16 Jun 2011
UK-based business and software services company Sage is rumoured to be in discussions with both IBM and SAP regarding a potential acquisition.
A Sage insider told Computing that the company is in "talks" with both vendors, and that being part of a larger organisation would "benefit the business".
"We are in a period of reflection at Sage," he said. "The company is looking to double our customer base in five years, which is quite a challenging path."
"The structure of the organisation holds us back, and we would certainly benefit from more collateral and capital expenditure".
The source believes that being acquired by SAP or IBM would help to streamline internal processes and potentially fund a restructure.
"I don't think there is anything wrong with the Sage brand in the market. We might just come under SAP's or IBM's remit and operate on their accountancy books, but continue business as normal," he added.
Sage was unwilling to comment on the rumour, as was the managing director of Sage's UK partner, Datel.
It is a reckless proposition to purchase mission critical product from Sage. Do the math. They are not a high-tech company. They are an acquisition company who chose the software industry for their target investments. The problem? They are a cost based business. Investments in R&D are minimal and funds are biased towards their marketing machine. The bulk of their revenue comes from grossly increased maintenance fees to the victims that were loyal customers of the original innovators of the product they own.
Posted by: Mark 17 Jun 2011
All of the software acquisitions that IBM has made recently have been on what you might call infrastructure applications, and middleware.
As a true business application SAGE wouldn't fit into IBM's software portfolio. I wouldn't bet my money on this happening.
Posted by: Robert Clare 16 Jun 2011
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