Peregrine acquisition by HP puts IBM under pressure

Stan Beer
Monday, 26 September 2005 11:00

IT Industry - Strategy

HP's intention to acquire asset management vendor Peregrine Systems for US$425 million, announced last week, has unexpected implications for organisations in Asia Pacific and will have adverse consequences for IBM, according to a leading analyst.

"The biggest loser in this acquisition is IBM," said Michael Warrilow, a former META Group analyst. "Tivoli/IBM is left holding a service management strategy that is now bereft of a technology partner." IBM was the only major provider of enterprise management software that did not own a service management toolset, and Peregrine's primary route to market in Asia Pacific had been IBM, Warrilow said.

The few remaining Peregrine customers in Asia Pacific will now have to consider whether to abandon ship or face a likely forced migration to HP OpenView, the enterprise management platform where Peregrin will find its new home, during the next 12-18 months. Warrilow indicated that Peregrine customers will feel uncomfortable being left to guess the fate of their product within the HP family after the uncertainty of recent years.

As interest in service management initiatives, such as ITIL, continue to grow within Asia Pacific, service management has re-emerged as a battleground for enterprise management vendors. "Whilst the acquisition bolsters HP in the asset management space, it also outflanks IBM in the service management arena," Warrilow said.