In the News

May 24, 2005

Murray Beach Quoted in The Deal: “SAP Gains on Oracle”

BOSTON, MA – Murray Beach, President and Managing Director at Boston Corporate Finance, Inc. (BCF), was recently quoted in The Deal’s coverage of the aftereffects of the Oracle / Peoplesoft merger.

The Deal article follows a Boston Corporate Finance Industry Brief that focuses on the opportunity and dilemma facing Peoplesoft service providers. While the 18-month takeover battle of Peoplesoft changed the landscape of the ERP space significantly, the ripple effects of this merger extend beyond the ERP software sector itself - most notably to the hundreds of service partners affiliated with each vendor.

"In the wake created by these software giants are hundreds of service providers who have built themselves around one or more of these vendors and depend on an application’s relative success for the future of their own businesses," says Beach. "Each service provider has now been placed in a position where it must evaluate its strategic alternatives and decide on how to best weather, or capitalize upon, the current market conditions. We expect to see many companies recognizing the need to reposition themselves within the market, either by adding complementary service offerings within an existing ERP application expertise or by adding new service capabilities within a competitive ERP vendor’s application."

BCF believes service partners that make the best strategic decisions over the next six to twelve months will be well-positioned to succeed in the evolving ERP market going forward – and mergers and acquisitions will play a significant role. Beach elaborates, “Service providers need to assess the future prospects of their vendor partners – particularly the PeopleSoft partners who depend on an application that is not expected to exist in its current state a few years from now. These partners are faced with three strategies: 1) combine with an Oracle partner; 2) combine with a partner of SAP, Microsoft or another ‘safe’ vendor; or 3) ‘double down’ by combining with another PeopleSoft partner to build scale, strengthen vertical market delivery capabilities, reinforce customer relationships and create a link between customers and the upcoming integrated application.”

To read BCF’s complete Industry Brief: The Opportunity and Dilemma Facing Peoplesoft’s Service Partners please visit BCF’s online research library at www.bostoncf.com/research.

About Boston Corporate Finance, Inc.

Headquartered in Westwood, MA, Boston Corporate Finance, Inc. is a private investment banking firm focused on providing traditional investment banking advisory services to high growth companies primarily in the technology sector. BCF's senior professionals have both global, as well as, regional investment banking experience with firms including KPMG Corporate Finance and Advest, Inc. Additional company information can be obtained on the World Wide Web at www.bostoncf.com or by calling (781) 320-3200.

Boston Corporate Finance, Inc.
200 Lowder Brook Drive, Suite 2600
Westwood, MA 02090

Tel: (781) 320-3200
Fax: (781) 320-3220
E-mail: info@bostoncf.com