Quickie: AVEVA+Schneider=DONE

Mar 1, 2018 | Hot Topics

Finally, finally: AVEVA announced today that at 8AM UK time on March 1, 2018 it more than doubled in size with the addition of Schneider Electric’s software people and products.

Ex-PTCer Craig Hayman, as expected, took over as CEO last week and had this to say in his first published remarks to investors, in a regulatory release about the cash distribution and share mechanics of the deal:

“This combination represents a transformational opportunity for AVEVA to drive growth and advance the digitalisation of the industrial world. I am looking forward to working with all of our stakeholders to deliver this opportunity.”

And to the world at large, he said this in a press release:

“Digitalisation demands a fundamental rethink of the way organisations operate. They need to be confident that their technology investment will deliver a high return on capital and can lower the total cost of asset ownership. AVEVA’s combination of proven solutions, industry-specific knowledge and a global partner ecosystem will drive innovation across capital-intensive industries, as companies plan their digital transformation journey.”

The way I read this, it’s business as usual, at least for now. I have no insider information but imagine that Mr. Hayman has started on a listening campaign to understand AVEVA’s historic business, the new Schneider Electric additions, customers segments, sales processes and channels — just as he did when he took over the legacy CAD and PLM businesses at PTC.

It’s been a long, drawn out process to get to this point but we have to remember that the two companies couldn’t really talk about anything substantive until now (except the deal itself, of course). Technology directions, changes in go-to-market, how to brand products and the new company … people may have been thinking about it for years, but haven’t been able to actually talk to one another until today. And since today also marks the first day of the last month of the historic AVEVA’s fourth quarter, the immediate focus there has to be on closing deals and meeting targets.

Barring the unexpected, we should next hear from AVEVA after it has time to roll up its Q4 results — usually there’s one of those non-announcements in early April that says something about meeting targets and board expectations. Fiscal 2018 results will be announced in June, when it is reasonable to expect AVEVA to tell us how the integration is going and to share its plans and prospects for fiscal 2019.


Update: I just noticed this — and we can already feel the changes afoot at AVEVA.

This is the “About AVEVA” footer from a press release issued in February:

AVEVA is one of the world’s leading engineering, design and information management software providers to the process plant, power and marine industries. Its integrated suite of solutions includes 3D and 4D design, laser scanning and intelligent, data-centric information management systems. These products are the core of digital asset technology, designed to help plant, ship and asset operators the world over to make more timely decisions using live, detailed, integrated data on performance, improving operating efficiency and saving cost. Originally spun out of the University of Cambridge, AVEVA technology has been in shaping the world around us since 1967.

And this is from today’s press release:

AVEVA is a global leader in engineering and industrial software driving digital transformation across the entire asset and operational life cycle of capital-intensive industries.

The company’s engineering, planning and operations, asset performance, and monitoring and control solutions deliver proven results to over 16,000 customers across the globe. Its customers are supported by the largest industrial software ecosystem, including 4,200 partners and 5,700 certified developers. AVEVA is headquartered in Cambridge, UK, with over 4,400 employees at 80 locations in over 40 countries.

The first statement is historic and product-focused — “we’ve been around a long time and have technical cred”. The second is somehow less British, less modest. I read it as saying “we’re big, we have friends, we cover the range of what our customers need, and we’re out to change how they think about their assets”.

No way of knowing who wrote the new statement but, can you tell, I like it?