Documens Boss

So, 2009, the year of the Ox is drawing to a close. The key characteristics of Caution Courage and Conservatism, in this year of the Chinese horoscope, were very much in evidence as companies took stock of their fortunes, hunkered down and rode out the economic storm. There are now positive signs of recovery for 2010 and many of the economic pundits see Asia Pacific as leading the world out of economic recession.
 
In its annual outlook for the year ahead, IDC predicts the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) spending and growth in Asia/Pacific, excluding Japan (APEJ), will reach US$184 billion in 2010 with a 7.7% growth over this year. IDC expects the lion's share to come from India and China, although all countries are expected to experience varying degrees of growth on the back of a dismal 2009. 
 
According to Simon Piff, Head of IDC’s Asia/Pacific Predictions Committee for 2010,"The net result of the economic slow down has been an overarching change in how and why companies make new technology investments. Most notably, the key areas of focus, going forward, will be in customer care, client retention and wallet-share growth enabling technologies. Additionally, IDC foresees projects that generate immediate ROI, with tangible improvements in managerial and operational efficiencies continuing to be the projects that garner quick corporate ‘buy-in’.
 
On the M&A front, in the ECM related technology sector, it has been a relatively quiet year in the region as buyers and sellers sat on their hands and waited for the economic recovery. Here is a cross section of some relevant acquisitions in Australasia during 2009:
 

• Australian ECM company, Objective Corporation acquired Limehouse Software, a market leader in collaborative content creation, publishing and stakeholder consultation solutions for local government in the United Kingdom with an emerging presence in North America.

• IBM software services company, New Zealand-based Certus Solutions, acquired Australian company Eos Solutions to form what it claims is the largest specialist IBM software service and support company across the region.

• Document management company Connxion Ventures, formerly Connxion Ltd (ASX: CXN) signed a binding term sheet to acquire Sonnet Corporation Limited (Sonnet) from UK-based Sonnet Corporation PLC. Sonnet specialises in integrated Software as a Service (SaaS) delivery platforms and Business Process Outsourcing.

• Australian firm SAI Global, which specialises in providing information services and solutions for managing risk and compliance, acquired Cintellate’s EHS and Risk Management software

• Australia’s e.law, specialising in forensics, e-discovery, e-courts and information management advice and services to the legal profession, corporate and government organisations, completed its acquisition of the business assets of CCH Workflow Solutions from Wolters Kluwer.

 
As the economies of the US, UK and Europe also show signs of improvement, the opportunities for cross border investments look encouraging in 2010. There is particular scope for innovative companies in Asia Pac to expand their horizons via acquisition abroad and there is likely to be considerable pent up demand by both buyers and sellers across all regions. As 2010 is the year of the Tiger, maybe those that demonstrate the key characteristics of courage, hopefulness, boldness and resilience will be duly rewarded! There will be others, of course, who may say, ‘We are not out of the Woods yet..’ !!