- GA signs exclusive distribution agreement with
Unidata.
- JAC's jBASE proves to be the right choice for Alusuisse.
- Mentor O/E and Year 2000: a statement from GA.
- Surrey-based IT recruitment specialist IT Prospects is expanding
its presence in the MultiValue marketplace due to rising demand for permanent
and contract staff.
- Legal systems specialist Applied Computer Expertise is looking to
sell its Infinite Practice and Case Management system, after being unable
to secure a large enough share of the saturated solicitors' market to cover
its costs.
With over 100 vendors chasing the business of just 1,700 solicitors' practices,
industry analysts expect other small to medium-sized legal system suppliers
to pull out of the market over the next few years.
- Via Systems is offering a forum-based User Support Newsgroup where
users can exchange information, tips and techniques.
Via is also introducing a Developers Listserver for ViaDuct and WinLink
developers and power users.
- Pick Systems is looking to expand its network of VARs and expects
sales of D3 to increase more rapidly over the coming year. D3 sales currently
account for approximately 25% of revenues, but this is expected to rise significantly.
Sales of D3 on Windows NT, currently accounting for about 10% of total revenue,
are expected to multiply as much as six-fold over the next two years.
- AccuSoft Enterprises has announced the release of AccuTerm 97 3.0g.
This is the 32-bit version of the popular terminal emulation package, specially
designed for Windows 95 and NT 4.0, including full OLE and ActiveX support.
- Torbay Borough Council has selected MDIS' PRO-IV Human Resources
System as part of its preparations for transition to Unitary Authority status
in 1998, which will see its payroll increase from 850 to about 4,500 employees.
The contract is worth around £170,000.
- After 10 years in the UK, Paul Stevenson of EdgTech Systems has returned
home to Australia. Paul is a well-established figure in the UK MultiValue
market place and was one of the co-developers of the CueBic 4GL. His role
as managing director of EdgTech Systems is to be taken over by Gunter Creasey.
Paul will be setting up a division of EdgTech Systems Limited in Australia.
EdgTech's UK division will continue to offer MultiValue products and value-added
services like Windows tools and client/server technologies.
- Monolith Corporation has announced that it will be offering MultiValue
VARs and their users Cognos' Business Intelligence tools Impromptu and PowerPlay.
- Via Systems is releasing a 32-bit version of ViaODBC. ViaODBC-32
is a component of the WinLink 32 middleware family and is targeted at VARs
and corporate MIS staff using Windows 95 or NT who wish to extract, create
reports from and Web-integrate data from MultiValue databases.
Via has also announced the first API (Application Programming Interface)
for WinLink 32, utilising components which provide DATABASIC-like syntax
within Visual Basic and use of ActiveX objects.
- GA's Australian subsidiary, Sequoia Systems (Australia), has acquired
Pick Products, an Australian-based VAR and software vendor, to form a new
company, General Automation Pty Limited.
Pick Products has a strong customer base and has been providing applications,
service and support with products such as Universe, Unidata, Advanced Pick
and D3. Bob Guthrie, managing director of Pick Products, said they were
"very excited" about becoming part of GA, and foresaw significant benefits
for their customers.
- MDIS has secured a contract to supply a human resources payroll system
to the University of Portsmouth, valued at around £175,000. It is expected
to deliver important savings in terms of time and manpower in processing the
university's 4,000 employees. Implementation is already underway and the system
is expected to go live early this year.
- With the ink barely dry on the announcement of the availability of DataStage
2.2 for Unix, Vmark has rushed out version 3.0. Features include change
data capture, mainframe data access and a new set of tools which are claimed
to enhance user productivity.
Ports to IBM AIX, Hewlett-Packard HP/UX, Data General DG/UX and Alpha platforms
are expected "soon", once compiler issues have been resolved.
- Unidata has begun to deliver on its promise to provide bridges between
object and relational databases with the release of a Java Relational Binding
which maps Java classes into relational database structures.
The binding will work against any JDBC-compliant database although it does
not yet support the JavaSoft-endorsed ODMG specification. Unidata hopes
developers will use it to store Java applications in relational stores and
subsequently migrate to its future Universal Object Server.
- APT Solutions have appointed West Coast Services BV of Leiderdorp,
Holland, as dealers for their SB+/Unidata-based STRATUM accounts package.
- General Automation has announced financial results for fiscal 1997,
reporting revenues of $36,831,000 and net income of $502,000 (after taxes),
compared to revenues of $25,460,000 and earnings of $1,418,000 (after taxes)
in 1996.
President and chief executive Jane Christie described 1997 as a year of
transition for General Automation and said the company looked forward to
improved earnings and reduced costs in 1998.
- Compaq has announced the acquisition of industry pioneer Digital
Equipment Corporation in a $9.6 billion deal that will create the second-largest
computing company in the world.
The acquisition, officially announced on January 26th, is the largest of
its kind in the industry's history, and is expected to be completed in the
second quarter of 1998. DEC chairman Robert B Palmer said the merger gave
Digital "tremendous reach and credibility" in the marketplace. Under the
terms of the agreement, DEC will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Compaq
Computer Corporation.
- Vmark has reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full
year ended December 31, 1997. Net income for the fourth quarter was $1,564,000
on revenue of $15,023,000, compared to the 1996 fourth-quarter net loss of
$7,340,000 on revenue of $16,884,000.
Peter Gyenes, president and CEO of Vmark, commented: "We had a strong finish
to a very good year." Data warehousing projects saw growth of 65%, whilst
the underlying database business remained solid. Shareholder approval for
the merger with Unidata and change of company name to Ardent Software Inc
is expected on 10 February 1998
