SSA Global outlines growth strategy
by Staff -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 11/1/2004 7:00:00 AM
Three years and 12 profitable quarters since taking over the remains of a bankrupt predecessor, SSA Global's fall user conference convened on an up note. With an IPO pending, company officials were coy about financial details for the midmarket ERP vendor that currently rates a distant fourth in overall revenues, but were highly vocal about product plans.
Having become a clearinghouse for several troubled brands—including Baan, CA-Interbiz, Infinium, and Marcam—SSA has built a portfolio of "extended" applications covering supply chain execution, collaborative e-commerce, and product life-cycle management. Earlier this year, the company announced a product road map to focus development on two core product lines, including ERPLX, based on the original SSA BPCS iSeries product; and ERPLN, centered on Baan products based on open systems platforms. In July, it released the first modules of ERPLX. According to Corey Eaves, chief technology officer, the initial release of the companion ERPLN will debut in Q4 2005.
At the conference, the company announced a "no sunset" policy of support for its dozen-plus legacy products, but didn't get specific on pricing for the oldest legacy versions. However, to encourage customers to stay current, the company offers free upgrades to newer versions.
Asked how SSA Global's efforts to converge multiple legacy products will differ from other vendors that have attempted similar strategies, Eaves claims, "This won't be a forced march." A major differentiator, he says, is that there is no need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to core integration architecture.
Having signed an alliance with IBM last spring to standardize around WebSphere as the core integration engine, SSA Global will leverage standard technologies, such as Java and Web services, to update its products while opening links to third parties. "This is not a bet-the-farm migration," says Eaves.
As for business direction, SSA Global President Mike Greenough couldn't disclose current results pending the release of Q4 numbers, and because of the pending IPO. Backing his claims that SSA Global is financially healthier than most of its rivals, he points to financial results for the previous quarter, showing 26 percent of revenues consisted of license fees.
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