Microsoft today paid the way for a $10 Billion new revenue with a 1 Billion acquisition.
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Microsoft, the maker of the Windows operating system and the
Office package of business software, said the acquisition of
Fargo, N.D.-based Great Plains was a move into what it sees as
a major market ripe for growth.
``We see this as our next major business, providing the software for small and medium
businesses to run themselves,'' David Vaskevitch, senior vice president for Microsoft's
Business Applications division, told Reuters.
``We see the opportunity for at least an Office-sized business here,'' Vaskevitch said in an
interview. He said the Office business was ``on the order of about $10 billion a year'' for
Microsoft.
Great Plains, which has about 2,000 employees, offers software for managing finances,
human resources, sales and manufacturing.
It has estimated its revenues for its fiscal year ending in May at $300 million to $310
million, Great Plains Chief Operating Officer Jodi Uecker-Rust said in an interview.
She estimated the size of the small- and medium-business market at about $30 billion. |
