The Journal of
New England
Technology
www.masshightech.com
Sept. 13 - 19, 1999
Volume 17, Issue 37
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The Journal of New England Technology |
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www.masshightech.com Sept. 13 - 19, 1999 Volume 17, Issue 37 |
By Colin C. Haley
staff writer
While some software companies
reinvent themselves weekly to capitalize on the latest trend, Computer Corporation
of America (CCA) remains true to its purpose: to provide flexible, high-volume
database systems for mainframes.
The Framingham-based company
was founded in 1965 by Thomas Merrill, a psychologist who wanted to use mainframe
computers (which until then were little more than refrigerator-sized calculators)
to manage reams of clinical data.
The National Security Agency
wanted a similar system to keep its records, and bankrolled CCA's research and
development efforts. By the early 1970s, CCA put its database manager on the
U.S. commercial market for the first time.
Since then, the company
has enjoyed steady growth. It went international in the mid-1980s with its flagship
Model 204, a database system for IBM 370 and 390 mainframes, which handle millions
of records and thousands of concurrent users.
"We've been successful
by concentrating on our core competencies," said Marie Kelly, a spokeswoman
for the privately held, Framingham-based company.
The company employs 119
full-time workers, most of them in Massachusetts. It posted revenues of more
than $32 million last year, and though it does not release earnings information,
it says it is profitable, and does not foresee a need for venture funding or
a public offering.
But while CCA makes software
for mainframes, it is not mired in the past. The company has developed several
products to link databases and e-commerce operations.
WebGate allows users to
access data through the Internet; MarketPulse Analytics is a sales package that
crunches data. MarketPulse can also run under Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows
NT platforms.
CCA's software is used
by a range of customers. Roadway Express Inc., an Akron, Ohio-based freight
company, uses CCA systems to store and track nearly 60,000 shipments a day.
Each transaction includes names, addresses, weight and number of pieces.
The 20,000 staffers at
the Australian Commonwealth Services Delivery Agency, the country's equivalent
of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, also use CCA software.
CCA is working to make the system even more personalized and self-service oriented.
Other customers include
the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation and West Chester
University, a school just outside of Philadelphia.
Chris Ramsdale, CCA's director
of strategic products and planning, said the new offerings have allowed the
company to expand its business with existing customers. He calls the e-commerce
aspect a "green field" opportunity.
"It still comes down to
a need for high-capacity systems," Ramsdale said.
In addition to the budding
e-commerce opportunities, CCA also envisions years of strong sales for its mainframe
workhorse. Sales of IBM and Hitachi Corp.'s mainframes have never been stronger,
Ramsdale said.
Analysts see that as a
positive sign for CCA, too.
"The company's faith in
the continued deployment and use of the mainframe looks to be justified, considering
that predictions about the mainframes' lifespan appear to be lengthening rather
than shortening," David Burman, an analyst with the England-based Butler Group,
wrote in a recent review of CCA's products.
The only issues Burman
had with CCA were its database engine's availability only for the mainframe,
and the tendency for some large corporations to shy away from doing business
with smaller information technology vendors.
Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. Mass High Tech 1999.
Copyright © 2003
Computer Corporation of America.
All right reserved. Published in
the United States of America.
