Quality assurance software developer, Segue Software Inc, this week announced a reorganization of its business units in a bid to streamline operations following the acquisition of technology from net.Genesis in October 1998. Although the company is billing the restructuring as the creation of two new business units – the server products and enterprise products business divisions- the two units were already well established internally, said Chuck Conley, a spokesperson for Segue. What’s new is that this is the first time the company has come out and formally named the divisions. Both will be concerned with delivery software products into Segue’s LiveQuality E-Business Management System (EBMS) brand.
The one main difference is that the company’s labs in San Francisco will now be closed down and integrated with the company’s three other development centers in Lexington, Massachusetts. The aim, said Conley, is to reduce operating costs, while focusing on the delivery of key software components for its LiveQuality EBMS product line. Specifically, the move brings Segue’s SilkControl product, which was being developed out of the San Francisco labs using technology from net.Genesis, under the control of the enterprise division. The company will continue to maintain one office in San Francisco as well as its offices in Los Gatos and Campbell, California. We started the year with a large set of products and technologies which we had either developed or acquired, Steve Butler, Segue’s president and CEO said, after review and discussion, we have concluded that a restructuring will allow for a shorter time-to-market and will incur less operating overhead and expenses.
The server products unit, which includes the company’s SilkPerformer, SilkObserver and SilkPilot products, will concentrate on delivering products that test and monitor the salability, reliability and performance of web servers designated for e-business. The enterprise products unit focuses on creating real-time modeling scenarios that enable users to gather live data and model their customers’ behavior patterns while visiting the web site. The data is then fed back into the system to allow companies to carry out what if? scenarios which enable them to better predict users’ behavior and tailor their web site accordingly. Segue said it will work to integrate its client and transaction testing solutions including SilkTest, with components of SilkControl to deliver its modeling and analysis products SilkRealizer, and SilkRadar. As part of the re-organization, Segue expects to record a one-time restructuring charge in the range of $400,000 to $650,000 for the consolidation of development labs and severance costs, although the company wouldn’t say how many staff would go.
