HP acquires Tower Software

By Isabelle Chaize

Hewlett-Packard, the American IT company, have agreed the purchase of Tower Software for an undisclosed sum.

Tower is an Australian company focussing on software which helps businesses to keep track of their records, both electronic and on paper.

Tower’s software will become part of the IT giants compliance portfolio, which assists companies with the administration of their documents and making sure their records comply with data archiving and e-discovery laws.

Robin Purohit, vice president and general manager of HP’s information management software branch, said that data management and compliance was becoming ever more important in todays business world.

He said, ‘In reaction to increased business regulation, e-records management has moved from a back-office task to a business-critical function.

‘The combination of HP and Tower is expected to be hugely beneficial to the legal and IT organisations of businesses all over the world’.

The deal, which according to HP has already been given the go-ahead by more than 90% of Tower’s shareholders, is anticipated to be completed by the end of June.

Brand Hoff, the founder of Tower, said he thought the move would make Tower’s software more accessible to a much wider target audience.

He said, ‘When I founded Tower more than 20 years ago, we set out to develop the world’s best records and document management software,” he said. “This will mark a new era for Tower’s customers, employees and partners.’