Xuma Quietly Calls It Quits

They say the firm has sold its hosting business to San Francisco's Totality, with whom it competed in that realm. Xuma's professional services group was disbanded several months ago.

The remaining piece, a software-development arm that offered pre-integrated packages of products from BEA, Microsoft and other vendors, may be sold to a hosting outfit, sources say.

Founding CEO Joe Cha left the company in December. He was succeeded by Michael Ortega.

The San Francisco-based firm made a splash when it entered the market in 1998 as an e-business solution provider funded in part by an $8 million cash infusion from Dell Computer.

Because the majority of the company's clients were start-ups that didn't have the cash to keep their doors open, Xuma decided last year to market what it called "solution stacks" that systems integrators would buy and implement on behalf of their clients. The products included ControlX and ExchangeX. It also began offering managed services.

"It is very hard be both [a managed service provider and a services company]," said an executive with another San Francisco-based company, who says he has friends that worked at Xuma.

Phones at Xuma's former offices here have been out of service for some time, but the company's Web site is still available at www.xuma.com.