AttachmateWRQ Expands Market Reach and SOA Technologies

AttachmateWRQ, a company that many iSeries shops recognize from the days when it was two separate vendors (Attachmate and WRQ), has recently completed the acquisition of OnDemand Software, a company that develops software management and distribution solutions for companies large and small. AttachmateWRQ, which has grown to become one of the leaders in multi-host access and integration, did not disclose the terms of the acquisition, which it can do because it is a private company.

By adding the acquired technology to AttachmateWRQ’s sales and channel organization, AttachmateWRQ is expected to strengthen and consolidate its position in the desktop management arena. One of OnDemand’s offerings, the WinINSTALL product family, is deployed at more than 5,000 companies worldwide, giving AttachmateWRQ quite a nice foothold in the market. WinINSTALL is used to institute and maintain desktop standards, automate the installation of operating systems, applications, and various kinds of content on networked and remote PCs.

The deal also brings several OnDemand executives to the AttachmateWRQ fold. Mel Raff, OnDemand chairman and executive vice president of product operations, becomes product unit manager, desktop management. Jack Palmer, OnDemand president and CEO, becomes manager of desktop management services.

AttachmateWRQ also announced a partnership with Corizon to combine its host integration technology with Corizon’s software, which enables Windows-based and Web-based applications to be broken down into Web services components. Corizon products work with legacy applications and service oriented architectures to allow organizations to provide employees and customers more functional user interfaces based on increased accessibility.

Based in the United Kingdom, Corizon was initially founded in 2000 under the company name Genient. It adopted the name Corizon in November 2003. AttachmateWRQ has its headquarters in Seattle.