Microsoft to expand latest buy

By MICHAEL FOREMAN

E-business software maker Great Plains is to reorganise its operations in the Asia Pacific region following its acquisition by Microsoft in December.

When Microsoft completes the stock purchase, valued at $US1.1 billion ($2.52 billion), next month, the company will be absorbed into Microsoft's business application division but will retain its senior management.

From July 1, Great Plains will service its Asia Pacific markets including Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, the Philippines and Singapore, with a beefed-up regional organisation based in Sydney and Manila.

"At the moment we have a bunch of local operations that are not tied together strongly enough," said the regional director of operations, Richard Johnstone.

The reorganisation, in tandem with increased recruitment of channel partners, would allow Great Plains to exploit growth opportunities throughout the region.

At present, only around 2200 of Great Plains' 130,000 customers worldwide are based in the Asia Pacific region. Around 1200 of these are in Australasia.

In New Zealand, about 200 firms use Great Plains software, including Gough Technology, Snell Packaging and Stationery and Pan Pacific Forests.

Mr Johnstone said the company had already built up considerable infrastructure in the region, with 137 employees in Manila and 22 in Sydney, but these offices were at present reporting directly to Great Plains' headquarters in North Dakota.

Great Plains has been quick to adapt its accounting products, including its E-Enterprise system, to take advantage of the internet.

According to Microsoft, the integration of technologies from both companies will create a fully interconnected generation of business applications built on Microsoft's .Net platform.