Oracle buys NetSuite – what does this mean for the ERP Cloud market?  

Head in the cloudsSoftware Giant, Oracle announced its intent to buy cloud computing pioneer NetSuite in a deal valued at $9.3 billion, which is expected to close in 2016. Sabby Gill, Executive Vice President for International at Epicor Software asks what this acquisition means for the ERP Cloud market, particularly the midmarket segment and the thousands of firms for whom purpose-built ERP software functionality is core to growth.

Sabby states: “This acquisition serves as further reinforcement of the accepted fact that ERP systems are moving to the cloud. As Forrester has stated, actual and planned ERP cloud replacement activity grew from 24% in 2013 to 43% in 2015. Market consolidation is always interesting, and we are sure that both Oracle and NetSuite customers will watch closely to see how Oracle deals with the overlap within its newly expanded product portfolio.

“The acquisition does present a significantly narrowed competitive field, raises questions about product strategy at Oracle, and may squeeze the options available to a midmarket firm. As Epicor develops and rolls out its Epicor ERP cloud-based multitenant offering, we believe that the market will be looking for purpose-built, vertical-specific ERP software solutions, with a flexible attitude to deployment and a hands-on approach, and we’ll continue to refine and enhance our solutions to help our customers embrace the digital transformation that will fuel their growth.”

www.epicor.com/uk

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