Volume and the largest players of the world market of ERP systems

By the only large player of the market who provided the organic growth of the business analysts call SAP company. As for other companies, according to ARC Advisory Group, their growth is provided with three pacing factors today: merger of smaller developers of ERP systems or business applications of best-of-breed; development of integration platforms based on SOA; and general economic factors.

Merger of smaller companies allows vendors to increase the customer base significantly. And it, according to experts, leads to revenue growth of the companies due to receiving means from maintenance. By the available estimates, growth of the market of ERP practically by 50% is provided with revenue growth from maintenance.

Existence of powerful integration platforms gave the chance how to combine new ERP systems with legacy applications, and to sell solutions to clients of competitors that is also a market growth factor.

Globalization of the market and sharp economic growth of economies of a number of developing countries belongs to general economic factors. It affects the market of ERP systems doubly. First, vendors had an opportunity (which they actively use) to move development centers of the business applications to the countries with lower cost of work at the expense of what the cost of software products falls and market coverage at the expense of less wealthy clients increases. Secondly, the growing economies become active consumers of solutions of the class ERP, also providing to vendors revenue growth.

Also, ARC Advisory Group gives assessment of volume of a segment of ERP systems for medium and small business. The volume of this segment in 2006 is estimated approximately at 5.28 billion dollars, and in 2007 — at 5.86 billion dollars. Analysts note a strong fragmentirovannost of this market, however predict the rates of its growth exceeding growth rates of the market of ERP systems in general (11% annually, against 6.7%). As noted, high potential the front lines in the technology roadmap of the solution which are especially connected with simplicity of implementation and flexibility of setup under the changing business processes during operation of the enterprise have here. First of all, offers within the SaaS model belong to them.

Besides, in a segment of SMB good positions at local developers as they are capable to propose to customers the available solutions at the price considering industry and regional specifics much more than products of market leaders today.

At the same time, the Forrester Research estimates the volume of a segment of ERP systems for SMB the bigger amount. 15.330 billion dollars are the share of income of first "twenty" of vendors, according to the agency. The five first positions in rating occupy, in decreasing order, SAP, Oracle, Intuit, Infor and Sage Group. Enter ten, in decreasing order, Microsoft Business Solutions, Lawson, Epicor, IFS and Exact Software.

The rating of suppliers of ERP systems for SMB on the level of income gained in a segment

* data are given in Forrester assessment basis
� data are given in Forrester assessment basis
� data on Infor are provided taking into account acquisitions of SSA Global, Extensity and Workbrain
** data on Consona (before Made2Manage) are provided without Onyx acquisition
Source: Forrester Research, 2006

It is interesting that this rating practically matches the rating of suppliers of ERP and SCM systems for industrial enterprises made by the Manufacturing Business Technology magazine within broader rating of suppliers of IT solutions for the industry of MBT 2007 of Global 100. In the table this rating without the suppliers who are not proposing solutions of the class ERP and also the suppliers proposing only solutions for continued production is included below (the offering Ross Systems iRenaissance was it only CDC Corp.).

The rating of suppliers of ERP systems for discrete production

On the basis of data of Manufacturing Business Technology MBT 2007 Global 100

Thus, it is possible to conclude that a considerable part of the leading suppliers of "machine-building" ERP solutions are guided by a segment of medium and small business (to the western measures). Certainly, at this segment there are also large companies, traditional for other segments, such as SAP and Oracle, but "specialists", actually, work here as niche players, winning "on places" against large competitors at the expense of more advanced means of planning and production management, bigger flexibility and price availability of solutions and also deep industry expertize and existence of highly specialized "subindustry solutions".