In an effort to improve the alignment of IT with business practices, Borland
Software acquired consulting firm TeraQuest Metrics for an undisclosed sum.
Borland said in a statement it plans to leverage TeraQuest’s Capability
Maturity Models for schedule performance, reduced rework and better
quality and consultants to improve the way developers deliver software and boost
quality assurance and risk management.
This process, software delivery optimization (SDO), is a method of making
tools more collaborative to support better developer team interaction. SDO
characteristics include process and workflow, which allow members of a group
to work in one environment. The practice helps customers avoid the cost of
rework and delays common in IT systems.
Austin, Texas-based TeraQuest and its 25 consultants will become a part of
Borland’s worldwide services organization, with co-founder Bill Curtis
serving as Borland’s chief process officer.
Curtis will work closely with Borland’s services and R&D
teams to wed TeraQuest’s software delivery optimization (SDO) methods with
Borland’s product development and implementation.
Curtis said in the statement TeraQuest’s 12 years of providing Fortune 200
businesses and governments with assessments, consulting, certification and
training to improve software and business operations make it a good fit for
Borland’s needs.
META Group Vice President Thomas Murphy agreed.
“Now with Borland going out and buying a premier training/consulting group
that specializes in CMM they are bringing value beyond the tools and
creating a knowledge place that better enables them to communicate with
upper management,” Murphy said. “It should be a very welcome offering for
customers struggling under the complexities of modern day software
development.”
The buy should also help the Scotts Valley, Calif., company better compete
with IBM and Microsoft, two large competitors that offer software
development tools.
Like Borland, the last large free-standing software tools maker, those
corporations aim to provide customers with SDO and application lifecycle
management to improve development efficiency for programmers worldwide.