoft Business Solutions (MBS), the enterprise applications arm of Microsoft Corp., got a boost on Thursday when the software company released earnings for fiscal second quarter, which ended Dec. 31.

Buzzword: Axapta

SAP vs. Oracle battle gets bloodier (CNN.com)

The long-building rivalry between the two software sellers heats up in a brutal fight for software-maintenance dollars.

RedPrairie Will Gain Leading WMS Technology With MARC Global (Gartner)

The acquisition of MARC Global will give RedPrairie market-leading warehouse management system (WMS) functionality. But it will also bring significant technology integration and product rationalization problems.

ERP-markt rooskleurig, vooral voor Microsoft (AG)

ERP-markt rooskleurig, vooral voor Microsoft

De ERP-markt ziet er voor de leveranciers rooskleurig uit, concludeert AMR Research uit onderzoek. Meer dan 70 procent van de bedrijven is van plan dit jaar zijn ERP-uitgaven te verhogen.
"Uit ons onderzoek blijkt dat er een flinke stijging in de ERP-uitgaven aankomt in 2006. Met bedrijven van allerlei grootte die hun ERP-budget verhogen, wordt het voor de topleveranciers op dit gebied een mooi jaar", aldus analist Jim Shepherd van AMR.
Gevraagd naar de leverancier van hun voorkeur gaf het grootste percentage respondenten overigens aan voor Microsoft Business Systems te kiezen. Oracle en SAP kwamen respectievelijk op de tweede en derde plaats. (Freek Blankena)
De ERP-markt ziet er voor de leveranciers rooskleurig uit, concludeert AMR Research uit onderzoek. Meer dan 70 procent van de bedrijven is van plan dit jaar zijn ERP-uitgaven te verhogen.

ERP's Inventory Benefits (Line56)

The tale of SAP customer Universal Instruments emphasizes the core value(s) of ERP

SAP's 2005 (Line56)

A solid year for enterprise applications giant; prospects for 2006 and beyond

IBM and PTC Partner on PLM (AMR)

IBM and PTC will jointly pursue Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) opportunities in new markets and on selected accounts. While IBM and PTC have worked together on implementation and outsourcing arrangements in the past, this is the first time the two have aligned to jointly sell PLM applications to new customers. The relationship reflects changes within IBM’s approach to deliver on customer PLM requirements, as the IBM PLM group seeks to deliver a total package of software, hardware, and services.

SAP Tops the $10B Mark, Eyes $70B Market (AMR)

On Wednesday morning, SAP posted its financial results for the year ending December 31. Total revenue came in at Euro 8.51B, or $10.47B (based on $1.23/Euro exchange rate). This is a 12% gain from last year. Software revenue was Euro 2.78B ($3.42B), up 15% in constant currencies.

SAP leads Europe higher (FT)

European stocks advanced on Wednesday, lifted by strength in the technology sector, rumours of banking consolidation and a surge in German business confidence. The Eurofirst 300 index gained 14.04 points or 1.1 per cent, to 1,291.18.

SAP expects to double revenues in four years (FT)

SAP, the world’s largest business software maker, expects products scheduled for launch in the next two years to more than double core revenues from software sales and maintenance contracts by 2010.

Supply Chain Integration in China, Part II

A look at the supply chain issues, strategies, and technologies in play in China, from the perspective of foreign multinationals as well as Chinese companies

Supply Chain Success Revisited (Line56)

More proof that an efficient supply chain means bottom line business success; the case of AMR's Top 25

Supply Chain Integration in China, Part I (Line56)

A look at the supply chain issues, strategies, and technologies in play in China, from the perspective of foreign multinationals as well as Chinese companies

Oracle Acquires 360Commerce (Line56)

Yet another retail acquisition for Oracle

Oracle Aquires 360Commerce: The Retail M&A Frenzy That Just Won’t Quit (AMR)

Oracle is purchasing privately held 360Commerce as part of its ongoing strategy to deepen and broaden its retail software portfolio through acquisition. Deal terms were not disclosed. While Oracle is not expected to make a broad public announcement about the deal at the National Retail Federation (NRF) show in New York this week, the deal will likely generate most of the buzz at the show.

How SAP Customers Can Manage Enterprise Architecture, Part 1: The Challenge (AMR)

Who needs enterprise architecture? You will, SAP customers will, everyone will. Why? Take a look into the average IT department at any enterprise anywhere around the globe first thing tomorrow morning. What will you see? You will find an X amount of separate IT projects, each of which can be viewed as a discrete bucket. There will be lots of buckets for enterprise architecture software packages, and a chain of buckets for bespoke software development.

Oracle Acquires Temposoft (Line56)

Adding to retail portfolio with workforce management functionality; aligns with demand forecasting in retail

SAP partners add more vertical applications for SMBs (InfoWorld)

Partners of SAP (Profile, Products, Articles) AG have launched 39 new mySAP All-in-One software packages tailored for small and medium-size businesses (SMBs) in specific vertical markets, SAP announced Wednesday.

ERP Today: No Safe Haven? (BCG)

For years, Small & Medium Businesses (SMB) have followed the lead of the larger corporations
in terms of how and what to select regarding ERP systems. That leadership role is currently
faltering.

SAP Boasts a Strong Q4 (Red Herring)

The software giant says strong software sales helped it beat analysts’ expectations.

SAP said Tuesday its fourth-quarter revenue will exceed its prior forecasts thanks in large part to an 18 percent rise in software sales over the year-earlier quarter.

View The Key Factors For SMB ERP Market Vendors to Be Successful and Analysis of the Standard For SMB Businesses to Choose ERP Vendors (Business Wire)

SMB businesses involved in this study are high-level small and medium-sized businesses. Among the four types of SMB businesses defined, the starting ones, the entry-level ones, the mid-level ones and the high-level ones. The other three types have not been covered in this study because they have not applied management software, stand-alone version management software or network version individual services management software and ERP.

Silver Creek Systems Noted in Product Information Management Magic Quadrant

LOUISVILLE, Colo., Jan. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Silver Creek Systems, a
provider of enterprise data usability solutions, was noted in Gartner's Magic
Quadrant for Product Information Management 2005, published Dec. 30, 2005 by
Gartner Analyst, Andrew White.

Keyword: PIM

ERP Underused and Difficult (Line56)

European ERP experiences as reported by PMP Research highlight both challenges and opportunities for vendors; despite everything, ERP still foundational

A New Year’s Prediction and Wish (AMR)

As we look ahead to a new year, my prediction is winning businesses will be the heroes of the next decade. I’m not talking about celebrity CEOs—I’m talking about the quietly competent practitioners who will dominate the global supply chain to meet demand whenever and wherever it exists. They will be the heroes because, as global business further develops, it will be in the interest of these winning businesses to solve global problems.

In fact, it is their ability to address these problems as supply chain leaders that will distinguish these companies from their competitors. A stretch? Maybe. But it’s no coincidence that supply chain leaders like Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and Procter & Gamble (each featured on “The AMR Research Supply Chain Top 25 for 2005” performers list) were among the first to meet the needs of the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Insights Into Supply Chain Innovation in Europe (AMR)

Working with top universities, publications, IT vendor consultants, system integrators, and directly with top retailers and manufacturers, AMR Research has identified the top supply chain innovators in Europe. Supply chain innovators stand apart from the rest, showing more than a 30% reduction in finished goods inventory and a 25% improvement in on-time delivery.