CyberMedia launches fed sales push

CyberMedia Inc. last week launched a federal marketing campaign that includes the appointment of a federal sales executive and the creation of a federally focused PC utility bundle.

CyberMedia Santa Monica Calif. markets automatic service and support products for PC users. The company began exploring the federal market last year but has now expanded its effort.

The company has hired Geoffrey Stilley formerly Digital Equipment Corp.'s federal PC sales chief as vice president of government sales. The company also is making a suite of PC administration products available on the General Services Administration schedule through Government Technology Services Inc. and DPC Technologies. The company is pursuing other contract vehicles already having been tapped as a supplier under Software.net's $50 million Defense Logistics Agency software pact.

CyberMedia's federal objective is straightforward. "We want our suite included with every PC that goes into the federal government " Stilley said.

Agencies already using CyberMedia products include the National Institutes of Health and the Naval Management Systems Support Office. NIH's Division of Computer Research and Technology first purchased CyberMedia's First Aid last July and now has the product running on about 20 PCs according to April Merryman an electronics engineer with DCRT. The group also has purchased about 50 copies of UnInstaller.

CyberMedia's GSA sales effort hinges on its Federal PC Companion kit. That software bundle includes First Aid which automatically detects and fixes Microsoft Corp. Windows 95 PC problems Oil Change which uses the Internet to provide an automatic software updating service and UnInstaller 4.5 (formerly MicroHelp UnInstaller) which removes unwanted applications and files from PCs running Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0. The suite also features Micro2000 Inc.'s Micro-Scope Client a PC diagnostics tool.

The Federal PC Companion Suite is priced at $129 on the GSA schedule.

Jon Stout executive vice president with DPC Technologies Gaithersburg Md. said he has seen "a lot of interest" in CyberMedia's products from the intelligence community and various Defense Department sectors. "[CyberMedia products] add a measure of productivity to the installed base and new computers " he said.

On Software.net's electronic software distribution deal meanwhile CyberMedia is shipping 40 000 copies of First Aid under the DLA contract. Stilley said that project is likely to call for Oil Change and Un-Installer as well.

CyberMedia is tapping PC manufacturers as a marketing channel. The company this week will announce a pact with Compaq Computer Corp. in which Compaq will offer First Aid and UnInstaller on PCs sold on certain contracts through the end of the fiscal year. The two-product suite called the Federal PC Value Kit will be offered at no charge.

Upcoming CyberMedia products also will be targeted toward federal users a company spokesman said. Those include PC Guard Dog which provides Internet privacy and security for Windows 95 users and First Aid Administrator a version of First Aid designed for centralized PC support. First Aid Administrator is slated for availability in two weeks.

PC Guard Dog meanwhile is scheduled for availability later this summer. But users can download a preview version at CyberMedia's World Wide Web site (www.cybermedia.com). Anne Lam vice president of business development at CyberMedia described PC Guard Dog as "a personal firewall for your users."

As for future federal opportunities Stilley said CyberMedia is interested in playing a role on GSA's Seat Management procurement and the Army's Standard System Technology Support-1 blanket purchase agreement two yet-to-be awarded deals.

He said the company also is interested in pursuing organizations or contracts involved with mobile computers. Stilley cited the Marine Corps logistics unit which handles field-deployed mobile products and the Army's Portable-2 program. He said First Aid and Oil Change fit well with portable PCs because the products would allow remote users to keep their machines in tune.