Posted by Mark Brousseau
Despite a weakening economy, 2008 was a solid year for M&A in the pharma and healthcare information and technology industry, according to Berkery, Noyes & Co. The total volume of M&A transactions in the pharma and healthcare information and technology market for 2008 increased to 156 transactions, an increase of 16 percent over the previous year; however, the total value decreased to just below $9 billion, a decrease of 9 percent, the investment banking firm says.
The most active segment for 2008 by volume was Healthcare IT, with a total of 75 transactions, or 48 percent of the total volume. Healthcare IT has been the most active segment for the past several years and we do not expect this to change in the upcoming year.
Berkery, Noyes & Co. observed a decrease in financial acquisitions during the second half of 2008, even though overall activity in the market as a whole remained solid throughout the year.
The industry ended the year on a strong note - Q4 2008 was more active in terms of deal volume than it had been for the previous 5 years, the firm says.
A notable trend for 2008 is that while the aggregate value of the industry’s top 10 deals and the ratio of transaction value/volume decreased from previous years, Berkery, Noyes & Co. observed an increase in 2008 median enterprise value. This suggests an overall increase in buyer selectivity as well as increasing activity and interest in the middle market, the firm says.
Looking ahead, Berkery, Noyes & Co. expects to see continued deal activity in the pharma and healthcare information and technology markets. These markets are less impacted by the economic downturn and may benefit from increased interest in healthcare.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Electronic Content Still out of Control
Posted by Mark Brousseau
In its annual “State of the ECM Industry” research report, released at its conference and exposition here in Philadelphia, AIIM has found that managing electronic office documents is still a challenge for 47 percent of organizations, and that modern business communication channels—instant messages, text messages, blogs and wikis—are uncontrolled and off the corporate radar for 75 percent of businesses. Additionally, e-mail is still out of control, with 55 percent of organizations having little or no confidence that important emails are recorded, complete and retrievable. However, AIIM’s research also found that whereas two years ago compliance was the main driver for bringing this content into a controlled and searchable environment, cost savings and efficiency are now the main motivating factors.
According to the AIIM survey, for those that have invested in ECM or document and records management solutions, hard dollar savings have on the whole turned out on plan, and soft dollar benefits have exceeded expectations. Compared to other significant technology investments, ECM implementations have generally produced better returns.
John Mancini, President of AIIM, comments, “For many organizations, poorly managed and out of control information represents a huge potential source of bottom line savings in this tight economy — if only organizations would just take this cost saving seriously. Controlled content can be fed into business processes to speed them up, cut down travel via project collaboration, and form a knowledge base for the business. Uncontrolled content represents a lost opportunity – and a major compliance risk.”
The survey also found that spending on Business Process Management (BPM) and Workflow was likely to grow strongly in 2009, with Enterprise Search, Email Management, Document Management and Records Management all set to show positive growth.
What do you think? Post your comments below.
In its annual “State of the ECM Industry” research report, released at its conference and exposition here in Philadelphia, AIIM has found that managing electronic office documents is still a challenge for 47 percent of organizations, and that modern business communication channels—instant messages, text messages, blogs and wikis—are uncontrolled and off the corporate radar for 75 percent of businesses. Additionally, e-mail is still out of control, with 55 percent of organizations having little or no confidence that important emails are recorded, complete and retrievable. However, AIIM’s research also found that whereas two years ago compliance was the main driver for bringing this content into a controlled and searchable environment, cost savings and efficiency are now the main motivating factors.
According to the AIIM survey, for those that have invested in ECM or document and records management solutions, hard dollar savings have on the whole turned out on plan, and soft dollar benefits have exceeded expectations. Compared to other significant technology investments, ECM implementations have generally produced better returns.
John Mancini, President of AIIM, comments, “For many organizations, poorly managed and out of control information represents a huge potential source of bottom line savings in this tight economy — if only organizations would just take this cost saving seriously. Controlled content can be fed into business processes to speed them up, cut down travel via project collaboration, and form a knowledge base for the business. Uncontrolled content represents a lost opportunity – and a major compliance risk.”
The survey also found that spending on Business Process Management (BPM) and Workflow was likely to grow strongly in 2009, with Enterprise Search, Email Management, Document Management and Records Management all set to show positive growth.
What do you think? Post your comments below.
Recovery in Sight for IT Spending?
Posted by Mark Brousseau
The U.S. recession keeps getting worse than Forrester and many economists had expected.
Instead of the 2 percent to 3 percent drop in real gross domestic product (GDP) that the United States experienced in the 1990s and 2001 to 2002 recessions, U.S. real GDP fell by more than 6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, and will fall by a similar amount in the first quarter of 2009, with more (although lesser) declines until the end of 2009, Forrester predicts.
The steep drop in economic growth in the fourth quarter both caused and reflected a similar fall in technology purchases, Forrester said. As a result, the research firm now expects U.S. business and government purchases of IT goods and services to decrease by 3.1 percent in 2009, compared with the 1.6 percent increase it had previously projected for the year.
Computer equipment purchases will continue to bear the brunt of cutbacks in technology investment, Forrester says, but purchases of network equipment, software licenses, and IT consulting services will also drop.
As the US economy starts to recover in late 2009, Forrester believes IT purchases will revive strongly, with strong growth projected for 2010.
What do you think? Post your comments below.
The U.S. recession keeps getting worse than Forrester and many economists had expected.
Instead of the 2 percent to 3 percent drop in real gross domestic product (GDP) that the United States experienced in the 1990s and 2001 to 2002 recessions, U.S. real GDP fell by more than 6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, and will fall by a similar amount in the first quarter of 2009, with more (although lesser) declines until the end of 2009, Forrester predicts.
The steep drop in economic growth in the fourth quarter both caused and reflected a similar fall in technology purchases, Forrester said. As a result, the research firm now expects U.S. business and government purchases of IT goods and services to decrease by 3.1 percent in 2009, compared with the 1.6 percent increase it had previously projected for the year.
Computer equipment purchases will continue to bear the brunt of cutbacks in technology investment, Forrester says, but purchases of network equipment, software licenses, and IT consulting services will also drop.
As the US economy starts to recover in late 2009, Forrester believes IT purchases will revive strongly, with strong growth projected for 2010.
What do you think? Post your comments below.
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