Swedish ERP publisher IFS acquired Axios Systems, a company that provides cloud-based enterprise service management (ESM) and IT service management (ITSM) applications. This deal should allow IFS to start competing with market leaders, starting with ServiceNow.
Axios Systems was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Edinburgh. Originally the publisher of ITSM, this Scottish company has grown and provides ESM applications that apply ITSM models to other business processes, including-beyond IT, such as HR processes, business processes, customer relations or marketing.
The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
ESM complements IFS cloud
The acquisition of Axios Systems was launched after the launch of IFS Cloud in March, which integrates all IFS applications (ERP, CRM, EAM, and Field Service Management (FSM)) into a unified cloud product. Axios applications will eventually be integrated into IFS Cloud.
Darren Ross, CEO of IFS
At the same time, they will remain autonomous, and Darren Roos, CEO of IFS, assured that they can integrate into the IFS cloud through the Swedish publisher’s API.
Axios Systems will help fill IFS’s “hole in the racket.” Darren Roos explained that this launch of ESM should indeed help it break data silos (by building bridges between its applications and third-party applications) and standardize the horizontal workflow between business processes (for end-to-end services) manage).
On the user side (internal and external), these new features will enable IFS to provide tools to create clearly identified entry points for various business support.
“Enterprise service management allows employees, partners or customers to visit a one-stop service point for help,” the CEO explained. “Historically, ITSM has only focused on IT-related issues. But today [avec l’ESM], It can be a customer seeking support, a partner distributor seeking to verify a potential customer-or any type of internal or external workflow.”
IFS resumes its “field service” strategy in ESM
Ray Wang, senior analyst and founder of Constellation Research, said that the acquisition is a positive move for both companies.
Analyst Ray Wang said that Axios Systems is a family business that has grown into one of the leading software providers in the UK. It has established a strong influence in large groups and has a solid customer base in the financial services, public sector, health and life sciences, manufacturing, energy and oil sectors.
Ray Wang, analyst
Constellation research
For its part, IFS’s ERP also targets large companies, but in five specific market segments, some of them overlap with those of Axios Systems (manufacturing, energy, and oil).
“Axios Systems brings true ESM capabilities and international experience [d’une forme] From digital workplace to thorough ITSM,” the analyst pointed out. “They also have very complementary experience in IT management, service integration and management. [des workflows], Which makes it a very relevant acquisition with almost no duplication.”
According to Predrag Jakovljevic, a senior analyst at the Technology Evaluation Center, this acquisition will undoubtedly allow IFS to compete in this field and face large ERP competitors such as SAP and Oracle. It also allowed it to start positioning itself as market leaders in the ESM and ITSM fields, including ServiceNow and BMC.
Predrag Jakovljevic, analyst
Technology Evaluation Center
For him, the IFS acquisition strategy is similar to the strategy he led in the field of field service management, namely the acquisition of WorkWave in 2017, the acquisition of Astea in 2019, and the acquisition of Clevest in 2020, which made him very competitive in this market. . In 2020, Gartner even listed IFS FSM as a leader in its field service Magic Quadrant.
“By competing with ClickSoftware (acquired by Salesforce) and TOA Technologies (acquired by Oracle), they can completely redo what they did in FSM,” Predrag Jakovljevic foresaw. “When they made their first acquisition at WSF, it seemed almost impossible.”
Haro sur ServiceNow
“It took IFS several years and several acquisitions to become the leader of WSF, so they may need to do more than just buy Axios to compete with ServiceNow,” the analyst continued. “But for now, this is an opportunity to diversify sales to the customer base.” Even though its little sister has installed base in ERP, Acumatica (which belongs to the same fund as IFS), and targets the mid-market and small and medium-sized enterprises.
On the contrary, for Darren Roos, the investment capabilities of IFS will support the international development and diversification of ESM initiated by Axios Systems.
“Enterprise service management provides a one-stop service for employees, partners or customers to seek help.”
Darren RossChief Executive Officer of IFS
“Axios has good momentum compared to ServiceNow, but it is a fairly small publisher, unable to obtain a large amount of capital, and does not have a huge global influence”, the CEO of IFS said. “We can use this funding and this existence for technologies that have proven it can compete with ServiceNow.”
The headquarters of Axios Systems will remain in Edinburgh, and the current management team will be confirmed by IFS. Darren Roos revealed that, on the other hand, the name of Axios Systems will be deleted and become IFS EMS.
“In the future, when customers connect to the Axios interface, it will look like IFS Cloud. The process will be seamless and we will really have the impression of being in the IFS cloud, but Assyst can be deployed as a standalone application”, Darren Roos guarantee. “Instead of terminating Assyst and forcing its customers to migrate, we will continue to improve it and coordinate its ergonomics and design, while we are committed to integrating it with IFS Cloud.”
Axios, along with BMC, ServiceNow, MicroFocus, USU, and Cherwell, which was just acquired by Ivanti, was named an ESM leader by Forrester. Axios is also in a niche market in Gartner’s ITSM Magic Quadrant.
Ray Wang, analyst
Predrag Jakovljevic, analyst