Accounting Software Wars

(MoneyWatch)  Deltek has been the major supplier of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software to corporations large and small, one of their key market areas has been to defense contractors. Most of the companies I have worked for have used Deltek products for accounting; especially their on-line time sheet systems. Because many government contractors are paid for each hour their employees work, accurate time accounting is key. This is not only for correct billing of the customer but also to properly manage the funds on their contract. Now, as Washington Technology reports, Microsoft has begun competing with them in this area. Through some careful acquisitions and development efforts, Microsoft has rolled out a suite of products targeted at this area. They have developed software specifically for government contractors as well as other types of companies. The fight is made more interesting by the fact that Deltek is not hesitant to use Microsoft products in their systems; so there actually is some money flowing from Deltek to Microsoft. Microsoft also has an advantage in that their systems tend to be more open; so a customer is not dependent on just their suite of products to handle all of their ERP needs. This is an example of a spill over effect from the government. The market for these type of software systems would be much smaller if there were not so many companies doing business in this arena.