Thursday, October 11, 2007

Reality Check | Ephraim Schwartz | InfoWorld | SAP's Business Objects acquistion: The death knell for point solutions?

Not sure I agree with the pendulum swing assertion below -- e.g., W. Brian Arthur's theory of increasing returns (see this page for more on Arthur's work) suggests perhaps the major players (what Burton Group terms "superplatforms") may continue to gain share and momentum indefinitely, as long as they don't make huge mistakes.

What we will probably see now is an accelerated pace in acquisitions and consolidation among software vendors as each major company vies for what remains of the pure-play vertical solution ISVs. Given a few years of this, point solutions may become extinct or, certainly, an endangered species. Companies will be forced like never before to make a platform decision: Fusion, NetWeaver, or Microsoft and go with it. Of course, eventually, the pendulum will swing back the other way.

As Howard Dresner, principal at Dresner Advisory Services, says, "For every vendor that is acquired, there are 20 emerging companies offering new approaches, technologies, and business models." This will be the case, but it will take a while for these startups to become seasoned enough for an enterprise customer to bite at their solutions.

Reality Check | Ephraim Schwartz | InfoWorld | SAP's Business Objects acquistion: The death knell for point solutions?

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