Ion + Allegro = Clarity
Last week, Ion Trading announced the acquisition of Allegro. This puts nearly all of the $10m+ revenue, all-in-one CTRM/ETRM solutions under one roof. By my estimate, 60% of the market is now served by Ion products: OpenLink Endur, RightAngle, Triple Point CommodityXL, Aspect DSC, and now Allegro Horizon. Of the largest vendors, only Eka, Brady, and possibly FIS are left.
We're now on our 4th Ion acquisition (or dozenth, or more, if we look outside ETRM) -- and we have the playbook data to guess at the company's direction.
What does this mean for a customer getting into the market? A few things:
- If you need an all-in-one, on-premise or hosted solution, and you absolutely must check all the boxes on an RFP, buy the solution that Ion prescribes.
- If you only have one specific, focused need (for example, behind-the-citygate gas scheduling), one of the other 90+ legacy vendors will work.
- However, if total cost of ownership, modern tech, and an innovative delivery model are more important than a huge feature list, look at the handful of larger new entrants (including us). We can fulfill the important parts of an ETRM/CTRM (like forward/option valuation, connections to exchanges, and VaR) and connect with other systems that specialize where we don’t (such as invoicing, GL, or another ETRM).
We’re thrilled to see all of the large, legacy vendors pulled under one roof. It makes the “us vs. them” story we’ve been telling since 2012 so much clearer. Molecule was founded because we believed ETRMs were way harder than they needed to be - from setup, to retirement, and every way in between. At every implementation we witnessed, customer employees were running around, busy and angry, every day, for months -- or even years.
We designed Molecule not to be that way. From the beginning, our goals have been:
- Easy-to-use, modern technology
- Unparalleled service
- No hidden, outrageous implementation fees
So, over the next few weeks, to celebrate the consolidation of the ETRM/CTRM software products with which we've seen customers struggle, we’re running a new campaign called “Don't Fight.” It celebrates the new vs. the old, legacy software models vs. 21st-century ones, and, most importantly, the way enterprise software should be: frictionless.
Keep your eyes peeled for some "Don't Fight" fun from the Molecule marketing team!