RiverSoft reassures channel over buy-out

RiverSoft's UK management has assured its channel partners that it will be business as usual, after accepting MicroMuse's offer to buy the firm.

Micromuse is to acquire all of RiverSoft's shares for £43m in cash.

Micromuse said RiverSoft's network intelligence technology would suit its Netcool applications. RiverSoft executives said the impact on the channel would be minimal.

However, Dudley Moor-Radford, managing director of rival network management vendor Mutiny, said: "There's a bit of a cross-over so you can expect some of the products will be taken out of the market, and some of the channel will suffer."

Before the takeover, RiverSoft's UK management had announced a strategy shift towards addressing the small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) market.

For example, the RiverSoft Lite product offers almost the same functionality as the enterprise version, but at SME prices.

Paul Johns, Riversoft's vice president of marketing, said: "We want to get away from selling to telcos. We've found other markets are very addressable. Thirty per cent of our existing revenue comes from selling to the finance industry, and we weren't even targeting that."

Initially, RiverSoft intends to target SMEs in the finance, transport and healthcare sectors, and is looking to recruit new partners. Fiaz Khan, director of strategic alliances, said: "We've all worked in the channel, so we know the partners we want on board."

RiverSoft is also launching a network audit service, designed to give VARs an opening to new accounts.

"The network audit service gives customers a snapshot of their assets. If they don't get the upgrade to work, they will at least get instant cash for the audit work," said Khan.