Netherlands-based Diabeter is one of Europe’s largest independent diabetes specialist care centers. It will enhance Medtronic’s ongoing strategy to become a complete healthcare “solutions” company.

Healthy market growth, the biggest ever M&A deal, a record number of billion-dollar takeovers, and the IPO market in impressive bounce-back…2014 was a year of superlatives for the global medtech industry. But with more expected of manufacturers while health care spending remains in the doldrums and demand for care rises, the long-term medtech winners will be those who can forecast how and where to make an impact on both costs and patient outcomes.

Medtech manufacturers saw 2014 as the year of the medtech mega-merger and a rebound in IPOs. But the market is changing, and companies are increasingly cast as service providers who must deliver value.

Medtronic and Covidien have announced two deals each in the past week. The two firms are set to be combined by early next year under a megadeal announced in June.