A Kodak moment - Eastman Kodak acquires Wang Software - Company Business and Marketing - Brief Article

Software Magazine, March, 1997

Eastman Kodak, Rochester, N.Y., has long been a recognized name in the imaging market, but the company has never developed commercial imaging software. That will change now that Kodak has announced its intention to acquire the software business unit of Wang Laboratories, Billerica, Mass., for $260 million in cash. Wang Software will become a part of Kodak's Business Imaging Systems organization, which says it will not displace Wang Software's 700 employees.

Gerry Murray, an analyst at International Data Corp., Framingham, Mass., says the sale will add a software piece to Kodak's digital imaging business, which has been strong on the hardware end. "Together it will bring a nice alternative for customers looking for a broad picture of document management throughout their enterprise," he says.

Ed McNierney, Wang Software's vice president of product strategy, says that although his company's software division had been growing 125% annually, Wang sold the division so it could focus on its core competencies of network and systems integration. "We recognized that Wang stockholders didn't see the value of our software business," says McNierney.

"We can't build market presence like Kodak."