SAGE RESELLER CIS CONSULTING SELLS PRACTICE
Charlotte, N.C. - CIS Consulting Group has sold its 24-year-old practice to a variety of interests, including a software company it once represented.
The firm, which also represented Viewpoint Construction Software, sold its Sage Timberline and Master Builder business in December to Maumee, Ohio-based reseller Aktion Associates Inc., top Sage partner Alliance Solutions Group, and Sage itself.
Specifically, nearly 1,500 Timberline and Master Builder customers and 20 CIS employees went to Aktion Associates, and 400 customers on the West Coast are now handled by Alliance Solutions' Manhattan Beach, Calif., office. CIS also had Colorado-area customers, which are now being served by Sage direct sales.
CIS principals Chuck Elyea and Jim Campbell, as well as four sales reps, a marketing manager, two consultants, and a programmer, are now part of Viewpoint Construction Software, which will maintain an office in Charlotte, giving the Portland, Ore.-based company an East Coast presence.
The decision to essentially dissolve CIS Consulting came quickly, according to founder and chief executive Elyea. He noted that the construction industry has been in a downturn in recent years, and as such his firm has seen some difficult times. He also said that pressure from Sage made it even more problematic to function without layoffs, as sales margins were trimmed because CIS was carrying a competing product, Viewpoint.
OPEN SYSTEMS REVEALS NEW PARTNER PROGRAMS
Minneapolis - Mid-market accounting software developer Open Systems Inc. has introduced a new reseller unit focused on developing business within the Americas, which will be headed by newly appointed vice president of channel development Linda Shillingburg. The new program is targeting VARs, systems integrators and independent IT consulting firms within North America. Open Systems' main products include Traverse for Microsoft .Net and SQL Server-based systems, and the Java-based OSAS for Windows, Mac and Linux computers. In addition to the program rollout in the Americas, the company is also offering partner and distributor programs globally.
