System iNetwork

July 22, 2008

Singapore or Bust

ARCAD Software's passport now boasts stamps from Europe, the United States, and Asia. The change-management vendor has added an office in bustling Singapore to its global headquarters in France and U.S. headquarters in New Hampshire. Singapore may be the smallest nation in Southeast Asia, but it's bursting with the type of economic excitement that fits into the company's global strategy of 24/7 service.

"From a business point of view, it's a vibrant financial location that is growing more and more," reports Philippe Magne, ARCAD CEO and chairman. "It's highly strategic for our company because we have many financial institutions in our customer base." Located halfway between India and Australia, ARCAD’s new Asia-Pacific connection bolsters technical support for clients in those areas.

"Business is more dynamic in that region," Magne says of Singapore. However, he doesn’t necessarily anticipate improved sales. "I would say that it's a different, younger business compared to Europe and North America, which are more mature. However, the potential for growth is high. At the same time, we have a lot of potential in Europe and the U.S. Latin America is going very well for us, too." He adds, "We are shaking the market."

ARCAD hopes to shake it more when it opens a California office in the near future. The company is also exploring the possibility of establishing a presence in Dubai and has already joined forces with an ISV from Switzerland in conjunction with its Singapore venture. Watch for a new website for the company as well.

Offering solutions for managing application change, quality control, and the reliability of deployment in and around the System i environment, ARCAD's software suite includes lifecycle management, application mining, test automation, and helpdesk modules that support customers who are updating and modernizing their critical business applications. What makes his company unique, Magne says, is that it provides a highly integrated product suite based around a repository core designed from the ground up to address System i and open systems development.

ARCAD's strategy is to stick with the IBM i community and continue to spread its organization worldwide. How about you? What's your international economic outlook? What's stamped on your passport?

Posted by vhamende at July 22, 2008 8:36 AM