Scala seeking partners in expansion drive
Amsterdam-based e-business management solutions provider Scala Business Solutions is planning further partnerships with software companies to take the company forward.
Last week Scala announced an operating loss of $12.6m (£8m) for the year to 31 December 1999 despite a 10% increase in revenues over the previous year to $98.1m.
Chief executive officer, Chris Houle, said the 1999 results showed a demand for Scala’s e-business management solutions even as the company – and the industry as a whole – faced a challenging year.
Houle said the second half delay in purchasing decisions by many global organisations as the new millennium approached was partially responsible for the result.
‘We are satisfied that fourth quarter and full-year 1999 revenues are in line with our revised expectations,’ he said. ‘We are pleased that we delivered these results in a period of transition and rapid change.’
The company added the results reflected the slowdown in software purchasing by companies as the year 2000 approached.
Houle added that the actions taken during the second half of last year have helped Scala change more rapidly in order to meet the threats and grasp the opportunities in the new e-business marketplace.
A spokesman said Scala was now well placed to benefit from the e-business revolution. As well as establishing links with e-business solution company Great Plains – which has invested $5m in Scala – it has also agreed a strategic partnership with Netherlands-based Performance Group to develop and market e-procurement solutions.
The spokesman said with ‘nimble’ start-up entrants into the market, partnerships would be the way forward in the ERP market. ‘Extending relationships with other organisations is a fundamental plank of our platform,’ a spokesman said.