CommTech picks up SSSI

Two more operations support system manufacturers have joined the merger and acquisition rank and file. Cranbury, N.J.-based CommTech has acquired Strategic Systems and Services Inc., Valencia, Calif.

"The two companies meld well together," said Frank Lauria, vice president of sales and marketing for CommTech. "CommTech has strengths in service delivery and provisioning, and SSSI will add trunk-side provisioning and voice routing management."

CommTech's products provide alarm and environmental control for central offices, customer station rearrangement for Centrex and ISDN customers, telemetry and data concentration, Class 5 service activation and provisioning, and digital subscriber line loop qualification, activation and maintenance.

SSSI had focused on developing interfaces that automatically update the switch. Products also captured information from switches, call detail records and operational measurements. "The goal for our products is to increase capabilities and decrease human involvement," said Brian Cafferty, vice president of sales and marketing at SSSI.

The acquisition should strengthen CommTech's customer base among competitive local exchange carriers. Both companies had many of the same incumbent customers, but they did not share CLEC customers.

"Soon, we'll be melding our products," said Cafferty. "We've presented a joint capability to an existing customer, and in the future, we will offer the same interface to the existing products." CommTech's FastFlow is designed to glue various systems and should provide an interface to the SSSI products, he said. "Our target is to provide end-to-end activation of both line side and trunk services."

SSSI will become known as CommTech and remain in California. All SSSI management will remain in place. While many acquisitions mean layoffs, CommTech and SSSI are expecting a 50% growth increase during the next year.

The finances of the acquisition were not disclosed because the companies are privately held.