Computer Associates Creates Fed Unit

By Nick Wakeman, Staff Writer




APRIL 24 ? Computer Associates International Inc. of Islandia, N.Y., has formed a dedicated government unit to pull together sales, marketing and services efforts focused on the federal market.



The unit, called CA Federal Systems Group, will be headed by Otto Guenther, the first chief information officer of the Army. Guenther joined CA in 1997 as director of strategic initiatives. The unit will be based in Herndon, Va., and will have between 1,800 and 2,000 employees.



Before forming the federal unit, CA did not have a dedicated division focused on the federal government market. Sales, marketing and services efforts were conducted from separate units that also were responsible for commercial customers, a CA spokesman said.



The formation of the unit was triggered in part by the company's April 3 acquisition of Sterling Software. Having a dedicated government unit will help the company leverage both products and services into the government market and help it pursue new customers especially among intelligence agencies.



Computer Associates had about $5.3 billion in 1999 revenue. About 5 percent of the company's sales are to the government. The company sells more than 500 software products, but its flagship product, Unicenter TNG, provides about a quarter of its revenue. Unicenter is a suite of network and systems management tools.



The new unit focuses only on the federal government. State and local governments will still be served through commercial units.