Automation System Marketplace published by Library Journal
Marshall Breeding has authored the annual Automated System Marketplace feature published in the April 1 issue of Library Journal since 2002. The full text of each of these articles is availble from Library Journal.
 |
Breeding, Marshall Automation Marketplace 2013: The Rush to Innovate April 1, 2013 In this time of transition of the library automation industry, stakes are high for the vendors that are creating innovative—or even transformative—products and competing to bring these products first to the market. Establishing momentum early is essential in the library arena, which is attentive to the successes of a vendor’s peers and risk averse. In the library services platform arena, OCLC’s WorldShare Management Services, Innovative’s Sierra, and Ex Libris’s Alma hit the streets first and have already begun aggressive sales cycles, seeing positive results. Serials Solutions finds itself in the position of urging its customers to wait for Intota, in stark contrast to its early entry into the web-scale discovery arena wit Summon. The Kuali OLE project continues to make great strides but has extended its time line for delivery by a year. |
|---|---|
| | |
 |
Breeding, Marshall Automation marketplace 2012: Agents of Change April 1, 2012 As development efforts near completion on a new slate of automation products, vendors are beginning to pull out all the stops to monetize them. A new round of competition is heating up to place these new products in libraries, replacing their own legacy products and aiming to displace those of other companies. Ex Libris’s Alma, OCLC’s WorldShare Management Services, Innovative Interfaces’ Sierra, and Serials Solutions’ Intota, as well as the open source Kuali OLE project, are positioned to move toward more dominant market share through a product cycle that will play out over the next decade. These new-generation products will compete with well-established proprietary and open source systems following an evolutionary path, such as Evergreen, Koha, Polaris ILS, The Library Corporation’s (TLC) Library.Solution, SirsiDynix’s Symphony, and Auto-Graphics’ AGent VERSO. |
| | |
 |
Breeding, Marshall Automation marketplace 2011: The New Frontier: The battle intensifies to win hearts, minds, and tech dollars April 1, 2011 This year witnessed a new phase of competition following a period of research and development that aimed to provide alternatives to libraries, both in back-end automation and end user discovery. A variety of new solutions have emerged, often representing quite different conceptual models. In a continued trend, librarians seek solutions that immediately improve the experiences of their users, especially via discovery products; meanwhile, the number of complete integrated library system (ILS) replacements declined again this year. |
| | |
 |
Breeding, Marshall Automation marketplace 2010: New Models, Core Systems April 1, 2010 In a year when a difficult economy presented fewer opportunities for immediate gains, the major industry players have defined their business strategies with fundamentally different concepts of library automation. This is no longer an industry where companies compete on the basis of the best or the most features in similar products but one where companies distinguish themselves through products and services that define different futures for their library customers.New models of automation are beginning to take shape, challenging the traditional integrated library system (ILS) in an industry that has long favored incremental evolution. Some new products and projects remain poised to break free from traditional models, particularly discovery products that can deliver immediate improvement to library users. |
| | |
 |
Breeding, Marshall Automation marketplace 2009: Investing in the Future April 1, 2009 In a year where the general economy presented enormous challenges, libraries continued to make investments in automation, especially in products that help improve what and how they deliver to their end users. Access to electronic content remains a key driver. In response to anticipated needs for new approaches to library automation, many companies have invested to expand their development capacities. Trends this year include the sharply increased growth of Software as a Service, as well as the release of application programming interfaces and data access models by proprietary software vendors. |
| | |
 |
Breeding, Marshall Automation marketplace 2008: Opportunity Out of Turmoil April 1, 2008 The dramatic shifts that redefined the industry in 2006 precipitated turmoil in 2007, which made companies that avoided major business transitions more attractive and sparked explosive interest in open source alternatives. Some companies held a steady course and benefited from the fallout. The consolidated entities formed by recent acquisitions stand as formidable competitors in their respective market sectors, wielding vast resources to retain—or even strengthen—their industry positions. Sales of new integrated library system (ILS) products dipped 15%, offset by increased procurements of replacement interfaces and tools for managing electronic content and creating digital collections. The overall library automation economy held even with aggregate revenues at $570 million. A majority of companies increased their workforce in 2007. |
| | |
 |
Breeding, Marshall Automation marketplace 2007: An Industry Redefined April 1, 2007 The reshuffling of the deck in 2005 presaged even larger changes this year, introducing new players and effecting dramatic shifts. In a rash of mergers and acquisitions, Endeavor Information Systems and Sagebrush Corporation disappeared from the roster of companies this year. Private equity firms took charge of SirsiDynix and Ex Libris, and Endeavor was merged into Ex Libris. Follett Software Company acquired archrival Sagebrush, and Extensity morphed into Infor Library Solutions. |
| | |
 |
Breeding, Marshall Automation marketplace 2006 : reshuffling the deck April 1, 2006 Following a phase of market fragmentation and gradual product evolution, major business transitions and industry dynamics greatly transformed the library automation marketplace. The changes in company structures broadly fostered more streamlined development of traditional ILS products, as companies focused on products and technologies geared toward helping libraries cope with electronic resources. |
| | |
 |
Breeding, Marshall Automation marketplace 2005 : gradual evolution April 1, 2005 The integrated library system is changing-not dramatically but steadily. Forces at work include an improving economy, pressures to innovate, new products that manage electronic content, and, most of all, mandatory migrations. It was an especially fertile year for migration. In 2003 many libraries deferred moving from obsolete systems, creating a pent-up demand that began to break loose in 2004. As the domestic ILS market becomes more highly saturated, companies increasingly rely on international sales. |
| | |
 |
Breeding, Marshall Automation marketplace 2004: migration down innovation up April 1, 2004 Public funding declined while returns on private endowments slipped--two major factors that limited the growth of the library automation industry in 2003. Libraries itching to migrate from legacy systems or acquire new automation products continue to defer. Despite the economic climate, or maybe owing to it, the top two companies, Innovative Interfaces and Dynix, strengthened their position as market leaders. |
| | |
 |
Breeding, Marshall|Roddy, Carol Automation marketplace 2003: the competition heats up April 1, 2003 In 2002, the move away from outdated systems fueled sales in the library automation market. Companies with legacy systems pulled out all the stops to retain customers and entice them to migrate to their replacement systems. Companies today are seeking to increase revenue through products and services beyond the basic library automation system. Digital library systems, reference linking products, federated search environments, and enhanced-content web-based OPACS are but a few of the products that increasingly influence the marketplace. |
| | |
 |
Breeding, Marshall Automation marketplace 2002: capturing the migrating customer April 1, 2002 A smaller group of larger firms dominate the library automation marketplace. They are largely international, diversified, and privately owned. The mergers and consolidations that marked the recent history of the industry have absorbed the weaker products and companies. A shrinking number of ever-larger companies control the greatest market share. The many smaller companies still participating represent only a modest portion of the library automation economy. |
| | |