One of Acumatica’s reliable software revenue streams over the years has been royalty license alliances with prominent accounting and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software vendors in certain regions. While these leading local enterprise software vendors have had enviably large install bases—often the lion’s share in their regions—their software was on legacy, potentially obsolete, on-premise technologies. To revamp their ERP software offerings—and meet growing demand for cloud capabilities—they chose to leverage Acumatica’s xRP cloud software platform in an embedded “private label” manner. Examples include MYOB in Australia and Visma in the Nordic countries, who have found cloud ERP and accounting software success on top of the Acumatica xRP cloud software platform.
Most recently, Montréal, Canada-based IT firm ACCEO became an Acumatica strategic original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partner as well. ACCEO is gaining exclusive rights to localize and distribute Acumatica ERP in the province of Québec, as well as the opportunity to use the Acumatica xRP cloud software platform for certain vertical solutions in North America (for example, in home hardware stores, municipalities, and so on).
In contrast to the longstanding MYOB and Visma partnerships, ACCEO will not have an Acumatica board seat, as it has not made an investment in Acumatica like the other two vendors. This is a pure “strategic partner” announcement, and in his recent blog post, Acumatica CEO Jon Roskill positions it as strengthening the company’s vertical industries focus for the cloud ERP vendor. Acumatica sells its cloud ERP software via a worldwide ecosystem of over 350 partners. So far, they have been targeting small and medium businesses (SMBs) in manufacturing, retail, e-commerce, and professional services. ACCEO might be able to expand this current vertical industries footprint.
ACCEO’s Enterprise Software Strengths and Connections
Having made a number of acquisitions in the past, ACCEO has garnered a broad portfolio of software and services offerings. The IT firm has nearly 1,000 employees, approximately 60,000 clients, and annual revenues of over $100 million (CAD). The company has its own banking, accounting, and business software solutions that have been widely used in Québec—including Acomba ERP and Avantage Pro—and also offers specialized consulting services covering strategic advising, IT management and infrastructure, payment solutions, custom development, and e-business development. ACCEO is even one of the top ERP software implementers in North America for Sage 300 (formerly Accpac), and Microsoft Dynamics AX, now adding Acumatica ERP to this impressive roster.
What This Cloud Software Platform Partnership Could Mean
This partnership looks like a mutually-beneficial alliance. Acumatica gets an endorsement for both its xRP cloud software platform and its namesake cloud ERP software—given that ACCEO will be both an OEM platform partner and reseller of Acumatica Cloud ERP. At the same time, ACCEO gets a modern cloud software platform to rejuvenate its popular local legacy ERP solutions and offer its existing and prospective customers a viable cloud migration path for the future. Existing and prospective ACCEO customers should view this announcement favorably, and potentially touch base with the IT company to discuss its product roadmaps and available implementation options.
PJ Jakovljevic – Technology Evaluation Centers