Resellers warned over Microsoft take over

Resellers thinking of joining the Siebel channel of enterprise resource planning vendor Great Plains have been warned to think twice if its planned take over by Microsoft goes ahead.

Resellers thinking of joining the Siebel channel of enterprise resource planning vendor Great Plains have been warned to think twice if its planned take over by Microsoft goes ahead.

The software giant is planning to take over Great Plains in a $1.1bn stock deal, although the move is still subject to US regulatory approval.

Neil Robertson, founder of Great Plains' UK division who quit to set up e-customer relationship management (e-CRM) firm 30/30 Vision, claimed that the take over could lead to a conflict of interest for UK resellers.

Great Plains and Siebel supply Great Plains Siebel Front Office (GPSFO), while Microsoft has links with demand chain network supplier Pivotal in supplying ecommerce, e-CRM and ebusiness solutions to medium-sized and large enterprises.

"If resellers are looking to sign up with Great Plains to supply GPSFO they should ask if it will be a good decision in the long term," said Robertson. "Will the relationship between Siebel and Great Plains be superseded by Microsoft's relationship with Pivotal?"

A source close to Great Plains also told Computer Reseller News that its days with Siebel could be numbered following the proposed take over.

The source estimated that all links could be severed within nine months, and claimed that Microsoft could be looking at Pivotal as its next target.

However, Dave Coulombe, vice president of corporate strategy at Great Plains, insisted that the company's links with Siebel will remain the same.

He explained that Great Plains had been in regular contact with Siebel since the take over announcement. "We don't see our relationship with Siebel changing. Change is always something that drives uncertainty," he said.

No jobs will be lost as a result of the take over and Great Plains will trade as normal as a division of Microsoft, he added.

Paul Tollet, small business director at Microsoft, said that Great Plains targets the smaller mid-market, while Pivotal aims for the enterprise market. "Great Plains has a very successful business model," he said, insisting that Microsoft is not going to change that.