Pelz-Sharpe Alan Pelz-Sharpe

SAP in the ECM shadows

7-Oct-2008

Tags: Document Management (ECM), Marketplace at Large, Selecting Technology, , Enterprise Edition, Omni Suite, SAP NetWeaver

To know what's really going on within a firm or the industry in which it operates you need to watch where the money is flowing.

In September money flowed in some interesting directions within the ECM sector. At Open Text it flowed out, as Chairman and CEO John Shakelton dumped almost all of his shareholdings. In contrast at NewGen in India it flowed in through a confirmed investment from SAP's venture arm (who already invest in open source ECM player Alfresco, among others).

Shakelton's move would seem to mimic those of senior management at FileNet prior to their acquisition by IBM. At the same time, SAP must make a long overdue move into ECM at some point.

In truth I do not know what these moves mean, and whether the common denominator of SAP is a coincidental one or not. In fact I will leave it to equities analysts such as my friend Paul Steep at Scotia Capital to figure it all out for us. But moves are clearly afoot, and we will continue to watch with interest to see how it all pans out.

    Now Get the Complete Real Story

    Vendor Evaluations

    Learn the real strengths and weaknesses of major vendors from around the world, in our research stream.