Following the sell-off of the marketing automation and e-commerce tools of IBM, many former users felt that they needed to switch to other tools. However, things changed quickly after it was made known that new owners would take over the automation and e-commerce tools.
It was announced by Centerbridge Partners L.P., a private equity company, that the firm would purchase the IBM tools as soon as possible. This means that the suite will get a new owner; hence, former users can continue to enjoy the powerful marketing tools previously provided by IBM. It is noteworthy that the suite has 11 cloud-based marketing automation tools.
Based on the arrangement, users won’t have to worry about the effectiveness of the tools. This is because the tools are to be managed by the IBM staff. The acquisition of the suite of marketing automation and e-commerce tools will lead to the formation of a new company. With this arrangement, users can expect the same high-quality products that are already used to.
Of course, Salesforce, SAP, Oracle, and Adobe have always been the industry-leading vendors for the best marketing automation tools in the market. These vendors offer some of the best products for Shopify automated emails, social media campaigns, and lots more. However, IBM went to the extra length to create tools accepted by lots of individuals too. As a result of this, Forrester considered IBM’s tools to be strong enough to compete with others in the industry.
According to Joe Stanhope, an analyst with Forrester, IBM’s sell-off of the automation tools won’t affect the capabilities of the tools. However, it will rather transfer the tool to new owners who are bound to take it to the next level.
HCL purchased on-premises versions
At the end of 2018, HCL Technologies spent lots of money on purchasing on-premises versions of IBM marketing automation and e-commerce tools. BigFix, Domino, Notes, AppScan, and Connections were all involved in this popular deal. This further reestablishes the fact that the majority of industry observers were not aware of the possibility of the change of ownership of IBM marketing automation tools. However, this could also mean that the change of ownership will have little or no effect on the functionality of the marketing automation and e-commerce applications of IBM.
In the past, HCL Technologies was given the right to develop IBM WebSphere Portal, Web Experience Factory, and Content Manager. During the same period, IBM took charge of the maintenance of sales and marketing. With this, it was planned that HCL would pay $1.8 billion to acquire the on-premises tools of IBM. This agreement did not come as a surprise to many people as many of the development of outdated marketing tools of IBM had been successfully outsourced to HCL Technologies. Expectedly, most customers were fully satisfied with the proposed takeover by HCL Technologies as they knew how the company could transform the tools.
As a result of this, many industry observers concluded that IBM would rather focus on improving its cloud martech and e-commerce platforms while giving away on-premises legacy versions. However, by proposing to sell the cloud platforms to Centerbridge, the aim of IBM could be different.
It is believed that IBM will be concentrating on integrating AI, supply chain, cloud, and blockchain into its future technology development. Today, we are already seeing top-of-the-range products from IBM that are already integrating the aforementioned technologies.
IBM succumbed to pressure
Many individuals have been wondering why IBM decided to sell off its relatively successful marketing automation and e-commerce platform. One of the leading factors behind the sell-off is said to be the pressure from other strong competitors such as Adobe and Salesforce. Rapid innovation and huge investments in these competitors have continued to drive up their growth. Hence, it is difficult for diversified technology platforms such as IBM to compete at the same scale. In fact, many have noted that these companies have a competitive edge over IBM in this particular niche.
Therefore, IBM succumbed to the unending pressure from these other companies by selling off its marketing automation and e-commerce applications. Notably, smaller martech businesses are also suffering from the pressure from the above-named large competitors.
The huge potential of the new sell-off
With the sell-off of the marketing automation and e-commerce tools, IBM now focuses on Watson AI, blockchain, and other technologies. But this didn’t signify the end of this automation and e-commerce platform. Centerbridge came into the space with a huge wealth of experience and financial capabilities. The goal of the company is to become a worthy competitor for the likes of Salesforce, Oracle, and Adobe.
The market is highly competitive. So, it is not expected to be a walk in the park for Centerbridge. However, it is yet to be seen what will become of the marketing automation and e-commerce platforms after the acquisition.