Australian software firm seizes global control

Beverley Head
Wednesday, 17 February 2010 14:03

IT Industry - Strategy

Lansa, one of Australia's greatest international software success stories, has wrested back ownership of its global sales network, buying out a Japanese systems integrator to take control of its Lansa Japan office.

The company, established by Australian IT industry veterans Pete Draney and Lyndsey Cattermole, now reaps around $US32 million in international revenues, has more than 7,000 users and a network of offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. Although the company is incorporated in the US (its biggest market is in North America), it is still Australian owned (largely by Cattermole and Draney) and all research and development is carried out in Sydney by a team of around 50 people.

The company earlier this month announced the general availability of Version 12 of the Lansa development platform which is a software tool used to build database centric applications. Among the blue chip users of Lansa and Lansa-based applications are Porsche, AMP, Visa Card Services and Ricoh. 

In order to take back control of its international sales network the company bought out Japanese systems integrator Neoaxis which had owned the majority of Lansa Japan shares.

According to Gordon Davies, vice president of Lansa Asia Pacific, the time was ripe for the change of ownership. 'The focus of a systems integrator is different to that of a product owner.

'We wanted a company that was focussed on the Lansa brand rather than on large services projects,' Davies told iTWire, although he acknowledged that Neoaxis' large services approach had served Lansa well as it built up a user base of over 1,200 organisations in Japan.

The wholly owned Lansa Japan office will kick off with 14 staff, although Neoaxis, which has access to a pool of 100 people with Lansa skills, will continue 'its Lansa project activities,' according to a release issued by the company.