John Hansen, CEO, WatchMark-Comnitel

Real time was before its time when WatchMark was pushing the concept for network management at the turn of the millennium. Now, five years later — and after 10 years of WatchMark refining its approach — it appears that time has caught up. Real time is real.

And so is WatchMark. To be real in 2005 and beyond, a purveyor of wireless network software solutions must be a purveyor of substance. It must be a company with size on its side, history in its veins and viability in its bottom line. John Hansen was hired as CEO this past February to ensure WatchMark-Comnitel had all three. (WatchMark acquired Comnitel in November 2003.) He recently engineered the company's acquisition of ADC's Metrica business unit for $35 million in cash and 3.2 million shares of company stock. Although Metrica lost $2 million last quarter, the operational efficiencies gained through the merger should help Metrica add to WatchMark-Comnitel's overall viability.

As for history and size, the combined companies have approximately three decades of experience and support more than 300 customers. Not your average point solution.

While WatchMark-Comnitel is still trying to “swallow the whale,” as Hansen put it, he is looking ahead to 2005, which analysts say is going to be a breakout year for service quality management — his company's specialty and one that the Metrica acquisition should only make better.

“Service quality management is taking off for a very good reason. And that reason, of course, is wireless data,” Hansen said. “After years of promise, suddenly operators are spending money on it. And the reason they are is because consumers and businesses are pulling it through.

There is a lot of opportunity to get wireless data right this time, Hansen said, and the first operator that gets it right will have huge and profitable revenue growth.

“Operators are finally in a position to take advantage of that, and they know it,” Hansen said.

Having true ubiquitous access to e-mail, calendars and exchange services is just huge, he added.

“We're just riding those coat tails. And what good coat tails to be on.”
— Tim McElligott