US Unix software distributor Qualix Group Inc, San Mateo, California wants to accelerate its Qualix Partner Programme by going on the acquisition trail and financing a programme it hopes will bounce it into the system administration and Internet security market. The company, which recently secured $2m in venture capital funding from Hambrecht & Quist LLC, bringing its capitalisation to $6m, will continue to provide sales, marketing and support to sub-$3m companies that do not have the clout to push products to market, but is now also seeking to make investments. It likens itself to a software house without in-house software development teams. It currently sells networking, system and databases software and claims 2,500 customers. The privately-owned company is split into two divisions. Qualix Direct sells add-on software for printers, scanners and expansion cabinets, accessories and desktop productivity applications for Silicon Graphics Inc, Sun Microsystems Inc, Hewlett-Packard Co and IBM Corp systems. The group publishes, sells and supports products developed by small companies, offering integration, training and consulting services. Qualix Direct accounts for 25% of Qualix business, said Rick Thau, chief executive, with the other 75% coming from our partner programme. The company has 40 employees and plans to go public in the next two years.
