As expected, financial application house Platinum Software Corp is having to trim itself back after posting a first quarter loss (CI No 2,778), losing its entire 50-person direct-sales staff. The Irvine, California-based company has also pulled the plug on its high-end SQL Enterprise product which runs with ton Sybase and will, instead, concentrate on the SQL NT version for Microsoft Corp’s SQL Server, and Platinum Windows for MS-DOS. The move takes Platinum out of the big-time accounting software market where it was finding it heavy going against the likes of Oracle Corp, PeopleSoft Inc and SAP AG. It had estimated that sales fell $3m in the quarter. Meantime Hyperion Software Corp, which changed its name from IMRS Inc back in February (CI No 2,609), said it is talking to Platinum about providing a possible upgrade base for existing SQL Enterprise customers to its Hyperion Financials and Enterprise software. Hyperion said it may pick up some additional development and support expertise from Sybase Inc but even without a commitment to further development of SQL Enterprise sees it only as a modest transaction. Stamford, Connecticut-based Hyperion Financials 1.0 suite includes general ledger, accounts payable, reporting, administration, purchasing, receivables and asset modules targeted at SQL databases from Sybase with Oracle modules of general ledger and payable in the first quarter of 1996, while receivables, purchasing and fixed assets will be delivered in mid-year. The company also ships data analysis and desktop reporting tools for its financial applications and has extended the drill down capabilities of these stand-alone tools to the entire suite. Hyperion has 13 customers for the four-month-old Financials suite to which it will add an accounts payable module. Financials sells for from $100,000 per module.
Content from our partners
