Some interesting news from the business software world today. Bedford, MA-based Progress Software has acquired decision management firm Corticon of Redwood City, CA. Terms of the deal weren’t announced, but the companies said Corticon’s business rules engine will be integrated into Progress’s responsive process management software package. Mark Allen, the founder and CEO of Corticon, is joining Progress along with his team.
The deal makes sense, given Progress Software’s focus on helping its corporate customers be more operationally responsive—that is, able to handle logistical problems on the fly, such as emergency transportation routes for an airline or travel agent, billing and services issues for a telecom firm, and changes in the financial market for a bank.
Progress (NASDAQ: [[ticker:PRGS]]) is one of the largest software companies in Massachusetts. The firm just announced this week it has appointed Jay Bhatt as its new chief executive. Bhatt, a veteran of Autodesk and Buzzsaw.com, succeeds former CEO Richard Reidy, who stepped down this past summer.
Author: Gregory T. Huang
Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003.
Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
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