Boole & Babbage
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software |
| Predecessor | K & K Associates |
| Founded | 1967 |
| Founder | Ken Kolence, David Kaitch |
| Defunct | 1998 |
| Fate | Acquired by BMC Software |
| Headquarters | San Jose, California , United States |
| Products | Mainframe monitoring software, COMMAND/Post |
| Parent | BMC Software (from 1999) |
Boole & Babbage Incorporated, initially known as K & K Associates, was a U.S.-based automation software enterprise located in San Jose, California. Established in 1967 by Ken Kolence and David Kaitch, it held the distinction of being the longest-standing systems management company prior to its acquisition by BMC Software through a stock exchange finalized in early 1999.
History
The firm, named in honor of mathematicians George Boole and Charles Babbage, began operations with a team of three in Palo Alto. After securing venture capital investment from Franklin "Pitch" Johnson, it became the pioneer software company in Silicon Valley to receive such funding and subsequently rebranded as Boole & Babbage. Its principal offering was a mainframe monitoring solution that tracked computing time, achieving $1 million in revenue during its inaugural year.
By 1972, increasing operational costs prompted the appointment of Bruce Coleman as president to implement cost-cutting measures, successfully completed by 1978. The company encountered financial distress when IBM’s hardware upgrades rendered its products outdated. Throughout the 1980s, Boole & Babbage introduced new software developments and went public. Following IBM’s 1984 operating system revisions that again affected their product line, Coleman resumed the presidency. In 1990, the company unveiled COMMAND/Post for client/server environments, which became its flagship product.
Also in 1990, Boole & Babbage broadened its portfolio by acquiring Avant-Garde Computing, a firm specializing in network management, monitoring, and security software and hardware solutions.
Advertising
In 1993, Boole & Babbage entered into a two-year licensing agreement with Paramount Pictures worth $75,000 annually to incorporate Star Trek imagery into promotional materials for COMMAND/Post and MainView. These campaigns featured Jonathan Frakes portraying Commander William Riker from Star Trek: The Next Generation. One prominent advertisement titled "The Vision" depicted Frakes aboard the USS Enterprise bridge set.
Decline and sale
During the late 1990s, Boole & Babbage faced challenges competing amid industry consolidation favoring larger corporations. In October 1998, the board consented to a stock swap acquisition by BMC Software valued at about $1 billion. This merger was completed in March 1999.