Describing it as a strategic rather than financial decision, Rockwell International Corp has decided, as reported briefly (CI No 2,583), not to divest itself of its Switching Systems Division, the company’s automatic call distribution arm based up in Downers Grove, Illinois, as it said it was considering last summer. The company said that although several dozen companies expressed an interest in buying the division, which materialised into a number of offers, Rockwell decided to keep it on for two key reasons: firstly, future support for existing customers could not have been guaranteed; and secondly the process of divestiture has opened up at least half a dozen alliance possibilities. Indeed, the company added that in the next 30 days the division will announce an alliance with a telecommunications company who has previously been seen as a competitor. Although Rockwell would not identify the company, Aspect Telecommunications, Octel Communications Corp, DCE Communications Group, or troubled Datapoint Corp could all be seen as contenders. The Switching Systems Division has also been branching out in other ways: it recently signed a deal with Sprint Corp enabling companies to sign up for automatic call distribution capabilities as a service, rather than buying the equipment. The company hinted that more deals of a similar nature could be expected in the future. Similarly, the Switching System Division has announced two deals to buy in technologies from other companies. It is now working to integrate the Intelligent CallRouter from Littleton, Massachusetts-based GeoTel Communications Corp into its Spectrum and Galaxy call centres; and it has now become the exclusive distributor of a new desktop workstation product from Margate, Florida-based Interactive Response Technologies. This is intended to enable users to integrate into a single transaction multiple functions including call centre capabilities, and such features as booking confirmations, inventory and shipping checks, credi t reference checks, and fax back confirmation. Despite its OEM deals, however, the company asserts that its commitment to research and development has not been scaled back and it still employs more than 300 full-time engineers.
