Merged CMS and XKO Software Businesses Renamed Solarsoft

Published: November 19, 2007

by Dan Burger

After the merger of CMS Software and XKO Software, two mid-tier ERP software providers, it was highly likely one or both of company names would be eliminated. It turned out that both were dropped. The combined development efforts and resulting products will be marketed under the Solarsoft name. CMS and XKO merged in April 2007 with the private equity firm, Marlin Equity Partners, orchestrating the deal.

CMS, which was based in Ontario, Canada, specialized in ERP for small to mid size manufacturers. Its customer base was located primarily in North America. The majority of its customers run the software on System i, iSeries, or AS/400 servers. Its products were formerly known as CMS/400, then CMS/i5, and now as iVP. The same software that CMS ported to Windows, and which was formerly known as CMS m5, is branded now as mVP. XKO Software was based in the United Kingdom and specialized in supply chain and distribution management software for small to mid size business accounts that were primarily in Europe. The software runs on Unix servers and is branded as xVP. Both company headquarters remain as the main offices serving North America and Europe. The CMS sales offices that were located in Nashville, Tennessee, have been closed.

According to information posted on the company Website, Solarsoft products will be designed to assist the needs of manufacturers, distributors, and the merchant and wholesale businesses. Wayne Chong, who manages business development in the Americas, says there are no plans to port the iVP or mVP ERP products to Unix or to port the Unix-based xVP supply chain product to i5/OS.

Selling iVP into the European customer base that was established by XKO holds promise, Chong says. This conclusion stems from the CMS history of bringing new customers to the IBM midrange.

The top executives from the two companies remain as they were since the merger took place. Rudy Joss, the former president of CMS Software, continues as chairman at Solarsoft, and Shawn McMorran, formerly chief executive officer at XKO, remains in the CEO position at Solarsoft.

Solarsoft literature notes its customer base totals more than 1,500 firms across North America, Europe, and Asia.

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