Tectura Continues Buy Binge With ESG Acquisition

ESG brings with it more Axapta and Navision expertise, including 300 professionals trained in those ERP products. ESG staffs 14 offices in Asia, including presence in Hong Kong, Beijing, Kowloon, Shanghai, Mumbai, Jakarta, Tokyo, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Singopore and Taipei. Terms were not disclosed.

Eric Fung, CEO of ESG, will lead Tectura's Asian business. Both Tectura and ESG are Microsoft Gold Certified Partners with extensive MBS experience.

The news comes just a week before Microsoft's annual Worldwide Partner Conference in Minneapolis, where the vendor typically outlines its strategy and go-to-market plans for the upcoming year. Observers have said Microsoft needs to strengthen the breadth and reach of its MBS channel to boost sales of its multi-product base.

Currently, MBS fields the Great Plains, Solomon, Axapta, and Navision ERP lineups as well as Microsoft CRM. To date, the group -- comprising the fruits of the Great Plains and Navision acquisitions -- has not seen the profits Microsoft would like, although MBS CEO Doug Burgum repeatedly notes that MBS' business apps growth has outpaced that of its rivals.

"There is no other U.S.-based MBS partner in Asia," said Tectura CEO Terry Petrzelka. "This is about creating the first global midmarket and upper-midmarket global systems integrator. The Accenture/IBM Global Services/BearingPoint of the mid and upper-midmarket."

Tectura, Redwood City, Calif., has been on a tear, buying more than a dozen companies in the past few years. Last year it expanded its European coverage with the buy of Aston Business Solutions with presence in Europe and Australia as well as North America. That buy brought Tectura total headcount up to 1,000.

The combined company hopes to increase its global workforce to 2,000 by 2007.

Tectura is not alone in its quest for growth. Last summer, EYT merged with ePartners Solutions in the MBS space and Interlink acquired Equarius.