Les, Great article. I agree, industry is going to have
very few B2B companies to choose from when they need
mission critical B2B commerce platforms.
This will be very constructive for the survivors such as
ARBA, and CMRC.
I question the assessment that industry companies will
create, put in place, run and maintain their own B2B
commerce networks. This is diametrically opposed to the
industry trend of companies focusing on core competencies,
and focusing on their primary business.
The entire trend of using companies like CA, BMCS, MSFT,SAP
SEBL, CTXS, to build the mission critical software solutions
used by corporations refutes this idea.
I've asked one of my experts to pen a missive on just this
topic. Look for that to run here in the next week or two.
John
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Although companies such as General Motors and Sears have been willing to farm out virtual marketplace implementation to technology companies, some predict the big
companies will simply poach tech talent to manage marketplaces of their own.
Experts say "old economy" stalwarts are likely to lure top tech executives to in-house B2B divisions with lofty salaries instead of the promise--as yet unfulfilled--of getting rich with
risky stock options. More drastic, industrial giants may buy their B2B suppliers outright.
The crashing valuations of business e-commerce companies traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market means that large companies can afford to acquire their tech
support companies, said Jamie Friedman, B2B commerce analyst for Goldman Sachs.
"The empire has struck back," Friedman said. "The company that owns the supply chain technology shouldn't be worth more than the companies themselves. There's something
obscene about that...In the old economy, there's something of a victory party going on." |
