By Darin Painter, Editor-in-Chief, PS Magazine
The buzz during PSDA’s P2P Technology + Innovation Summit in New Orleans was the merger between e-Quantum Inc. and DemandBridge, the industry’s largest two software companies. The new company retains the DemandBridge name.
Since October 5, when the companies issued this joint press release, many distributors who rely on either system for client storefronts, e-commerce tools, digital asset management and back-end operations have expressed a mix of hope and concern. Their main question: What does the news mean for their company, and when will effects begin to take hold?
As an association, it’s our responsibility to report and analyze industry events with clarity that can help distributors grow — to provide the “why” behind the “what” whenever possible. In this case, it’s to push the conversation forward by providing context — to fuse together distributors’ questions and concerns with DemandBridge’s direction and plans.
With that in mind, I reached out to multiple distributors of various sizes who use e-Quantum and DemandBridge to get their take on potential short-term effects and long-term expectations. I also conducted an hour-long conference call with David Rich, CEO of Norcross, Georgia-based DemandBridge and the leader of the combined entity; Ross Barker, founder and CEO of Reno, Nevada-based e- Quantum; and others from both companies. I also received emailed questions and insight from several industry professionals.
