With over 60,000 customers worldwide, Infor provides business cloud software products for many industry-specific markets. The company builds and deploys technology focusing on user experience, data science, and easy integration. With over 60,000 customers, there is plenty of information on the market to justify working with Infor, but is it right for you? Have your questions and concerns answered with this in-depth report on Infor.
Infor
Infor is a multinational enterprise software company headquartered in New York, New York that has acquired over forty software companies since its founding in 2002. With over 17,000 employees, Infor serves over 60,000 customers in 45 countries.
Although the organization was founded only 20 years ago, its commitments to growth, innovation, and its partner network have established Infor as a formidable enterprise software competitor.
What Do They Sell?
Infor prides itself on creating business applications delivered through Cloud Computing as a subscription. The company originally offered software ranging from financial systems and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) to supply chain management (SCM) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) but has expanded its offerings to a broad line of products through its many acquisitions of other vendors. Infor’s cloud applications are typically deployed through industry-leading provider AWS. Some solutions are offered through Azure’s cloud platform and many solutions are still available on-premise supporting various platforms including IBMi and open-source software platforms, as well.
Beginning in 2010, Infor began to shift its focus to industry-specific cloud solutions to fill niche needs while also developing solutions that were designed to be user-friendly. Infor was the first to introduce Industry-specific CloudSuites in a multi-tenant cloud environment. These are based on unique ERPs as well as Infor has taken the approach that no one ERP should try and satisfy the requirements of a discrete and process manufacturing as well as a hospital or hotel or a bank. Nor should they try and cater to the needs and requirements of a multi-national enterprise-size company versus an SMB organization. Infor is truly unique in how they go to market with industry best practices built into their Cloud Suites along with leading technology platform and AWS assisting with scalability, agility, and security/disaster recovery in the MT Cloud.
In addition to these core ERPs and Industry CloudSuites, Infor provides many options to extend your core solutions. Many analysts recognize Infor as a leader in areas such as Configure Price Quote, Warehouse Management, Multi-Enterprise Supply Chains, and more. The industry-leading technology platform provides integration and workflow capabilities, internet of things support as well as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA). If you are in the market for solutions to help improve your operations or grow your business, Infor is a provider to consider.
What Kind of Partnership Ecosystem Does Infor Have?
In addition to pouring significant investments into software development over the past decade, Infor has also poured significant resources into the Infor Partner Network (IPN) to construct a “global ecosystem of people, services, and systems.” IPN was designed to provide partners with training and support to better sell, implement and support Infor products and enhance the education of users. Their system is mature and sets them apart in the market. Throughout this extensive network, Infor offers four main sectors of implementation support through Infor Agility, Education Services, Managed Services, and Support Services.
Infor Agility is the company’s basis for ERP implementation. Through this designed regimen, customers are supplied with a specific implementation approach using modern technologies and the use of industry best practices with the Infor Process Catalogue that is included with every CloudSuite subscription. Infor partners utilize this proven model to lead the implementation process.
Infor also offers Education Services designed to assist in usability and change management. Their goal is to guarantee the success of a project by teaching users of the product to perform their jobs better and to operate more efficiently. The company even goes as far as offering memberships and certification workshops to assist users.
Through Infor’s Managed Services, a Managed Services Provider (MSP) can be assigned to a customer to assist in the regular maintenance of its software. This approach ensures that IT departments can focus their time on more strategic corporate initiatives. These services span from on-premises to the cloud to transitional needs.
Finally, they offer Support Services post go-live which is included in the subscription as well for the cloud solutions. This addition to the network allows customers to feel supported in a unique way that is easily assessable through their website or a simple phone call.
Specific Partner Types
Within the IPN, Infor works with Infor Private Equity (PE)/Venture Capital (VC) Partners, Channel Partners, Alliance Partners, and Product Partners.
Infor Private Equity Practice
The PE Practice works as an advocate within the industry to assist partners with identifying “short-term” value creation initiatives that impact a business. Their goal is to make implementation as painless as possible for portfolio companies to maximize the value for the ownership firms.
Channel Partners
Infor Channel Partners both sell, implement and support Infor’s solutions to their customers. Infor has one of the most extensive channel programs around the world typically catering to the lower end of the SMB market.
Alliance Partners
On the higher end of SMB and Enterprise markets, Infor’s Alliance Partners are independent companies that agree to work together to market or sell Infor solutions and implement them for the end-user.
Product Partners
Finally, Product Partners develop products either partially or completely to offer more solutions to clients. Within this partner type, Infor has Solution Partnerships that develop applications to integrate with Infor’s solutions and Complementary Partners who develop products to help improve and advance Infor’s solutions. Many of these are now offered through the Infor Marketplace to the end-users of Infor solutions.
Why Does Infor Win Over Their Competitors?
Infor has an extensive, unique partnership network that is geared towards ensuring the success of clients and providing them with the best innovations on the market. Having these deeply rooted connections across the market equates to more solutions and innovations for the users. Many companies enjoy working with Infor because of their support. Ultimately, many Infor partners have been implementing Infor products longer than other prominent ERP solutions have even been on the market. Therefore, their product and industry experience shine through during the software selection process, winning them deals over competitors who may treat the sales process as just a transaction.
Infor also provides a substantial number of solutions across industries, making it stand out among its competitors who are less specialized. This specialization assists clients in getting what they need while leaving out many features they do not.
Finally, Infor is a solid company that has invested heavily in its products over the years. The desire to provide innovative, user-friendly solutions differentiates them in the market because they are putting their solutions first.
Conclusion
In a sea of ERP software vendors, Infor differentiates itself through a myriad of industry-specific solutions, extended capabilities, and a well-developed partnership network designed with the client in mind. If their strategy remains on this path, Infor will likely continue to create and acquire advanced solutions, bringing more value to the ERP market.