In-Depth
November Editorial: An Acquiring Taste
IBM and Sequent did it. CA and Platinum did it. Even Sprint and MCI are doing it. The merge urge is on again across numerous industries, and we here at ESJ have been swept up, so to speak, by it all as well.
This past month, 101communications LLC acquired the IT Publishing Group of Boucher Communications Inc., whose magazines include, Enterprise Systems Journal, HP Professional, Enterprise Linux, ENT, Unisphere, Platform Decisions, Midrange Systems and Distributed Computing. The group, which has a circulation of over 400,000, is called the Enterprise Technology Group, or ETG.
As IT converges and erases old industry boundaries, new digital professions and specialties are emerging at a rapid clip, resulting in a need for specialized media. Therefore, the ETG publications will serve the information needs of IS, IT and network managers in several specific market segments. The editorial mission of each publication will remain the same, and that is to enable its IS readers to better leverage their organization’s investment in IT from an installed-base perspective.
According to Curt Hessler, 101’s CEO, "These magazines will form the core of our services to system management professionals, and to IT vendors that market to them. This Group is staffed by highly regarded professionals who will accelerate 101’s rapid emergence as a major provider of specialized information to the IT community."
101 communications was founded in late 1998 to acquire and operate specialized media that target professionals and vendors in the digital technology industries. This media will range across diverse formats – trade magazines, journals and newsletters, conferences and seminars, training courseware, and associated Web-based services.
Target audiences include software development teams, networking and communications experts, creative media professionals, and senior information executives in major industries and government. Led by experienced industry executives, and backed by Frontenac Company, a private equity firm with over $750 million under management, 101 is building a new model for business-to-business communications.
In addition to the ETG publications, 101’s portfolio includes a range of magazines and conferences, including Application Development Trends, Application Development Advisor, Java Report, C++ World, JOOP, Syllabus and Recharger, Syllabus Conference, Recharger WorldExpo Conference and the SIGS Conferences: OOP, Smalltalk Solutions, Object Expo, XML One Conferences, Component Development Conferences, Application Development Conference for Java Development and C++ World.
What does all this mean for my customers? Yes, you, our readers. Well, quite simply, it means more of what we do – and that’s providing information. With 101 communications, we will produce larger issues and additional supplements. Many of you have already read our premiere issue of Enterprise Linux, which is providing business models for open source computing, and critics have deemed it a "kick tail" publication. This demographically mailed supplement targets over 100,000 UNIX and NT managers debating the use of Linux in their enterprises. And, of course, we’ll be investing in our Web sites to provide conference information, exclusive online articles, as well as interactive events.
Speaking of special events, don’t miss next month’s Special Focus on "Visions for the New Millennium," in which industry figures like Dave Carlucci, who helped reconceive the S/390, along with IS managers in the trenches, candidly share their experiences and offer opinions of what skills will be needed by tomorrow’s IT professional. In addition, hear their predications of what trends and technologies will ring in the new millennium with a bang and which will fizzle out with a whimper.
So, get this sure-to-be commemorative December issue. In the meantime, write to me with some of your more memorable IT experiences, good or bad, along with your crystal ball findings and be a part of our Exclusively Online edition of ESJ’s "Visions for the New Millennium."