A division of Aliso Viejo’s Quest Software Inc. said it landed a $2.3 million software contract with Lockheed Martin Corp.
Quest’s software works in conjunction with widely used business programs by Microsoft Corp., Oracle Corp. and others.
The idea behind Quest’s products is to get more performance and productivity from databases, e-mail programs and others.
For Lockheed, Quest is setting up a program that helps streamline the log-in functions on its employee networks.
As it stands, Lockheed’s roughly 135,000 workers have to log in separately to access the network, get e-mail and submit online forms to an internal human resources site.
Quest’s software allows for a reduction of log-ins and is set to decrease calls to the help desk for lost or forgotten passwords, Lawrence said.
It also helps manage a separate online network for Lockheed’s subcontractors and suppliers.
“It can be automated for security reasons and (that) makes it all easier to manage,” said Steve Lawrence, director of the company’s federal group, a subset of Quest’s public sector division based in Rockville, Md. “It allows (Lockheed) to leverage software it already has.”
Quest’s bread-and-butter is typically midsize and large companies.
Its public sector division has about 120 salespeople who target federal, state and local government agencies, big school districts, colleges and universities as well as defense contractors.
“Almost every university and every state agency that has Oracle and Microsoft applications also has something of Quest’s,” Lawrence said.
Its biggest customers of late are the Army and the Department of Homeland Security, according to the company’s Web site.
Quest doesn’t break out sales for its public sector group.
The company hasn’t reported full results in more than a year due to a long-running stock options probe. The Business Journal estimates Quest’s annual sales at roughly $475 million.
Solarflare Taps VP
Irvine’s Solarflare Communications Inc., a maker of networking chips and one of the county’s best-funded startups, said it hired a new operations executive.
Dean Bernat is set to be Solarflare’s vice president of operations.
Bernat, who previously worked for the company as a product consultant, will manage the company’s testing, manufacturing operations and supply chain as the company looks to land its chips into computers and servers made by top computer makers.
Solarflare makes chips for switches, devices that direct the flow of data on a network.
The chips are designed to make smaller-capacity networks interact with heftier ones at data transfer speeds of about 10 gigabits per second, much faster than the standard two gigabits per second.
That allows businesses to upgrade, rather than replace, networks.
Before coming to Solarflare, Barnat had a similar role at RF Magic Inc. a chipmaker that was bought by San Diego-based Entropic Communications Inc. in June.
Ingram, Printronix Expand Deal
Irvine’s Printronix Inc., a maker of industrial-grade printers that’s going private, said it expanded its distribution agreement with Santa Ana’s Ingram Micro Inc.
The agreement allows Ingram Micro, the largest distributor of electronics, tech gear and software, to distribute Printronix’s SmartLine thermal printers to stores in Britain.
The original deal was struck in March.
It involved Ingram’s SymTech division distributing Printronix’s SmartLine printers to resellers in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland.
In 2006, Ingram Micro acquired SymTech Nordic AS for undisclosed terms.
Printronix’s printers and related software are used by manufacturers to print barcodes and labels for tracking goods in warehouses and stores.
Its customers include automakers, banks and retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
The move could give Printronix a boost after the company pinned its hopes on a printing and labeling system that was expected to replace the barcode for tracking and scanning merchandise.
Radio frequency identification tags, known as RFID, use a chip and a tiny antenna to store and send information. The tags didn’t really take off, mainly due to their higher cost compared with regular barcodes.
Printronix recently agreed to a $108 million buyout by San Francisco private equity firm Vector Capital to end its some 30 years as a small public company. The deal is set to close in coming weeks.
Printronix has yearly sales of $130 million and a market value of roughly $105 million.
