NetRight buys FrontOffice's technology
In a move to bolster its own document management technology, NetRight has acquired FrontOffice Technologies' document management technology. The combination creates a DMS product that should appeal to specialized departmental users as well as horizontally-focused enterprise users.
Brian Aspland, president and CEO of FrontOffice, says that the NetRight-FrontOffice combination will accelerate the adoption rate of document management systems. "Vendors must provide immediate value and a mechanism for supporting wide deployment and use," he said; the deal "speaks directly to these requirements." NetRight CEO Max Panjwani believes the acquisition provides "the necessary components to ensure that documents can be accessed and reviewed by the broadest set of authorized corporate users.
IDC senior analyst Amie White, however, sees this as a strategic move to improve the product, not a play to gain market share. "In terms of increasing marketshare, NetRight probably should have went after a company with a larger customer base," she said, adding that FrontOffice's 20,000 users isn't a major gain in terms of cross-selling opportunities. In terms of technology, however, she thinks NetRight gained a decent medium to low level document management tool that offers ease of use to its customers.
Meta Group analyst and VP David Yockelson thinks that the acquisition will allow Netright to focus on the depth and breadth of corporate document processing needs, as opposed to customized departmental solutions that can't scale to the enterprise's needs. "Users are seeking a document management solution that will address today's tactical requirements as well as tomorrow's broader usage scenarios in a client-agnostic fashion, particularly with the web and/or e-mail integration," he said.