Revealing that it plans to hire 400 additional developers by the end of 2011, Infor, CRM solutions provider, is going to rapidly extend its staff for product innovation this year. Having just come off of a long string of acquisitions that made it one of the larger ERP software vendors in the world, Infor is planning on broadening its portfolio extensively.

Duncan Angove, president of products, support, and marketing, stated, "We're going to be investing across the product line, both existing and new." The company’s portfolio of industry applications, including those for public sector organizations, hospitality companies, and manufacturers, will be among the first areas to receive innovative attention. Other horizontal applications include financial management and supply chain management.

Angove did not comment on what percentage increase the 400 new hires would add to Infor’s current staff of developers. The company is backed by Golden Gate Capital, a private equity firm, and this latest move places it alongside the leading research and development companies in the CRM industry.

Angrove did say that Infor will be able to fund the staff increase through its cash flow thanks to strong revenue performance and operational changes, having signed 400 new customers in its third quarter. Infor experienced an increase by 17 percent in its license revenues in its third fiscal quarter as compared to the previous year.

Ray Wang, CEO of Constellation Research, noted that this move on Infor’s part indicates that the company is “serious about building software.” He continued, "That's a pretty public commitment that you're not just going to scoop up companies. It means Infor knows it has to build products. Software companies that don't build new products die a slow death."

Juliana Kenny graduated from the University of Connecticut with a double degree in English and French. After managing a small company for two years, she joined TMC (News - Alert) as a Web Editor for TMCnet. Juliana currently focuses on the call center and CRM industries, but she also writes about cloud telephony and network gear including softswitches.

Edited by Janice McDuffee