Bloem Adriaan Bloem

EPiServer Acquired: No big deal

30-Nov-2010

Tags: Web Content and Experience Management, Vendor Viability & Financials, EPiServer

Swedish WCM vendor EPiServer was acquired a few weeks ago -- and I've been trying to come up with something meaningful to say about it ever since. Because between all the surprising mergers and acquisitions over the past few years, with all of their implications and possible impact -- this is one of the most uneventful ones ever.

If you want the blow-by-blow news, read all about it on CMSWire. The most interesting tidbit is that the new owners have no experience in content technologies; it's an investment firm with a large, diverse portfolio, none of it internet (let alone web) related. The majority of EPiServer shares were previously owned by another investment firm. Following the cancelled IPO earlier this year, this was a good alternative for them to still cash in. As the vendor changes hands from one investor to the next, there aren't any strong ideas for sudden changes to the EPi-everything product line-up.

So what about a new strategy? Well, new owner, IK Investment, says it usually invests in companies that "have potential" and are currently "underperforming." The plan is to conquer the world with EPiServer -- currently mostly dominant in Scandinavia and with a growing presence in the UK, but there's a lot of markets the Swedes haven't really found their footing yet. Together with the EPiServer acquisition, Harbour Software in the UK was bought -- basically already the UK subsidiary, but it has now come under full ownership of EPi. For now, that's the extent of the ambitions.

So what will this mean for current and future customers of EPiServer? Well, the vendor is going to try very hard to expand and gain marketshare. That's not exactly a big break from what they were doing previously. So, to summarize in one word: yawn. I'll wake you up when there is a serious change in course.

 

    Excerpt from the EPiServer Evaluation

    Web Content Management Report looks at... Dragging Pages in EPiServer

    "Like Alterian and some other tools, EPiServer allows editors to drag and drop articles within the left navigation tree, enabling them to move pages and site sections around quickly (Figure 203). This is, of course, a familiar experience to Windows Explorer, but once again, note the emphasis on pages rather than discrete content items..."
    (p. 452)

    CMS Vendor Evaluations

    Learn the real strengths and weaknesses of major CMS vendors from around the world, in our Web Content and Experience Management research stream.