Infor puts its money where its mouth is

Infor chairman and CEO, Jim Schaper, has outlined his company's plan to ramp up investment in developing new technology and focus on service oriented architecture (SOA).

Schaper used his keynote at the business software maker's user conference in Las Vegas, to announce a $325m investment over the next four years to develop new products.

"We're investing a tonne of money in new technology," he said.

The investment comes in addition to the 12 per cent of annual revenue that the company has been spending on R&D to develop existing products since 2002.

In response to suggestions that Infor is a company that merely buys other software companies, Schaper said: "Acquirers don't invest, innovators do."

Schaper also said in his keynote that industry is entering "a new era of hyper-business activity".

He stressed the importance of business networks, with partners - as well as processes and resources - becoming increasingly global.

In order to keep pace with change, Schaper said business networks will need to be innovative with their technology, with SOA playing a crucial role.

Schaper said: "These business networks and software will need to be adaptive and readily changeable."

"Companies who think and act innovatively will be miles ahead of their competitors in 2015. It's business Darwinism, pure and simple," he added.