Convergent Group Asia Pacific Refocuses on Core Product Development
(Sydney, Australia, 4th December, 1997) - Convergent Group Asia Pacific Pty Limited, one of Australia's leading product developers and systems integrators in AM/FM, SIS and GIS solutions, today announced a refocus on development of its core software technologies, SDM and ARC-NET. Convergent Group Asia Pacific (CGA) was formed when the former Australian company, ARC Systems Pty Ltd, merged with Convergent Group Corporation of USA - Denver. In January, 1997, Convergent Group (USA) refocussed itself as a systems integrator of third party software technologies for utilities, and decided to exit the software development business.
Australian product development slowed while the Australian directors of CGA de-merged from the US parent and successfully re-organised the Company during 1997. Now that this process has been completed, CGA has emerged with a renewed focus on the development and marketing of its core spatial and AM/FM technologies, SDM and ARC-NET. CGA does not intend to develop its own client graphics engine and has already established relationships with major global vendors of client technologies.
Recently CGA announced the release of SDM 4.1. SDM is the Company's Spatial Data Manager which utilises SIRO-DBMS from CSIRO. SDM is a success story of Australian commercialisation, and the new release of SDM is already installed at 3 major sites in Australia.
Mr Tony Cotter, CGA's Director of Research and Development, said, "SDM is superior technically to any spatial server available today in the market. SDM was designed to take the mystique out of spatial information by using industry standard tools and API's to enable spatial data to be stored in commercially available relational databases".
Mr Cotter noted that,"CGA had delivered SDM 4.1 and emerged with a sounder footing, enabling it to refocus on its core AM/FM technology, ARC-NET". Mr Peter Mitchell, CGA's Commercial Director, said, "The change of focus has led to an evaluation of the skills in the Company and to some right-sizing".
The current version of ARC-NET uses the GDS software as its client technology. The GDS software product was a casualty when Convergent Group (USA) exited the product development business, and is in maintenance-only mode following its last major release in October 1997. ARC-NET will be released in 1998 on the SDM/Oracle environment utilising new commercially available client technologies.
ARC-NET and GDS are currently installed on 800 seats in Telstra's CPR system, probably Australia's largest AM/FM/GIS, and one of the few fully deployed operational AM/FM/GIS systems in a telecommunications company anywhere in the world.
Mr Mitchell said, "The company's strategic focus on software products is designed to leverage CGA's assets and bring a greater variety of solutions for spatial data to the market. The company will focus on direct service delivery to strategic end user customers and enhance greater use of spatial technologies by working with business partners and systems integrators". Tony Cotter said, "One of CGA's fundamental beliefs is that customers need to leverage their existing IT investments in software infrastructure and working solutions, and hence they will increasingly require broader corporate solutions which are spatially enabled rather than buying islands of technology".
Convergent Group Asia Pacific Pty Ltd is an Australian software company, with offices in major capital cities, specialising in the delivery of software products, consulting, applications development, data migration, and systems integration solutions for Automated Mapping/Facilities Management (AM/FM), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Work Management Systems (WMS), Document Management Systems (DMS) and related technologies. Convergent Group's business focus is software product development and services in telecommunications, cable, power, water and gas, as well as process industries, infrastructure projects and government agencies, including land management agencies.
# # #
|
