Concord Makes $93M Play For Aprisma

Buying Aprisma and its Spectrum suite of IP performance and fault management solutions from parent company Gores Technology Group will give Concord the tools to better compete against vendors such as BMC Software and Hewlett-Packard, said Dayton Semerjian, executive vice president of marketing and alliances at Concord, Marlborough, Mass.

Concord's eHealth suite of IT network management software already integrates with Aprisma's Spectrum technology, providing a one-two punch of infrastructure and network management when running simultaneously, Semerjian said.

With the acquisition still pending, Semerjian said it was too early to discuss bundled product offerings that combine tools from eHealth and Spectrum. But he said such offerings would be likely down the line.

Aprisma, Portsmouth, N.H., has a healthy install base within many networks running HP's OpenView IT management suite, Semerjian said, and Concord plans to train Aprisma's direct-sales force and reseller partners to cross-sell Concord into customer environments that might otherwise opt for OpenView.

A challenge in coordinating such cross-selling, however, lies in the fact that Aprisma will maintain its autonomy as a stand-alone business unit with Concord, Semerjian said. Aprisma CEO Mike Fabiaschi will join Concord's executive team and report directly to Concord CEO Jack Blaeser, he said.

"We are working on cross-compensation of both companies' sales forces," said Semerjian. "They will have a larger, more complete solution to sell, a solution that will now compete on the scale of HP and BMC."

Greg Wassenberg, vice president of federal sales at Woodbridge, Va.-based VAR FedTek, which also sells into the civilian market, has been an Aprisma reseller for about a year. Wassenberg said the combination of Concord's infrastructure expertise and Aprisma's networking skill delivers a strong message to customers.

"Concord is strong on the infrastructure side and Aprisma is strong on the network side, and I think [the acquisition] will enhance both stories as we go sell against guys like HP," Wassenberg said.