Boole & Babbage-owned software distributor The European Software Company or TESC will undoubtedly be viewing its parent’s healthy annual figures – profits up 216.5% at $6.7m, on turnover up 35.9% at $56.7m – with a good deal of satisfaction. Although unable to provide a breakdown of the results to show its own contribution, TESC UK general manager Peter Tierney alluded to a track record of substantial growth, and revealed that last year, the company generated some 60% of consolidated corporate revenues. The company was established 10 years ago to distribute Boole & Babbage products in Europe, and became a formal Boole subsidiary in 1981. Between inception and aquisition, TESC made unilateral moves to expand its portfolio, and signed a number of separate agreements with other US suppliers. Consequently, TESC offerings for the IBM MVS and XA environments now combine traditional Boole performance management and capacity planning offerings with operations automation and control packages. The company currently has 16 offices throughout Europe, joint ventures in Australia and South America, and may well establish a third in Japan, in conjunction with its existing on-the-spot distributor, CLC. Further pointers to the company’s strength, particularly in the customer support arena, include the the recent promotion of TESC manager Han Bruggeling to Boole & Babbage presidency, and the rapid implementation of a Bruggeling-inspired restructuring of the company. The US company is now divided into two separate divisions, with the Boole & Babbage Product Company dedicated to maintaining traditional research and development activities, and Boole & Babbage North America focusing specificially upon sales and distribution. The policy of allocating a high 23% of corporate revenues on research and development will, however, be maintained, stressed Tierney. With Bruggeling at the helm, Boole & Babbage intends to become a $100m company by 1992. Meanwhile TESC will look for new products to emerge from two recent US start-up ventures, and will begin searching for suitable expert systems to include in its range.
