Re: SSA Global acquired by Infor

On 5/18/06, Frederick C Davy <fcdavy@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Mr. Jedrzejewicz,

What about the black helicopters! Have you seen them too?

... My point is that I believe that SSA finally got it right with
version 8.X for companies that need what I will call "advanced
functionality" to address Lean Manufacturing, etc. I now am forced to
accept another unknown entity (Infor) and trust it to provide good
stewardship for this product.

I agree that the current path makes sense.  The merging of PRMS and
BPCS into ERP LX has been at a reasonable pace, there has been
functional improvements as well.

Your counter points regarding government
intervention make sense, but SOMEBODY should care about the 37,000
customers and the potential impact that these "mergers" may have.

I don't agree.  The 37000 customers need to take care of themselves.
The idea that we should hitch our wagon to a vendor and expect it to
act solely with our best interests in mind isn't realistic.  When
customer best interests and shareholder best interests differ, the
shareholders will (correctly) prevail.

Your
counter points regarding an improved product, I still believe are
subjective without more knowledge and experience about the Infor mode of
operation after an acquisition.

Sure; the comment was about what could/should happen.  Whether Infor
does it well and continues to deliver value to the customer base is
entirely up to them.  And we will respond accordingly.

Will they continue to develop and improve
the product, or will they sit back and collect the revenue until it fades
into obsolescence? I try not to react to gossip, but some of the initial
feedback I have received has not reflected an active involvement by Infor
with the companies they have acquired.  I hope I am wrong again, and I hope
that you and I are not the only ones willing to talk this out (even
emotional talk is better than complacency).

Actually, I hope you are right and that Infor leaves SSA Global alone
and collects the profit every quarter.  That will allow the current
path to continue.  If Infor steps in and tries to add their iSeries
products to the mix, we could be in for some confusing times ahead.
If Infor attempts the Computer Associates blood-sucking from the
customer base, I imaging many of us will move on.