GPELTMS MA ABROKOESTT
By Renee Boucher revenue opportunities
F Oerguson in various sectors.
racle’s upcom- Hologic, a medical
ing purchase of device manufacturer
Agile Soft ware in Bedford, Mass., runs
not only will give t wo systems: Oracle
the software company another perspective,” said Jon Chorley, vice and Agile. Agile’s PLM functionality
weaponinitsongoingcompetitionagainst president of SCM at Oracle, in Red- tracks the device master record—the
rival SAP, but also could give a much- wood Shores, Calif. recipe for all the products Hologic cre-needed boost to the PLM market. Influencingprocessesbeyondtheengi- ates. Agile is now part of the culture
Oracle on May 15 announced its neeringdepartmenthasbeenatoughnut of the company, said David Rudzin-intention to buy Agile for $495 million, to crack. Cash-rich and globally focused, sky, vice president of IS and CIO at
a move that will give it the product Oracle intends to change that. Hologic. Hesaidthemarriageof Oracle
lifecycle management capabilities to “I think Agile’s message has been and Agile means tighter integrations
match what SAP already offers. It also very much around PLM and how does between the two systems, enabling
helps that Agile is strong in SAP’s it drive top-line growth. That [message] him to focus on other areas. “A lot of
customer base, said AMR Res earch is easier to deliver from Oracle. … We people are nervous about Oracle buying
analyst Kevin O’Marah. can deliver more emphatically to the all these companies. I am not. They’ve
“Oracle has an opportunity to att a ck executive office, rather than a discussion done such a good job [integrating other
some of SAP’s customer base acquisitions]. What is Oracle
with a value chain message,” going to do with Agile? They’re
O’Marah said. “That’s great going to put more money into
news for Agile. Hopefully Ora- Oracle’s top five challenges in the space: it,” Rudzinsky said.
cle can use them strategically.” 1. Oracle plans to tap its Appli-It also brings another top- cation Integration Architecture
tier vendor into the PLM space, 2. to bridge processes bet ween
which for years hasn’t lived up Agile’s and Oracle’s ERP
to the promise of shorter time 3. suites. Oracle also will inte-to market for manufacturers grate Agile with its upcoming
through process automation 4. Fusion Applications suite, due
and efficiencies. PLM software next year. Still, Oracle is play-is designed to manage a prod- 5. ing catch-up to SAP, which has
uct’s life cycle from design and a native PLM product and deep
material procurement through expertise with manufacturers
marketing and aftersales. across vertical industries. The
To work effectively, PLM software on the engineering level,” said Chorley. SAP PLM suite includes modules for
has to touch just about every system “That’s what we intend to do; in doing life-cycle data management, program and
in a company and along the supply that we will help shape the market.” project management, life-cycle collabora-chain—from financials and ERP (enter- Analysts said Oracle’s acquisition of tion, enterprise asset management, and
prise resource planning) to SCM (supply Agile, of San Jose, Calif., is good for Ora- compliance.
chain management), SRM (supplier cleandtheindustry. Technology Business TBI’s Williams estimated in a May
relationship management) and CRM Research analyst Stuart Williams said the 16 report that SAP generated more than
(customer relationship management)— deal accomplishes several goals, includ- $230 million in PLM-related license
and essentially reshape the way custom- ing giving Oracle the PLM capabilities it revenue over the past 12 months—more
ers view product-centric processes. can build on to target SAP’s core manu- than 6 percent of total revenues. He said
ORACLE’S PURCHASE OF AGILE SOFTWARE BRINGS
MORE RESOURCES INTO THE SPACE
“Not that you have to duplicate those facturing vertical business and validating Oracle reported that Agile generated
processes, but you have to access and the belief that PLM is becoming a core $130 million in total revenue, including
rephrase them with a product-oriented process that’s driving new business and license, maintenance and services. ´
