Blackbaud Adds Six Resellers: Nonprofit industry software developer Blackbaud has added six new resellers: Weyrich, Cronin & Sorra, in Lutherville, Md.; Applied Business Services, of Gaithersburg, Md.; Libris Solutions, of San Francisco and Oakland, Calif.; Action Systems, in Redwood City, Calif.; Polar Systems, in Portland, Ore.; and Whitinger Consulting, in Muncie, Ind.
Blackbaud channel sales director Steve Dettor said that the new additions are part of the vendor’s plan to triple its channel size in the next 18 months. The Charleston, S.C.-based company began the year with 20 resellers, 16 of whom are accountants or are otherwise affiliated with accounting firms.
Supply Chain It Spending On Upswing: Larger U.S. companies will automate their supply chains by spending $35 billion over the next five years to improve processes that monitor, manage and optimize the extended networks, according to Forrester Research.
The Cambridge, Mass.-based analyst expects firms to increasingly extend their supply chain processes across departmental and partner boundaries. The trend will mean the end of investments in narrowly focused functional supply chain management applications in favor of supply chain processes that support supply networks, it said.
Acctrak21 Waives Fees For New Resellers: In an effort to attract reseller interest, AccTrak21, the Australia-based accounting and financial analysis software vendor, is temporarily waiving its $199 sign-up fee for new partners.
Wayne Harding, chief executive of the company’s Denver-based U.S. operations, reported recruiting 65 resellers thus far. The vendor prefers resellers who are CPAs or "operate in the accounting arena and have clients," he said. For more information, visit
Accpac Deploys On LINUX: Accounting software vendor Accpac International has certified its Pro Series and Advantage Series accounting products to work on Sun MicroSystem’s Linux-based product line, which includes the entry-level server LX50. The Advantage and Pro lines already both run on Microsoft and Novell operating systems, and support Microsoft’s SQL Server database.
Aberdeen Group Cites Softline Reseller: Prism Visual Software, an accounting software reseller for Softline AccountMate, has been cited for one of the Ten Most Significant Data Deployments of 2002 by technology industry analysts Aberdeen Group.
Aberdeen cited Port Washington, N.Y.-based Prism for deployment of its MiniMate handheld software with a service-company client called Linco Services, of Washington, Ind. Prism built MiniMate on the framework of Softline AccountMate’s AccountMate 6.0 software and designed it primarily for use by field service companies.
Aberdeen’s annual report, "What Works: Ten Significant Data Deployments," noted that Linco was able to improve its operations when remote workers used MiniMate to perform route management and equipment dispatch and accounting services from their handheld devices. For further information on Aberdeen’s study, visit www.aberdeen.com.
Microsoft Buys Web Conference Service: Microsoft Corp. has entered into an agreement to acquire PlaceWare Inc., a provider of Web conferencing services that enable businesses to conduct interactive presentations and meetings over the Internet.
Microsoft said that the combination will "provide customers with innovative and easy-to-use online conferencing solutions." The deal could have implications for resellers from Microsoft Business Solutions, since they can use Web conferencing to handle customer support.
PlaceWare is being placed in a new Real Time Collaboration Group, and will reportedly complement Microsoft’s existing conferencing tool, NetMeeting, which enables peer-to-peer collaboration and application sharing between two users.
Mountain View, Calif.-based PlaceWare had been privately held. Microsoft did not divulge terms of the deal.
