CTRM / CM as an Architecture A ComTechAdvisory Whitepaper
SUMMARY
After 20-years of research and analysis of what are deeply heterogeneous markets that evolve and adapt very rapidly in an almost punctuated equilibrium model, ComTech believes that CTRM / CM is best thought of as an Architecture or ecosystem of commercial and potentially homegrown solutions as described above. We need to be able to get to the point where buyers can solve the problem through a buy and build approach within the context of an Architecture- not a broad overlay of a singular system. Of course, this will take some agreement and buy in from the vendors but given that the largest vendor in the space generates only about $ 300m in annual revenue, and the majority are less than $ 15m, they simply do not have the financial ability, or the appetite, to make the investment in building the“ Holy Grail” themselves. That being said, there are players such as SAP who do have the ability to bring a proprietary architecture to market, however the return on investment of such an“ all singing / all dancing” solution probably would not cross their mandated investment hurdles.
In the end, there are simply too many sides and dimensions to the problems faced by the commodity industry players to be addressed in a singular solution. It makes sense for vendors to focus on core competencies and for buyers to seek best-fit building blocks( many or most of which may in fact be from a single vendor). The cloud and technologies around the cloud, do seem to be well-positioned as the vehicle that will help bring this vision to fruition. Ultimately, it will be the buyers of technology that would most benefit in being able to assemble a software solution from functionally rich building blocks; one that is reflective of their unique mix of assets, commodities, markets and processes.
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