Consona Corporation Acquires Open-Source and Cloud ERP Software Provider Compiere Inc.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - Consona Corporation, a privately held company jointly owned by Battery Ventures VI LP and Thoma Bravo LLC and worldwide leader in providing customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and services for companies of all sizes, today announced that it has closed on its acquisition of Compiere Inc., a leading provider of cloud-based, open-source ERP and CRM software in a stock deal. Details on the value of the transaction were not disclosed.

According to Jeff Tognoni, CEO of Consona Corporation, the deal positions Consona to become a leading provider of enterprise-class, cloud-based business solutions, as well as provides the company with an entry point into the distribution ERP market. “Compiere’s modern, model-driven architecture and cloudbased delivery and upgrade model set the standard for how ERP software will be purchased and maintained in the coming decades,” he said. “We’re absolutely thrilled to build on Compiere’s expertise as we expand our investment in cloud computing.”

“The primary market of the Compiere business is in distribution, making it a natural extension to our core competency in discrete manufacturing for small and midsize manufacturers,” said Scott Malia, general manager of Consona’s ERP products, and head of the division that will house Compiere’s employees, products and operations.

In addition to remaining committed to supporting, maintaining and enhancing each of Compiere’s three product versions as they are today for Compiere’s 130 customers, as well as remaining aligned with the Compiere technology strategy (including a commitment to the open-source nature of the products), Consona also plans to continue relying on Compiere’s extensive, global VAR channel as part of its go-tomarket strategy for both new system sales and customer service and support.

With the acquisition, Compiere’s three product versions, including the Enterprise, Professional and Standard editions—consisting of capabilities across financial management, materials management, order management, inventory management, warehouse management, purchasing, projects, manufacturing and CRM—would become Consona’s first cloud-ready ERP software applications.

Steve Bailey, Consona’s CTO, noted that a major driver of the transaction was Compiere’s technology strategy, namely the application’s modern, high-performance, multitenant architecture. “Compiere is the world’s leading open-source ERP solution and the products are brilliantly architected,” said Bailey. “They run on a fully open-source stack (e.g., Java, Linux, JBOSS, Postgres), utilize a browser-based AJAX UI based on the Google Web Toolkit, and are fully operational either on premise or on a utility cloud platform like Amazon—giving Compiere customers the flexibility to choose one and then port to another should their business conditions change. We believe Compiere has built the reference architecture for cloud computing, providing fast feature development, ease of integration and deep customization, while retaining all the price benefits of traditional SaaS.”

Tognoni agreed. “Until Compiere, ERP customers had to choose between either deeply customizable onpremise ERP applications that pose upgrade restrictions or generic, lightly configurable SaaS solutions where upgrades are done behind the scenes and on the vendor’s schedule. We believe the Compiere architecture represents a third way: deep customization without the costly and arduous upgrade cycle. Compiere calls this automatic upgrading, and to see it in action brings to mind Arthur C. Clarke’s third law, ‘any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.’”

As part of the transaction, NEA, a leading venture capital firm that has invested in more than 550 companies across the IT and healthcare sectors, joins the Consona ownership.

“We liked the fact that Compiere fits directly into Consona’s long term cloud computing strategy,” said Pete Sonsini, general partner, NEA. “We’re looking forward to working with the Consona executive team to make this vision a reality.”

About Consona Corporation
Consona Corporation (Consona) is a worldwide leader in providing customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and services for companies of all sizes. Consona is dedicated to becoming a valued business partner by helping each and every customer continuously improve business processes over time. Toward this mission, Consona invests in the people, processes, technology and tools needed to provide its customers with a unique combination of customer care; product fit; a broad range of consulting, IT and business services; and industry expertise. Consona serves more than 4,500 customers worldwide and across a variety of industries. Battery Ventures VI LP and Thoma Bravo LLC jointly own Consona. For further information, visit www.consona.com, e-mail infoATconsona.com, or call (888) 8 CONSONA.