Woking, Surrey-based systems house Intercom Data Systems Ltd has paid just under UKP1m for a 20% stake in Open Systems Interconnection software group OSIWare International; as part of the deal, Intercom Data will become the preferred – that is, not exclusive – UK systems integrator and distributor of OSIWare’s products – OSIWare also sells through various hardware OEM outlets. OSIWare’s research and development activity is carried out in Vancouver, Canada, home of the defunct software house Sydney Development Corp from which OSIWare has taken most of its staff. The OSIWare communications software range includes Messenger 400, or M400, a set of communications software based on the 1984 X400 standard, for message transfer over electronic mail systems and value added networks; various Messenger 400 application program interfaces, an M400 Profs gateway to enable message exchange between users of the IBM office automation system with X400 users, and an X500-based directory service called Directory 500. OSIWare was awarded the global license for the University of British Columbia-developed X400 software last October, around a year and a half after Sydney Development Corp filed for bankruptcy. OSIWare has substantially more backing than its predecessor, and that, combined with the increasing legislative impetus carried by the OSI set of standards, has convinced OSIWare and Intercom Data that they can succeed where Sydney failed.
