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HP Becomes SOA Player with Mercury Buy| July 27, 2006 | Application Infrastructure | Competitive Intelligence Report Analyst: Shawn Willett
On July 25th HP announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase Mercury Interactive Corp., an IT management software and services company, through a cash tender offer for $52.00 per share, or an enterprise value of approximately $4.5 billion, which is net of existing cash and debt. Analytical Summary • Current Perspective: Neutral on HP’s move to purchase Mercury Interactive, because there is a good chance HP will lose focus on SOA management/governance as an independent market. • Vendor Importance: High to HP as a whole, since this acquisition positions it as a major player in the enterprise software market. • Market Impact: Low to moderate on the application infrastructure market, since SOA management/governance/registry solutions will be key to next-generation products; however, HP’s stewardship of the corresponding Mercury products will not pose a huge threat. Recommended Competitor Actions • Competitors in the SOA governance/management/registry spaces should monitor HP’s activities to see if it will be a friend or a foe. If HP signals that the products will be wrapped into the Mercury or OpenView product lines, they may not be a big threat to the pure play SOA governance/management market. • In general, these competitors should point out HP’s poor record in creating new software market spaces and attempt to use this in competitive selling situations against Systinet/Mercury. • Competitors in the middleware and integration space should at this point consider HP as more of a partner than a competitor and proceed with OEM plans. However, vendors should get more information on HP’s plans to support OEMs and ISVs. • In general, competitors in the middleware market space need to have their own SOA governance/management strategies, with their own repositories and policy management systems, as well as some enforcement. However, they should draw on technology from HP/Mercury to fill holes. • Competitors in the integration space also need to have their own SOA governance/management strategy. A registry that can be federated with others registries is the most likely option, with some SOA management functions.
Recommended Competitor Actions • Users of Systinet products should get more details on HP’s plans as they become available. • Businesses considering the purchase of Systinet software should consider waiting until HP clarifies its plans in regard to Systinet products and technologies before making an investment. However, users should note that it is highly unlikely that the products will be killed immediately. Application Infrastructure - U.S.
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