Instruments and Systems: Monitoring, Control, and Diagnostics Annotation << Back Analysis of Innovative Development Experience on the Example of Large IT-Companies A.A. GRIGORIEV, E.A. ISAEV, A.F. MORGUNOV This article discusses the mechanisms of «mergers and acquisitions» as strategic tools determining the course of development of the companies with regard to their current status, place on the market, financial opportunities. It is easier for major players to buy a successful startup or a company that has advanced developments in view of the market. As the analysis showed, both SAP and Oracle simply bought IT companies with ready-made solutions in order to enter the market of ERP systems for small and medium-sized businesses. The same thing happened when the number of cloud solutions increased in the market. Acquisition can be considered as one of the ways to put a competitor out of business. Keywords: merger, acquisition, purchase, license, innovation, convergence, infrastructure facilities, ERP-system. DOI: 10.25791/pribor.05.2020.1178 Pp. 44-52.