Toronto, Ontario Ð With the addition of Andersen Consulting, Canada, NeXT's Object Channel last month gained a piece of one of the world's largest technology-consulting companies. The two firms said they will target companies that require mission-critical applications in the health-care, telecommunications, and financial-services industries.
In the deal, Andersen becomes an authorized integrator for NeXT and preferred supplier for NEXTSTEP in the Canadian market. NeXT will also join Andersen's Business Integration Partnership (BIP) program.
"Andersen Consulting is a leader in applying object technology. Our relationship with NeXT allows us to work closely with a creative technology provider to serve our Canadian clients," said Stephen Elliott, managing partner of technology integration services at Andersen.
A source with knowledge of the Canadian customer base said that Andersen adopted NEXTSTEP in response to demands for support from key customers in its practice.
The BIP program is a group of hardware and software relationships that Andersen describes as critical to delivering value-added business solutions. Besides NeXT, BIP includes Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard, Sybase, and Symbol Technologies.
Andersen Consulting, Canada, is the Canadian practice of Andersen Consulting, a worldwide management and consulting organization.