Infinium Software Inc. develops, markets, and supports enterprise business applications for service organizations, mid-sized companies and divisions of large global corporations. Founded in 1981 with headquarters in Hyannis, MA, USA, Infinium ranks among the Top 20 ERP vendors with $122 million in revenue in fiscal 1999 (approximately 12% thereof derived from the international market).
The company has two major product lines. The first one, designed for IBM AS/400 computers, automates financial, human resources, materials management, process manufacturing, and customer relationship management (CRM) functions of organizations in a broad range of industries worldwide. Its second product line, released in 1997, and called Infinium Advantage, is designed to automate human resources management systems (HRMS) and payroll on a Microsoft Windows NT Server. Infinium also helps clients migrate to network computing installations. Services account for nearly three-quarters of total revenue.
In 1981, Robert Pemberton, the current Infinium's CEO & President, founded Software 2000 (the name was chosen for its futuristic connotation at the time) to develop software for IBM System/38 minicomputers. The company shifted its focus to the AS/400 platform after it was launched in 1998. Due to the international popularity of AS/400 platform, Software 2000 opened offices in Singapore and London, UK during the mid 1990s. In 1996, EVP Frederick Lizza was named president and CEO.
In 1997, the increasing noise about year 2000 compliance and consequent confusion with Software 2000 name prompted the company to change its name to Infinium, after its financial application. In the same year, the company also introduced a Windows NT software line. The impact of this investment lead to significantly reduced profits in coming years. In 1998, Infinium bought the payroll software specialist company, Cort Directions. In 1999, Lizza resigned and was replaced by founder Pemberton. The cost of discontinuing some obsolete product lines created losses in fiscal 1999, for the first time in Infinium's recent history. In 2000 Infinium bought Dutch Web-based customer relationship management (CRM) application provider Dexton Information Systems, and formed a separate line of business, Infinium ASP, to build its application service provider business. Infinium went public in 1995 and currently trades on NASDAQ.
Vendor Trajectory and Strategy
Over past two decades, Infinium has shown the commitment to deliver solid back-office functionality and customer support within certain industries. Infinium is considered an undisputed leader in the hospitality & gaming industry with over 70% of market share. Its focus on AS/400 and the decision not to fully embrace a true client/server concept resulted in modest growth during the 'golden' years of ERP. Nevertheless, by the end of 1999, the company had more than 2,000 customers worldwide. The company offers its product and services through a worldwide network of over 20 branch offices and through business partner channels worldwide.
The company believes that its host- and network-centric product architecture, which was possibly disadvantageous a few years ago, positions itself well for the new Internet economy. Following the market trends, Infinium has recently made an energetic push into a number of prospective areas such as: Web-enablement and self-service product capabilities, business intelligence, CRM, and application hosting services.
Particularly notable is its aggressive move to become an applications service provider (ASP). The company believes that will help it become platform-agnostic and will compensate for its decision to downplay the development of its NT-based product. In order to effectively deliver its ambitious undertaking, Infinium has reorganized itself into four lines of business (ASP, eBusiness, CRM, ERP & AdvaNTage), each having a general manager and unique P&L and business plan, while the general & administrative staff will be shared.
We expect Infinium Software to continue its focus on the lower-end of the ERP market (companies with $25 million - $5 billion in revenues), by maintaining and enhancing the existing functionality of its Infinium solution. The product will likely be enhanced also through 3rd-party alliances in the areas of Advanced Planning & Scheduling (APS), Product Data Management (PDM), reporting, and transportation management. The company recently announced its strategic alliances with elcom.com and TRADEPAQ Corporation for business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce and supply chain collaboration within its industries of interest. Additionally, Infinium will invest more aggressively in sales and marketing, international business expansion through distributors, and will seek to become more verticalized, concentrating on the hospitality/gaming, transportation, healthcare, retail, and process manufacturing industries.
ANALYSIS
Vendor Strengths
* Infinium has long embraced concepts of component (modular) technology in designing its product; While its product is not based on object oriented programming (OOP) code, it has nevertheless provided a great number of APIs for interconnectivity among its own and 3rd-party components, all providing for flexibility and incremental deployment. Infinium is generally competitive in speed of implementation, total cost of ownership (TCO), and price/performance ratio. Furthermore, the Company supports both IBM and Microsoft endorsed middleware standards and is well poised for future technological developments and requirements.
* Concurrently with interconnectivity and workflow enablement of its suite, Infinium has also developed strong back-office functionality (human resources/payroll and financial management, material management, and process manufacturing) and sharp vertical focus for some industries (See Vendor Industry Focus). Also, it has struck a good balance between expanding its core ERP product through acquisitions and product alliances.
* Infinium has achieved solid long-term track record and congenial corporate culture manifested in honest and fair treatment of customers, and in prudent acquisitions and/or strategic partnerships with other leading vendors. It has been known for adroit blending of 3rd party products with its own and delivering the blended product as a tightly integrated unit. As an example, one of its strongest vertical industries is transportation to which Infinium delivers the feature product in partnership with Rippe and Kingston Systems.
* Infinium's timely initiatives in the CRM and ASP arenas may result in ample opportunities for increased business. Particularly its acquisition of Dutch CRM vendor Dexton Information Systems may result in a true synergy for the following reasons. First, Dexton had a renowned market presence and customers within the European market, which supplements Infinium's North American strong presence. Second, there is platform compatibility, which should mitigate the integration effort to a degree. Third, in addition to a very comprehensive CRM product suite, Dexton offers interfaces to SAP, J.D. Edwards, SSA, and JBA, which create additional selling opportunities. On the ASP side, owning all elements of ASP business and its readiness to accommodate some degree of customization as well as future wider platform support of its outsourced applications may reduce customers' initial reticence to venture into the uncertain land of ASP.
SOURCE:
http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/infinium-software-inc-having-all-the-right-cards-15922/
The company has two major product lines. The first one, designed for IBM AS/400 computers, automates financial, human resources, materials management, process manufacturing, and customer relationship management (CRM) functions of organizations in a broad range of industries worldwide. Its second product line, released in 1997, and called Infinium Advantage, is designed to automate human resources management systems (HRMS) and payroll on a Microsoft Windows NT Server. Infinium also helps clients migrate to network computing installations. Services account for nearly three-quarters of total revenue.
In 1981, Robert Pemberton, the current Infinium's CEO & President, founded Software 2000 (the name was chosen for its futuristic connotation at the time) to develop software for IBM System/38 minicomputers. The company shifted its focus to the AS/400 platform after it was launched in 1998. Due to the international popularity of AS/400 platform, Software 2000 opened offices in Singapore and London, UK during the mid 1990s. In 1996, EVP Frederick Lizza was named president and CEO.
In 1997, the increasing noise about year 2000 compliance and consequent confusion with Software 2000 name prompted the company to change its name to Infinium, after its financial application. In the same year, the company also introduced a Windows NT software line. The impact of this investment lead to significantly reduced profits in coming years. In 1998, Infinium bought the payroll software specialist company, Cort Directions. In 1999, Lizza resigned and was replaced by founder Pemberton. The cost of discontinuing some obsolete product lines created losses in fiscal 1999, for the first time in Infinium's recent history. In 2000 Infinium bought Dutch Web-based customer relationship management (CRM) application provider Dexton Information Systems, and formed a separate line of business, Infinium ASP, to build its application service provider business. Infinium went public in 1995 and currently trades on NASDAQ.
Vendor Trajectory and Strategy
Over past two decades, Infinium has shown the commitment to deliver solid back-office functionality and customer support within certain industries. Infinium is considered an undisputed leader in the hospitality & gaming industry with over 70% of market share. Its focus on AS/400 and the decision not to fully embrace a true client/server concept resulted in modest growth during the 'golden' years of ERP. Nevertheless, by the end of 1999, the company had more than 2,000 customers worldwide. The company offers its product and services through a worldwide network of over 20 branch offices and through business partner channels worldwide.
The company believes that its host- and network-centric product architecture, which was possibly disadvantageous a few years ago, positions itself well for the new Internet economy. Following the market trends, Infinium has recently made an energetic push into a number of prospective areas such as: Web-enablement and self-service product capabilities, business intelligence, CRM, and application hosting services.
Particularly notable is its aggressive move to become an applications service provider (ASP). The company believes that will help it become platform-agnostic and will compensate for its decision to downplay the development of its NT-based product. In order to effectively deliver its ambitious undertaking, Infinium has reorganized itself into four lines of business (ASP, eBusiness, CRM, ERP & AdvaNTage), each having a general manager and unique P&L and business plan, while the general & administrative staff will be shared.
We expect Infinium Software to continue its focus on the lower-end of the ERP market (companies with $25 million - $5 billion in revenues), by maintaining and enhancing the existing functionality of its Infinium solution. The product will likely be enhanced also through 3rd-party alliances in the areas of Advanced Planning & Scheduling (APS), Product Data Management (PDM), reporting, and transportation management. The company recently announced its strategic alliances with elcom.com and TRADEPAQ Corporation for business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce and supply chain collaboration within its industries of interest. Additionally, Infinium will invest more aggressively in sales and marketing, international business expansion through distributors, and will seek to become more verticalized, concentrating on the hospitality/gaming, transportation, healthcare, retail, and process manufacturing industries.
ANALYSIS
Vendor Strengths
* Infinium has long embraced concepts of component (modular) technology in designing its product; While its product is not based on object oriented programming (OOP) code, it has nevertheless provided a great number of APIs for interconnectivity among its own and 3rd-party components, all providing for flexibility and incremental deployment. Infinium is generally competitive in speed of implementation, total cost of ownership (TCO), and price/performance ratio. Furthermore, the Company supports both IBM and Microsoft endorsed middleware standards and is well poised for future technological developments and requirements.
* Concurrently with interconnectivity and workflow enablement of its suite, Infinium has also developed strong back-office functionality (human resources/payroll and financial management, material management, and process manufacturing) and sharp vertical focus for some industries (See Vendor Industry Focus). Also, it has struck a good balance between expanding its core ERP product through acquisitions and product alliances.
* Infinium has achieved solid long-term track record and congenial corporate culture manifested in honest and fair treatment of customers, and in prudent acquisitions and/or strategic partnerships with other leading vendors. It has been known for adroit blending of 3rd party products with its own and delivering the blended product as a tightly integrated unit. As an example, one of its strongest vertical industries is transportation to which Infinium delivers the feature product in partnership with Rippe and Kingston Systems.
* Infinium's timely initiatives in the CRM and ASP arenas may result in ample opportunities for increased business. Particularly its acquisition of Dutch CRM vendor Dexton Information Systems may result in a true synergy for the following reasons. First, Dexton had a renowned market presence and customers within the European market, which supplements Infinium's North American strong presence. Second, there is platform compatibility, which should mitigate the integration effort to a degree. Third, in addition to a very comprehensive CRM product suite, Dexton offers interfaces to SAP, J.D. Edwards, SSA, and JBA, which create additional selling opportunities. On the ASP side, owning all elements of ASP business and its readiness to accommodate some degree of customization as well as future wider platform support of its outsourced applications may reduce customers' initial reticence to venture into the uncertain land of ASP.
SOURCE:
http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/infinium-software-inc-having-all-the-right-cards-15922/
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