Nearly half of the UK’s top 2000 companies have imposed a lock-down on IT spending because of concerns about the effects of the Year 2000, according to a report commissioned by middleware vendor, Deluxe Data International, a division of US-based paper payment systems Deluxe Corp. But Deluxe Data expects a reverse swing of the pendulum and demand for integration products to double after February 2000, said managing director Ron Drake.
Although 46% of companies surveyed in the report, Key Drivers in EAI Software Solutions said that they had established a moratorium on new projects, Drake said that his company’s current growth rates of 20% would rise to around 40% for the period immediately succeeding the millennium date change. Deluxe Data is in the process of arming itself with Big Five systems integration partnerships to cope with the expected surge.
Deluxe Corp made restructuring changes in April, when it split into four divisions: eFunds, Paper Payment Systems, iDLX and Government Services. eFunds includes Deluxe Data’s middleware product Architect, which is aimed at the financial market. Paper Payment Systems, the printing of checks, is the corporation’s core business, iDXL is its IT services arm, while government services provides support for US federal benefit distribution. The company is currently scouting the US market for potential acquisitions in the electronic payment processing or software sector, says marketing manager Karen Williams.
