The Field Narrows Further

Healthy competition keeps a company on its proverbial toes. Competitors can show you product features or customer services that you don't offer and nudge you to more accurately determine customer needs and establish a fair price. A major merger narrows the competitive field. One or both vendors may benefit, but what about the customers? The recently announced merger of Credence and LTX — two long-time participants in the test industry — will bring up just such questions. Although the two companies do not overlap in every market segment, the me