Why Aren't The Tails Wagging The Dogs?

I'm putting this question to the readers of Bank Systems and Technology because based on feedback that I have seen, some of you have the answer, whereas I don't.Here's what I mean about tails and dogs. For the past 25 years, core applications vendors (dogs) have been acquiring peripheral apps vendors (tails) in record numbers. In 2006, the activity came to a near halt, just because the well seems to have gone dry. The only core vendor that acquired peripheral apps companies was Goldleaf Financial Solutions, and that's understandable because GFS is the newbie playing catch-up.

But some peripheral vendors were acquired by other than core vendors. For example, Intuit acquired Digital Insight; CheckFree acquired Carreker and is in the process of acquiring Corillian.

Now what seems a little strange to me is this. If the Internet is becoming the channel of choice for the banking industry, why haven't the companies that reside on the Internet taken charge of their domain and gone hunting for the core vendors?

To throw out a wildly speculative example, should S1 or Online Resources acquire Harland Financial Solutions or Computer Services, Inc., or Jack Henry & Associates?

What do you think?

-Art Gillis www.artgillis.com