Attachmate Corporation was a major supplier of enterprise management and information access software. Attachmate was founded in 1982 by Frank Pritt, and was headquarted in Bellevue, Washington, with offices in more than 50 cities in North America and in 30 countries. They were one of the largest IBM PC compatible software companies in the world.

In the early days, Attachmate focused on 3270 emulation for PCs with some hardware 3270 boards as well. Attachmate grew organically as well as through acquisition of KEA Systems (makers of KEAterm 340, 420, KEA X), and DCA (makers of IRMA, Infoconnect, Crosstalk, and OpenMind) which itself had recently acquired The Wollongong Group (makers of Pathway and Emissary).

After the major acquisition of DCA which doubled the size of Attachmate, an ill-fated Sr. Management transition led by incoming CEO Jim Lindner created a stagnant sales and marketing period marked by poor quality products rushed to market and a lack of cohesive strategy for the large portfolio of products. Frank Pritt was forced to re-take the helm and clean house.

The next stage of its history was marked by tight fiscal management and managing to the bottom line to milk the business. As revenues were impacted through the bursting tech bubble after 2001, Attachmate was hit with successive rounds of layoffs. With no new substantive products since the launch of the eVantage product line in 2000, Attachmate was in a holding pattern and looking for an exit strategy.

On April 18, 2005, Frank found his exit strategy, it was announced that three investment companies, Golden State Capital, Fransisco Partners, and Thoma Cressey Equity Partners, would buy Attachmate from Pritt. Pritt would retire and Attachmate would be merged with long-time competitor WRQ, whom the investors had bought previously. On June 1, 2005, the deal closed, and it was revealed that the two companies, merged into one, would be named AttachmateWRQ.

Attachmate served 80% of Fortune 500 and Global 2000 companies, with over 13 million users worldwide. Their major products included EXTRA!, SmartConnector, and KEA.

Attachmate s major development locations included their headquarters in Bellevue, Washington, an office in Bellingham, Washington, and a facility in Cincinnati, Ohio.

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