As reported briefly (CI No 1,296), Redditch, Worcestershire-based Istel Ltd used the EDI ’89 conference in London to announce two software and technology transfer deals on the continent. Raet NV, a Netherlands computer software and services supplier, has taken a franchise from Istel to set up its own Electronic Data Interchange service in the Benelux countries, using Istel’s Edict software and initially operating under Istel project management the Raet service is due to be launched early next year. And in Spain, Telefonica de Espana SA subsidiary Telefonica Servicios or TF1 for short – will be taking advantage of the liberalisation of Spain’s value-added services sector to offer a similar service there, in the belief that Electronic Data Interchange will take off in the future. At present, around 60 firms use the GE Information Services EDI Express service based in Holland: TF1’s service, which has the advantage of using the international EDIFACT standard, will be the first nationally-based Electronic Data Interchange service in Spain. TF1 will be targetting GE Information Services’ existing customers in the automotive industry, presumably under the Odette file transfer protocol that became part of Istel’s service this month, and says that the deal, which includes the offer of a consultancy service to TF1, is worth around UKP100,000 a year on a flat fee basis to Istel, with three years the minimum duration of the contract – not exactly a goldmine for Istel, whose total Electronic Data Interchange business is currently running at around UKP5m a year, but Istel will see this deal, and the deal with Raet of roughly the same value, as providing it with a foothold on the continent, in the same way that deals with Paxus ComNet and Cable & Wireless have established Istel in Austalia and Hong Kong respectively. The TF! deal will also bring AT&T Co, which is in the process of acquiring Istel, into indirect contact with Telefonica de Espana, which helped AT&T set up its semiconductor plant in Spain; and to complete the cosiness of it all, TF1 says it is looking closely at offering the Electronic Data Interchange service to telecommunications operators and suppliers, and as such one of its main targets will be its own mother company, Telefonica de Espana.
