QA Systems buys Cantata++ business from IPL

16/03/2012

QA Systems launches UK company following purchase of IPL’s Testing Products Business Unit, which had previously developed and distributed the innovative Cantata++ and AdaTEST testing products

QA Systems GmbH, the Stuttgart-based provider of software development solutions, has purchased the Testing Products Business Unit from UK IT services company IPL, thereby launching QA Systems Ltd.

IPL’s Testing Products Business Unit, based in IPL’s head offices in Bath, United Kingdom, was responsible for the development and worldwide partner network that distributed the innovative C/C++ and Ada embedded systems unit and integration testing tools Cantata++ and AdaTEST.

Since May 2011, QA Systems GmbH has been a distributor of the Cantata++ portfolio throughout Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Having seen an increasing demand for testing products for business and safety-critical components and embedded systems, QA Systems GmbH saw an opportunity to combine IPL’s dynamic testing tools with its current portfolio of requirements engineering and static testing tools. In order to do so freely and determine the direction of research and development activities, QA Systems GmbH has purchased the entire Testing Products Business Unit from IPL and set up QA Systems Ltd as a result – an independent UK-based company with a global remit predominantly targeting the aerospace, defence, automotive, engineering and healthcare sectors.

Andreas Sczepansky, CEO and President of QA Systems Ltd, comments, “A historical focus on static testing has limited our market reach. However, having seen the market potential of IPL’s dynamic testing software products, we were keen to be able to combine these product lines with our own so that we could go to market with an all-encompassing proposition. In order to maintain control over the ongoing development so that it would suit our needs and ambitions, we decided that the most practical option would be to offer to purchase the business unit from IPL and establish a new UK-based company from the existing resource.”

The employees, intellectual property and assets previously held within IPL’s Testing Products Business Unit are being transferred to the newly-established QA Systems Ltd, which will also be based in Bath. All existing customers of AdaTEST and Cantata++ products will continue to be supported by the new entity and will benefit from the greater resources of the overall QA Systems group. Existing partners already reselling the two product lines will also continue to be supported by QA Systems Ltd. Indeed, as part of its global strategy, QA Systems Ltd. is actively seeking out further additional partners to assist in territorial and vertical market reach.

Shaun Davey, CEO of IPL, comments, “IPL has evolved dramatically over recent months and years, to the extent that the activities pursued within the Testing Products Business Unit no longer matched the wider corporate vision of providing strategic IT service support and consultancy. We are however fiercely proud of the advances the unit made in the field of dynamic software testing products and in the way that both Cantata++ and AdaTEST have been continually received by the market. We are therefore delighted to see the products flourish with new owners who will dedicate the time and resource to developing them still further and capitalising on their clear potential.”

About IPL
IPL is an IT services company specialising in the delivery of intelligent business solutions. We help our clients to exploit corporate information assets to yield tangible business benefits. Bridging the gap between business and technology, IPL provides Business Consulting, Technical Consulting, Solution Delivery and Managed Services to deliver innovative and dependable ICT solutions that address real business needs. IPL was founded in 1979 and is based in the World Heritage City of Bath, UK. www.ipl.com

About QA Systems GmbH
To accelerate and improve software development – this is the task QA Systems GmbH has set itself. The company was founded by Andreas Sczepansky in 1996 in Stuttgart. QA Systems offers developers, software testers and quality managers both its own products, which are marketed worldwide, and suitable products from partners: whether for static or dynamic testing, requirements engineering, architectural analysis or software metrics.
In order to provide its customers with optimum service, QA Systems advises companies and offers long-term and individual support before, during and after the introduction of software. In addition, the transfer of knowledge is promoted in the QA Systems Academy, where experts such as Dr. Scott Meyers and Prof. Les Hatton pass on their know-how and expertise to others. QA Systems has roughly 350 customers, including BMW, Continental and EADS