The German shakeout may have begun, thinks Arthur Graaff
8 August 2001, 8 pm GMT
Amsterdam - Mediasurface, a UK content management player, is stopping all its activities in Germany and has applied for bankruptcy of its German subsidiary in München. The 23 staff members will be
laid off.
According to Peter Weger, country manager for Mediasurface Germany, neither his company or any other large CMS-provider is making any money.
Servicing for existing contracts will continue to take place from the London
office.
Mediasurface's Dutch office, employing 30 people, is not affected by the move, according to marketing manager Jakko van Bennekom.
Mr Weger joined the company full-time in January. He is very negative about the predictions the large consultants made before 2001 on the growth of the
CMS-market, that would double each year.
'No companies are spending that kind of money anymore just like that, as they did a year ago' he comments,
adding that this is the beginning of the large European shake-out for
CMSes.
A switch to the ASP-model, as the American big three Vignette, Interwoven,
and Documenten are now exercising, as well as large German player Pironet,
will not help a great deal, Mr. Weger feels, as the cost of migration and implementation will remain.
Germany has seen an enormous growth of companies offering CMSes this year, the total now rising to some 600, including the
ERP-vendors such as SAP, according to Cap Gemini Ernst & Young.
Most of these are aiming at the mid-size market.
agraaff@hotmail.com

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