Enterprise Technology Blog

I saw this post at the insights Four51 blog the other day.  Like SoftBrands, Four51 has a software solution that integrates to SAP Business One.  But where SoftBrands focuses on manufacturing, Four51’s solution is specifically for the printing industry. I won’t speak to how good the product is, but if SAP has signed Four51 as a Software Solution Partner it meets some pretty high standards. 

This post isn’t an endorsement of Four51’s solution for SAP Business One.  I am, however intrigued by the circumstances they find themselves in.  I’m intrigued because we (SoftBrands) were in the same situation just a few years ago.

We launched our FourthShift Edition product in April of 2005 as a manufacturing extension for SAP Business One.  We’ve been in the manufacturing ERP business since 1984, but that didn’t matter much to the early prospects. In fact, most early prospects focused on one of two things. The first group couldn’t get past the fact that they were looking at a new, unproven manufacturing software.  The other look beyond the the product.  They focused on the fact that SAP had selected FourthShift Edition as a manufacturing extension and decided the upside of partnering with SAP was worth the risk. 

Today, just a few years after the launch of that product, SoftBrands is one of the highest revenue producing Software Solution Partners in the SAP ecosystems, we have a seat on the SAP Business One product development committee, we were recently announced as a partner in SAP’s new MegaChannel initiative, and we are implementing FourthShift Edition for SAP Business One in companies across the globe.  From stand-alone enterprises to subdisiaries of Fortune 500s SAP Business One and FourthShift Edtion are helping companies improve their operations. 

My bottom line is this: Sometimes a partnership is worth it, even if it comes with a little more risk than the alternatives.

There are hundreds of Microsoft Millionaire who’ll back me up on that.