ARCAD Goes Dutch with New Office

October 14, 2008 Alex Woodie

System i change management vendor ARCAD Software recently announced it has opened a new office in the Netherlands. The new Dutch office will provide a staging ground for the French company to target new System i customers in the region, and support existing ones.

ARCAD Software BV, as the new Dutch subsidiary of ARCAD Software is called, will provide local support for the company’s Dutch customers, in particular Van Lanschot Bankiers, a financial services company that’s one of ARCAD’s most strategic clients. It will also strengthen ARCAD’s presence in the Netherlands in terms of supporting deployed licenses with local professional services, the company says.

“It is an opportune time for us to consolidate our position in the Netherlands,” says Philippe Magne, chairman and CEO of ARCAD. “First of all, we already have reference accounts in the country. Second, the well-publicized sales of other change management software companies and the effect of the acquisitions on the viability of those companies’ products present important upgrade potential for ARCAD,” he says, referring indirectly to UNICOM Systems‘ acquisition of Softlanding Systems nearly two years ago.

“Replacing a change management tool that is already in place is not easy, especially when the product has performed satisfactorily in the past,” Magne says. “That is why we explain to clients that this is not a replacement, but rather an evolution–a new dimension in change management.”

That evolution is reflected in System i shops’ changing needs to address regulatory compliance, security, and integration with new technologies. “Moving to ARCAD solutions presents the opportunity to move into a new era,” Magne says.

ARCAD Software BV is located in Dongen, about 40 miles south of Amsterdam. The office comes on the heals of ARCAD’s expansion into Singapore this summer.