Despite ongoing financial problems, TCP/IP and PC connectivity specialist NetManage Inc is sticking doggedly to its plan of buying up the competition to bolster its business. Last week it acquired privately-held PC-to host communications firm Relay Technology Inc, on undisclosed terms. The move follows the company’s acquisition of NetSoft Inc back in July (CI No 3,199), which took the company into the AS/400 to PC connectivity business. Relay takes NetManage further into the proprietary world, with technology supporting IBM mainframe 3270 host to client communications, gives it access to Vienna, Virginia-based Relay’s four million users, and strengthens its distribution through Relay’s OEM and value added reseller distribution channels. Meanwhile, NetManage has introduced its first products from the NetSoft buy, in the shape of upgrades to the NS/Portfolio product range of AS/400 to PC networking products, adding integration with Microsoft Office, support for Novell Inc’s NetWare Directory Services and support for ActiveX controls.
