ACS to buy Visionary Systems

Affiliated Computer Services Inc. has acquired Visionary Systems Ltd., a provider of fire and emergency medical services solutions, in a cash deal worth $16.5 million.

Affiliated Computer Services Inc. has acquired Visionary Systems Ltd., a provider of fire and emergency medical services solutions, in a cash deal worth $16.5 million, the company announced today.

The acquisition will enable Dallas-based ACS to bring new public safety products and services to market more quickly than before, company officials said.

Visionary Systems of Urbandale, Iowa, is a software development company that offers products and services to fire departments and the EMS industry under the Firehouse Software brand.

Firehouse Software is a records management system for fire departments. It features an integrated database for handling fire department management needs, including incident reporting, EMS and search and rescue reporting, staff activity and training, and apparatus, equipment and inventory records management. More than 10,000 customers use the software.

ACS offers business process and IT outsourcing solutions to government and commercial customers. It has more than 47,000 employees and annual sales of $4.1 billion. It was No. 38 on Washington Technology's 2004 Top 100 list, which measures federal contracting revenue.