To the eyes of many observing the enterprise software market, Oracle has completely redefined the role of consolidator in the applications arena. They’ve turned M&A into a machine — I know this first-hand because of my own work in the tech acquisitions market over the years — starting with screening deals (deals under certain revenue thresholds that do not move the needle, like $50 million, require significant hoop jumping to pull off) and progressing through acquisition integration. They can also move nimbly for such a larger organization when it comes to pushing acquisitions through at a speed that seems an order of magnitude faster than rival SAP.
But might SAP be changing its stance when it comes to M&A? And might Waldorf continue to turn its sights at the Spend Management marketplace, following on its small yet strategic acquisitions of Frictionless and Analytics, Inc? The answer is: yes, with a high degree of certainty. A recent MarketWatch story sheds some light on topic on a macro level. It’s also something that everyone — from current SAP customers to competitors — should pay attention to.
SAP indeed appears to be changing its strategy to look more like Oracle and less like, well, the SAP “not invented here” monolith. In a recent earnings call, Oracle’s Larry Ellison reiterated his intentions of pursuing SAP’s core markets as well as the SMB segments. MarketWatch also opines that on the call, “Ellison [was] probably really annoyed about SAP’s recent statements that it plans to start doing more acquisitions …
