OpenText is on its way to creating a new generation of process improvement solutions as it recently completed its acquisition of global Business Process Management (BPM) leader Metastorm. The acquisition will allow OpenText to add complementary BPM software solutions to its constantly growing BPM market.
“With Metastorm (News - Alert), OpenText moves into the BPM market allowing customers to purchase leading solutions in Enterprise Content Management (ECM) and BPM from a single vendor which ultimately helps them improve their business in the most comprehensive way," said John Shackleton, chief executive officer at OpenText, in a statement. "We see a lot of customer demand for solutions involving content and process improvement and Metastorm is the perfect fit, presenting a tremendous opportunity for OpenText."
The BPM market is a fast evolving segment of the software industry and, according to Gartner (News - Alert), the BPM market was $1.9 billion in 2009, growing 15 percent that year. Last fall, Metastorm announced that it was positioned as a leader in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Business Process Management Suites, published October 18, 2010.
OpenText's product plans will rely on Metastorm’s Business Process Analysis (BPA) and Enterprise Architecture (EA) software. Metastorm's BPA and EA capabilities are complementary to OpenText's and examine all components of a business, from the strategy and goals that drive it; to the day-to-day systems, processes and people that run it, and to the content needed to make the best business decisions.
"OpenText presents a great new opportunity for our customers and our team," said Robert Farrell, chairman and chief executive officer of Metastorm, in a statement. "We'll continue to offer our customers Metastorm's leading solutions, and add even greater value with an expanded solutions portfolio and the support of a much larger ECM company."
Another benefit of the acquisition is that Metastorm's BPM solutions integrate with the Microsoft (News - Alert) environment and in particular with Microsoft SharePoint. OpenText is a leader today in providing ECM solutions that integrate with SharePoint and Microsoft Office.
Last year, another company saw value in BPM software when ICT service provider Getronics announced that it would form a strategic partnership with Cordys, a business process innovation solution provider, to provide cloud services to the European market. Getronics agreed to be a reseller for a cloud solution that is based on the Cordys Process Factory.
Per Jonsson, Cordys chief executive officer, said that despite the fact that cloud computing is changing the IT landscape significantly, most organizations will maintain their enterprise software systems on the premises. Accordingly, companies will be presented with challenges when they try to integrate on premises systems with the new crop of Web-based business services and applications.
Carrie Schmelkin is a Web Editor for TMCnet. Previously, she worked as Assistant Editor at the New Canaan Advertiser, a 102-year-old weekly newspaper, covering news and enhancing the publication's social media initiatives. Carrie holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and a bachelor's degree in English from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by Carrie Schmelkin