I took time out to meet with Jim Schaper, Infor’s global CEO who was in the UK last week at the start of a global roll out of the group’s recently announced strategy in which it is nailing its colours to the Microsoft mast. Infor, as FSN’s readers will know, has had an unconventional growth path vested in a very large number of acquisitions. But from these fragmented beginnings a few years ago, Jim Schaper has skilfully crafted a unified organisation with a cohesive go-to-market proposition and a competitive positioning that should start to worry the likes of SAP and Oracle in the mid and upper mid-market. The decision to standardise on the Microsoft technology stack is a good one. Rather than re-inventing the wheel it liberates the group to concentrate on what it is good at – building business functionality. There was a palpable sense of achievement and optimism amongst staff and customers at the UK Inforum Conference at the NEC Birmingham. Infor has metamorphosed into a very worthy competitor, comfortable with its roadmap and secure in the knowledge that it has brought its customers along with it. I will take a deeper look at the significance of the Microsoft announcement next week.
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