The Financial Software Industry is Consolidating

As the global software market consolidates some of the resulting transactions are proving extremely unpopular as companies find themselves saddled with risks they did not bargain for, fewer choices of supplier and increasing levels of uncertainty as previously published product road maps ?evaporate and key employees in software houses leave for other companies.

The timing of these structural changes is unfortunate since they coincide with massive changes in financial reporting, performance measurement and compliance which require higher levels of integration and deeper financial skills than at any time in the past. The software marketplace is polarising increasingly around ERP ?portfolio players that appear to seek growth for its own sake and the rising global market for commoditised solutions sold through resellers. Companies that previously had specialism in financial applications but had not kept pace with developments have been swallowed up by the ?consolidators leaving a gap in provision for the many companies that have complex financial requirements. CODA is emerging as a leader in this segment not only because of its deep heritage in the unified ledger, handling complex analytical and financial requirements but also its constant investment in capability designed to keep the finance function ahead of the game. In recent years it has added business intelligence and financial consolidation capability as well as making pioneering moves in controls, compliance and collaborative applications such as CODA-Control which provides for both workflow and business process management. But unlike many vendors, this additional capability has been harnessed through in-house developments supplemented where necessary with limited and well positioned acquisitions that have been fully absorbed so that customers benefit from an integrated product set that is well supported by deep product knowledge and relevant skills. The result is a formidable breadth of solutions for the finance function, at the leading edge of market developments. They are presented in an accessible way and delivered by an organisation that has a clear focus on the needs of its target market unencumbered by unwieldy management structures and unconstrained by being part of an ?anonymous global software group. Source and full white paper: www.fsn.co.uka>