As the announcement noted, this investment builds on KED’s investment of more than $2 billion in early 2017, and it represents an important milestone as Infor considers a potential IPO in 2019 or 2020.

In a prepared statement, Charles Phillips, CEO of Infor noted, “Koch and Golden Gate Capital have been phenomenal partners for Infor, and all of our 17,300 employees are excited about this milestone as we prepare for the next stage of growth.”

By the Numbers

Under Phillips’ leadership, and over the course of Infor’s partnership with KED and Golden Gate Capital, Infor has invested approximately $2.5 billion in product design and development over the last five years and delivered more than 475 new products, 1,870 integrations, and 20,700 industry features in its

CloudSuite product line. Infor CloudSuite fully multi-tenant ERP suite spans front and back office applications, as well as logistics with global support (in terms of languages, currencies, and localizations).

The official announcement cites that with over $3 billion of revenue in fiscal year 2018, Infor became the first company to move mission critical ERP application suites to public clouds for entire industries. Infor’s

CloudSuites are the foundation for digital transformation for more than 9,500 customers in 110 countries.

Infor applications span financials, manufacturing, supply chain, human resources, and customer relationships.

Infor has expanded its presence in key industries such as healthcare, manufacturing, retail, the public sector, and hospitality. Over 72% of all hospitals in the U.S. run Infor applications, as well as 19 of the top 20 automotive suppliers and 8 of the top 10 fashion brands.

Looking Deeper

During an enterprise software selection, it’s important for project teams obtain independent perspectives on the vendor landscape, especially as relevant to today’s manufacturing and distribution companies.

Ultra Consultants has been watching very closely Infor’s evolution over the years. We’ve seen how the company’s CloudSuites works well at many of our clients, offering industry-specific functionality and scalability.

This next phase of growth will enhance the operations of businesses across a range of sizes and industries.

This investment will help the team drive brand awareness, market share, and offer new products and features.

The investment also has the potential to drive acquisitions to build out the “breadth and depth”  of Infor’s product lines.

An inflow of resources to fund research and development, marketing, sales and distribution will likely increase market penetration across industries.

Additional Reading

• Read more about enterprise software vendors.
• An in-depth white paper outlines enterprise software decision drivers.
• Ultra’s team of independent ERP consultants will keeping watch in the upcoming year for how this acquisition plays out in the marketplace as Infor strives to become an even bigger player in the tier 1 realm.