In a Forrester landscape report published in May 2024, we predicted that M&A activity would continue to change and disrupt the enterprise architecture management suite (EAMS) market. This trend started in 2023, continued throughout 2024, and now, amazingly, as we enter 2025, the market has reached a further peak with three of the leading players, Bizzdesign, MEGA International, and Alfabet (Software AG), coming together under the Bizzdesign brand.
With the newly formed Bizzdesign, a new EAMS leader emerges.
All three vendors are Leaders in our recent evaluation, The Forrester Wave™: Enterprise Architecture Management Suites, Q4 2024, which points to the market potential of the combined product set and the level of impact that this merger will have on clients and their transformation agendas.
From an analyst perspective, this merger makes sense: The existing products’ capabilities are mostly complementary, the geographical coverage of the three vendors doesn’t overlap too much, and the R&D functions of the three vendors will surely create a powerful engine for developing a new platform and integrating best-of-breed intellectual property.
What type of solution can clients expect?
The new platform (the name of which is kept secret for now) is planned for launch in April 2025, aiming to take the best features of each of the existing products (Horizzon, HOPEX, and Alfabet) but adding additional capabilities to create a comprehensive end-to-end enterprise transformation platform. The plan is to bring some fresh perspectives, including providing connections between the unstructured world (whiteboards, sticky notes, etc.) and the more structured formal world of enterprise architecture, platform notation analysis, and planning, to name a few. From a technical perspective, the platform is naturally planned to be cloud-native and will use a fresh tech stack to take advantage of all cloud-native features including AI.
What will the new organization look like?
The combined entity has about €110 million (US$113 million) in revenues and approximately 2,000 customers and over 600 employees. The new company’s setup is already in place, with leads in each region: EMEA, North America, Latin America, and APAC. There is already a single marketing team, while the sales teams will continue to sell the different existing products until the next-gen platform becomes available. The clear message is that Bizzdesign, MEGA International, and Alfabet are now working as one company.
Should existing customers be concerned?
There is clearly no need to panic for existing clients. The current product roadmaps will remain in place for at least the next 5–7 years. The company states that no pressure will be put on customers to migrate to the new platform once it becomes available. Clients will be able to choose between sticking to the old products or migrating to the new platform. Obviously, clients should review their existing contracts and review their current engagement to ensure that it delivers the value they expect and then decide on the best way forward.
What does this mean for the enterprise architecture tool market?
Running a simulation based on our recent EAMS Forrester Wave scores and taking into account what each of the three vendors brings to the table, the prospective new platform, at least on paper, will clearly outplay every other competitor in the EAMS market. The coming months will thus be very critical for Bizzdesign to deliver on the promises of the combined entity. But the new platform clearly has the potential to become the best on the market. Forrester clients can reach out and schedule an inquiry or guidance session with me to discuss this further.
