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IBM is making waves in the business intelligence market, unveiling a host of new partnerships, products and services targeting the fast-growing business. "The next major use of computers will be in business intelligence," said Ben Barnes, general manager of IBM Global Business Intelligence Solutions. Business intelligence can help companies and government agencies find better ways to serve customers, assess risks and make forecasts. Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM expects the global government and commercial market for business intelligence products and services to soar from $10.6 billion in 1997 to $70 billion by 2001. While IBM's primary focus is commercial customers, the government market is ripe for business intelligence applications such as fiscal management and tax compliance, said Bill Aldacushion, a solutions manager for IBM Global Government Solutions.
Wang Buys Global Networking Presence Wang Laboratories Inc. expanded its global presence this week by acquiring the information technology solutions and services subsidiary of Olivetti S.p.A. of Milan, Italy. Wang paid $390 million for Olsy, the Olivetti unit. Billerica, Mass.-based Wang needed to boost its global capabilities because networking customers are seeking service providers with an around-the-world reach, analysts said. "A lot of their prospects are global operations," said Thomas Browne, an analyst with the financial services firm Prudential Securities Research in New York. "These customers want the same service provider and the same service levels around the world."
Network Associates Acquires Trusted Trusted Information Systems Inc., a Glenwood, Md., creator of computer security technology, will be purchased by competitor Network Associates Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif., for $307 million in stock. The deal brings together the firewall technology of Trusted with the sales and marketing power of Network Associates, analysts said. Together, the two will form the largest independent company in their market. The acquisition, which still must be approved by Trusted's shareholders, should close in the next two months, according to officials at Network Associates.
Put Another Notch in the Board Table Ed Bersoff, president and chief executive of BTG Inc. in Fairfax, Va., last week added yet another leadership position to his already hectic schedule. He was elected vice chairman of the American Electronics Association in Washington. Add that to his participation in related organizations, including the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce, the Northern Virginia Roundtable, the Potomac KnowledgeWay Project, the Professional Services Council, the Northern Virginia Technology Council and the World Congress on Information Technology. Bersoff is one of only three board members from the Washington region at the American Electronics Association. The board has a total of more than 50 executives. Other local members are William Archey, president and CEO of AEA, and Mel Brashears, president and chief operating officer of Lockheed Martin Corp.'s Space and Strategic Missiles Sector in Bethesda, Md.
Lockheed Martin, Northrop Merger Moves Forward Lockheed Martin Corp.'s acquisition of Northrop Grumman Corp. was approved by shareholders of both companies last week, leaving government approval as the final obstacle to the union. Company officials said federal regulators are likely to give the green light for the merger by the end of March. Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin and Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman announced plans to merge their aerospace, defense and IT companies last July.
NSF Adds Institutions to High-Speed Network The National Science Foundation has added 29 more institutions to the very high-performance Backbone Network Service (vBNS), bringing to 92 the organizations approved for connections to the network. The network lets scientists and engineers nationwide work together and share computing and information resources. Begun in 1995, the vBNS is a major part of President Clinton's Next Generation Internet and the initial connection for Internet2 member insti- tutions. It represents an investment of $50 million in a five-year project with MCI Communications Corp. of Washington. The NSF plans to add up to 150 institutions if Congress continues to fund its role in the Next Generation Internet initiative. NSF's fiscal 1998 appropriation bill directs NSF to use $23 million of the domain name intellectual infrastructure fund toward Next Generation Internet activities. However, that fund is the subject of a lawsuit.
Hayes Opens D.C. Office Modem-maker Hayes Corp. of Norcross, Ga., has opened a government sales center in Gaithersburg, Md. The center will provide sales and technical support to federal, state and local governments as well as assistance to resellers. Company officials said the presence in the Washington area will help Hayes to provide rapid access to technical support and engineering personnel for government project managers, contractors and value-added resellers.
Intersolv Purchases SQL Software Rockville, Md.-based software developer Intersolv Inc. bought Britain's SQL Software, based in Hertford, for $20 million in Intersolv stock March 2. The purchase of SQL, which has its American and Far East headquarters in Vienna, Va., gives Intersolv a stronger foothold in the automated software quality solutions market. Intersolv, which posted revenue of $160 million last year, projects that market will reach $1 billion by 2000. Intersolv officials said SQL employees would remain in their current offices. Together, the companies have 1,225 employees.
CIO Survey: Infotech Strategies Top Priority Aligning information technology strategies with agency goals should be the top priority for government chief information officers, according to a survey of agency IT managers conducted by GTE Corp. of Stamford, Conn. Of the 2,159 respondents, 85 percent picked IT strategies as a CIO's most important responsibility, followed by 7 percent who said "cutting costs and improving operational efficiency" was tops. In other findings, 67 percent said a CIO is most likely to get fired for not effectively communicating with senior management. The survey, dubbed CIO Quiz, was developed as an advertising tool to attract visitors to GTE's new Web site. CSC Consulting Tags New Leader The Washington operation of Computer Sciences Corp. Consulting Group got a new managing director last week. C.C. Satterfield, who has been a partner with the group for four years, will now head up the operation, which did $35 million in business last year. CSC Consulting Group is a division of the El Segundo, Calif., company currently under takeover siege by Computer Associates International Inc. of Islandia, N.Y. The division competes with large accounting firms on management consulting projects for both commercial and government customers. Satterfield, who replaced Jerry Marterella, played down the hostile takeover battle with Computer Associates by saying, "it's business as usual at CSC Consulting Group." Marterella was promoted to director of sales and new business development for the consulting group nationally.
Intermetrics, Pacer Join Forces Intermetrics Inc. of Burlington, Mass., and Pacer Infotec Inc. of Billerica, Mass., merged March 2 to create AverStar Inc. The new company, based in Burlington, will have revenues of more than $120 million in 1998, company officials said. AverStar will provide software and systems development for government agencies such as NASA, the Health Care Financing Agency, the U.S. Postal Service and the Defense Department.
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