Microsoft in Australia

I have just been reading an article on the Great Plains 8.0 release with mixed emotions. While it is good to see a new player in the ERP space, is Microsoft the right player? And what about the impact in Australia? To date there are the major player or tier 1 vendors (SAP, PeopleSoft, Oracle, ADP) and then the tier 2 which mainly consists of smaller Australian software houses who tend to sell into government and the SMB. Most major ASX 100 companies use a tier 1 product, there are exceptions, the rest tend to use tier 2 products.

If Microsoft entered the market in a big way (they are advertising their wares) and focus on their typical market will there be no room for Australian developed HR/Payroll software? Now I understand this is at one end of the spectrum and there will always be shades of grey. Or will this raise the bar so that all software need to be as integrated and professional as Microsoft's? I guess only time will tell.

Comments from anyone with further knowledge?

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