Infor Enforces Exclusivity

Some solution providers say Infor will be hard-pressed to fulfill promises to make all those diverse code bases fully interoperable.

"It's just so confusing. These things may plug together eventually, but it's going to be tough. Look at Microsoft; it has enough problems with four ERP code bases. And Infor has a bunch more than that," the partner added.

In the meantime, there is good money to be made supporting and updating legacy Baan or Epiphany or MAPICS or Aperum customers on products, which are admittedly getting long in the tooth, partners said.

"It's not a bad business for a 'lifestyle' partner, who can make very good margins maintaining and updating those packages," said one partner who received the e-mail.

This partner has not decided what to do yet but said he expects he will shift his business to a rival product line. "Even if Infor takes this off the table, they'll institute some crazy quotas, which might be just as bad," he said.

Another partner who has received the letter said he and others are trying to get a look at the vendor's new reseller contract to better evaluate the situation.

"They keep saying we'll see it soon," he said. "Legally, it looks like they can do this," he added. "Every partner I know views this [exclusivity] with concern."

At the time of the acquisitions, Schaper reinforced the company's partner manifesto, which he described as "a hybrid of direct sales and a highly skilled channel."

Shaper said, "We have 500 channel partners, [and] virtually none sell competitive products. Most are dedicated exclusively to our lines. Our channel partners have as much—or more—domain expertise in the client's business [as] we do."

He estimated that 40 percent of Infor's global license sales go through third parties. "We have unique and very strategic partnerships, unlike any I've ever been associated with. They are dedicated to us, and we treat them as an extension to us. They participate in our incentives, sales trips and kickoffs," Shaper said.