David Mitchell, Software Practice Leader from Ovum, comments:
Comment: "The market for application platform suites such as those provided by BEA, IBM and Oracle has been consolidating for some time. As such, this transaction is not greatly surprising, and in future smaller companies with interesting technology or a strong customer base will continue to be acquired by larger players and their products integrated into wider suites. However, we are not clear about the criteria that led BEA to select Plumtree as an acquisition - there are many potential targets that it could have chosen.
While the consolidation has been happening, BEA has experienced increasing pressure from IBM and Oracle, plus open-source vendor JBoss. Q2 showed a decline in licence sales, and the recently released Q3 figures showed the first growth for some time, although not at a material level. We do not see the addition of Plumtree products to the portfolio as unlocking a new phase of revenue growth for BEA - irrespective of whether the products are integrated into existing BEA products or left as standalone products in the portfolio. We do not see a strong potential for cross-sell and upsell from Plumtree customers to BEA products.
BEA is entering an important phase of its history, with two main challenges ahead. The first priority should be an unrelenting focus on sales execution and competing against IBM and Oracle, together with a push against JBoss. The second priority should be to develop a clearer position on its future product lines, their content and timing. We do not see the addition of Plumtree to the portfolio as addressing either of these challenges directly."
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