- The demand for IT landscape optimization is on the rise as companies become increasingly digital
- alfabet AG is a leading provider in Enterprise Architecture Management and IT Portfolio Management
- Customers benefit from the two companies' complementary product portfolios
- Acquisition confirms Software AG's growth strategy
Increasing digitization is challenging many enterprises to rethink and modernize their business models by implementing innovative cloud, mobile, social collaboration and big data technologies. This makes it necessary to transform the enterprises' existing IT infrastructures. alfabet, a leading provider of Enterprise Architecture Management and IT Portfolio Management software, focuses on planning and optimizing IT infrastructures.
Combining ARIS, Software AG's market-leading product for modeling and analyzing operational processes, with alfabet's products allows customers to tighter link the transformation of business processes with the simultaneous adaptation of their IT infrastructures.
alfabet was started in 1997 and employs altogether about 90 people in Berlin and other locations in Cambridge, Massachusetts (US) and Singapore. The company's customer base includes 70 global companies, such as Daimler, Volkswagen, BMW, Credit Suisse and UBS. The transaction closing is scheduled for end of June; however, the transaction is subject to antitrust clearance from the Federal Cartel Office.
Erik Masing, CEO of alfabet, stated: "Since our company was founded, we have experienced outstanding growth, and noted analysts from Gartner and Forrester have affirmed our market-leading position. We now face the challenge of marketing our solutions globally to maximize our potential. To do this, we need a global presence and a strong sales and consulting organization. We have found an ideal partner in global player Software AG. Our technologies complement each other perfectly."
Software AG's CEO, Karl-Heinz Streibich, added: "As enterprises become digital, the importance of optimizing IT landscapes and processes is growing. We will pool the core competencies of both companies and further expand our leading market position."
alfabet's products are being integrated with the current offerings of Software AG, which will strengthen the company's Enterprise Architecture Management and IT Portfolio Management product portfolio.
This acquisition is consistent with Software AG's strategy to focus on expanding its dynamically growing business line for integration and process software (Business Process Excellence) in order to help customers digitize their enterprises around the "four forces": mobile, cloud, social collaboration and big data. Software AG generated about €547m in the Business Process Excellence segment alone in fiscal 2012. Licensing revenue in this business segment increased by 19% year-on-year in Q1 2013.
