What Does Vendor Consolidation Mean To The End User?
Olin Thompson & PJ Jakovljevic - May 10, 2003

Observation

We continue to see evidence that the business application software space is consolidating, a process which has long started in the mid-market space (see The Mid-Market Is Consolidating, Lo And Behold). Very recently, Invensys has put Baan up for sale. SSA GT also recently purchased interBiz and Infinium (see CA Unloads interBiz Collection Into SSA GT's Sanctuary and Is SSA GT Betting Infini(um)tely On Acquisitions?, and Is SSA GT Betting Infini(um)tely On Acquisitions? ), while MAPICS acquired Frontstep (see MAPICS To Leap Forward In A Frontstep Way ). In a spate of recent acquisitions, one should not forget Microsoft buying Great Plains and Navision (see Microsoft 'The Great' Poised To Conquer Mid-Market, Once and Again). What is the current and future impact of these on the end-user enterprise?..