Open Text Corporation (NASDAQ:OTEX) (TSX: OTC) announced on Monday they have entered into an agreement to buy Canadian neighbor Nstein Technologies Inc. (TSX-V: EIN).  This brings the total WCM acquisitions for Open Text to 5 (FIVE) over the past several years.  While I am sure Open Text has a solid strategy in mind for their shareholders we have concerns about the underlying roadmap for these products and the potential impact on existing customers of the now acquired WCM frameworks. 

Over the past year we have watched closely as the WCM marketplace and the solution offerings of the sector have experienced a coming of age as they become a ubiquitous mainstream technology.  We are seeing Marketing managers become more and more dependent on the constantly broadening WCM product feature sets.  Marketing organizations are becoming increasingly proficient at managing the tools available to them to continuously refine their marketing strategy and tactics and improve their marketing messages and results.

Oshyn believes the next generation of WCM product evolutions will begin to consolidate the various elements of the modern marketers toolkit to create more efficiency and shorter message refinement cycle times.  We believe this convergence of elements like email marketing platforms, web analytics, customer relationship management (CRM) and traditional web content management could provide huge benefits to the adopting organizations in the form of exponential increases in the return on their marketing investments.

All this means we are entering an exciting time in the maturation, expansion, redefinition and  consolidation of WCM capabilities.  WCM product companies will likely need to evolve and consolidate the elements of the modern marketers toolbox in order to remain relevant over the next few years.  Open Text, now with 5 (FIVE) WCM products in its stalls has proven its ability to acquire and consolidate within its sales and support organizations.  Will Open Text have the energy, vision, and focus to step up to the challenges and opportunities inherent in a new cycle of WCM evolution?  What products will evolve in their suite of options and will their pace of evolution allow for the retention of their acquired customer base?  Stay tuned.