French computer systems giant Groupe Bull SA has set up a new software division in an attempt to build a billion dollar, global software business focusing on systems management and network security products. The business, which will be headquartered in the US, is being run by new recruit Henry Ancona formerly of Polaroid Corp. Speaking at CeBIT, Ancona, who also worked at Digital Equipment Corp until 1993 where he was reponsible for the development of the All-In-One office systems product, said that Bull’s software revenues were $100m last year and the business already employs 500 people. The majority of that revenue comes from Bull’s systems management suite Open Master which, says Ancona, is widely installed across the world.
By Joanna Mancey
The company also has high hopes for its recently released network security suite, Secure Ware, which is already in use at the French military. Ancona bullishly predicts that Bull’s software business will significantly outpace the market this year, which is growing at around 30%. Our technology is fantastic and it installs easily, he said. We have lots of satisfied reference sites. And to help give the unit a more global presence, Ancona is setting up a software research and development center in the US and will gradually increase the number of employees based in the US, up from around two dozen today. Bull’s recently appointed chief executive, Guy de Panafieu, meanwhile, says that Bull, which reported revenues of $4.2bn for 1997, is on couse to post double digit growth over the coming years. Smartcards, security and systems management will pull the whole company forward, he said at CeBIT. Like its German counterpart Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme AG, however, Bull is also seeking to reduce its dependence on its domestic market. The aim, said Panafieu is to accrue just one-third of revenues from France. We want to be seen as a global company and recognized for our leading products.
