PLM consulting firm Kalypso announced a strategic partnership with GoEngineer, a reseller of Oracle Agile PLM and Dassault Systèmes SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD software, and provider of PLM hosting, integration, implementation and training services. Although according to the press release “Kalypso has acquired GoEngineer’s implementation services business” no financial information was disclosed.
Under the new structure, Kalypso gets GoEngineer’s implementation services business and GoEngineer will continue to focus on providing PLM cloud services.
Implications
GoEngineer’s implementation services strengthen Kalypso’s portfolio and delivery capabilities in a number of ways, allowing it to broaden its reach into industries and product lifecycle activities in which Kalypso wasn’t as strong:
- eCAD customers. GoEngineer has a Zuken practice.
- 3D Printing: GoEngineer has capabilities in 3D printers from Stratasys and Objet (merged with Stratasys in 2012)
- Industries: GoEngineer has strong presence in manufacturing, high-tech, medical equipment and energy
And, of course, Kalypso will benefit from additional PLM implementation resources as well as experience and facilities for hosted PLM software. The latter supports Kalypso’s previous announcement of the launch of managed services for PLM applications.
Kalypso customers will certainly benefit from a broader ser of expertise and capabilities.
Overall, this deal is yet another step in a number of acquisitions and relationships Kalypso is pursuing to enhance their position in PLM implementation services (most notably, the merger with Integware in May, 2014) and ability to serve both large enterprises and small and medium-sized business (SMB).
A Defensive Move
The new arrangement is defensive move that offers Kalypso a couple of advantages. First, it supplements Kalypso’s “innovation” consulting business, which is complex, requires expensive and scarce talent, and is becoming more competitive and harder to scale as top-tier consultants like Accenture, CapGemini and Deloitte are offering product innovation and development consulting services.
At the same time, by adding more implementation and integration services, and acquiring customers in new industries, the Kalypso is well positioned to compete with PLM service providers, including Accenture, KPIT, Prolim, and the PLM software vendors themselves.
GoEngineer stands to benefit by getting a much needed business focus. Over the years the company expanded into many industries and functional areas and has become too thin to the point it couldn’t scale. Relinquishing the implementation services to Kalypso and focusing on running the hosting services separately will help GoEngineer capitalize on the growing interest in hosted on demand PLM solutions.