Lawson Software and Intentia International have announced plans to merge.
The two organizations could be seen as complementary as both have offered solutions that cover similar technologies in the past, but the products cover different market sectors. Intentia’s specialty has been ERP systems for what it refers to as ‘make, move, and maintain’, whereas Lawson was much more focused upon the financial and service sectors. Together they are likely to be able to put on a braver face in the ERP world, which has been starting to look like a two-horse race.
The market may seem to be polarized, with SAP and Oracle grabbing (or buying) large chunks of market share, but there are still plenty of organizations out there that don’t feel their pockets are deep enough for either of those two, or perhaps which feel that a more targeted solution may be easier to deploy.
In the world of enterprise applications, package selection is becoming much harder. It used to be a question of putting together a requirements list and selecting the vendor that claimed to offer the closest fit. Now, the majority of the less complex business requirements are likely to be met by most of the packages on offer, and the decision is often hijacked by the finance director or equivalent, who may want to feel that the package supplier can demonstrate profitability and longevity. Although these factors are important, often the costs involved in implementing an ERP system can mount up. Thus it is wise to pick a vendor that has a good fit with the organization culturally as there is likely to be less imposition of change for its own sake.
The Lawson name will be the one to go forward as it has a bigger recognition in the global market, as well as a prized US stock exchange listing. The mid-market, sometimes referred to as Tier 2, still offers a large market opportunity for ERP vendors, and Lawson is emerging as the biggest player in this sector.
Source: OpinionWire by Butler Group (www.butlergroup.com)
