Wellesley Information Services (WIS), the global leader of B2B enterprise technology member communities and marketing performance analysis has acquired ERP Today. WIS owns and operates SAPinsider, Mastering SAP, and Channel Metrics globally. The deal brings together ERP Today’s publishing expertise and WIS’ unrivaled membership, events, digital services, research services and marketing program performance analytics credentials to create a media powerhouse serving the global B2B enterprise technology community.
The deal will provide significant capital and capabilities to facilitate ERP Today’s global expansion and deliver a suite of marketing program performance analysis technology to improve customer experiences. The new ownership structure will also provide a platform for WIS to diversify into other vendor markets using its 25 years’ experience in the B2B enterprise technology ecosystem as the template for success. SAPinsider magazine will be rebranded as SAP Today and the deal will also see new titles and member communities for other vendor ecosystems being introduced in the future.
Paul Esherwood, the founder of ERP Today, will take up a position on the WIS executive leadership team and act as CEO for the EMEA region in the enlarged organization. He will also remain as editor of ERP Today UK and ERP Today USA.
“Four years ago, I started with a vision to create a new kind of media company that was founded on some old-school publishing principles,” said Esherwood. “In a relatively short period, we have built an incredibly strong brand but I always knew the time would come when we would need a partner to support our next phase of growth. Having met many potential suitors, Jamie and the team at WIS stood out as the perfect people to work with.
“The introduction of the Channel Metrics ‘Performance Insights Platform’ will be a gamechanger for our customers. It will allow us to demonstrate the effectiveness of every campaign with meaningful data and analytics – something that all our customers are increasingly asking for. As all businesses take a sharper focus on value and ROI, it is vital that we can measure the benefit from every investment in our media property. The WIS solution is a class-leading analytics tool that gives marketing and PR teams visibility into campaign metrics, content views, ad performance and more.”
ERP Today launched four years ago and quickly established itself as the default media choice for aspirational enterprise tech brands. Its premium quality print publications, coupled with the industry’s biggest in-person event, have positioned ERP Today as the center of gravity for the ERP sector. Its flagship print magazine has featured many of the industry’s leaders on its cover including Christian Klein, Bill McDermott and Aneel Bhusri.
SAPinsider and Mastering SAP are the largest and fastest growing SAP membership community worldwide, with more than a combined 750,000 members globally. They provide SAP professionals with invaluable information, strategic guidance and road-tested advice through events, community-driven content, case studies, magazine articles, white paper, blogs, interactive Q&As, benchmark reports and webinars.
Jamie Bedard, CEO of Wellesley Information Services, said: “Paul and the team at ERP Today have created a unique brand that is respected and admired across the B2B industry. By combining ERP Today with our leading membership, events, research, digital services with our technology platform we will create enhanced experiences for our global members and deliver new opportunities for our technology company partners. The strategic combination of these market leading assets positions us to rapidly launch new B2B enterprise technology user communities.”
