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The collapse of the caller ID business over the last two years has caused considerable financial bleeding for InteliData Technologies Corp. In need of a quick fix, InteliData has decided to jettison its long-suffering adjunct caller ID business and pump the proceeds into its home banking business. By selling its inventory of caller ID products for $3.5 million to CIDCO Inc., Morgan Hill, CA, and by attempting to collect some $8 million in caller ID account receivables from various telephone companies, Intel
InteliData's Stock Woes
The collapse of InteliData's telecomunications business mirrors the steep drop in the company's stock. iData executives hope to revive the company by focusing solely on its home banking business.
For InteliData, it is a do-or-die strategy. "InteliData really didn't have that many options," says Kevin Tlmmons, a securities analyst for First Albany Corp., Albany, NY. "I think it's a good strategy for the company to go back to what it does well, and that's home banking. Am I surprised that they bailed out of the caller ID business? Yes. But rather than spin its wheels on a business that wasn't going anywhere, InteliData is going to focus on a business that is growing rapidly."
InteliData, based in Herndon, VA, is placing its bet on the home banking technology it acquired in October 1996 when it bought Toledo, OH-based Braun, Simmons & Co. One of those products is the Interpose Financial Engine, which is middleware for warehousing customer data. In fact, InteliData is laying its money on the line with Interpose. Recently, the company said that it will guarantee that Interpose will enable a bank to connect to Integrion Financial Network's platform via Integrion's Gold messaging standard in 100 days or less, and if it fails to do so, it will refund the cost of the software, which ranges from $100,000 to $500,000. "It's a bold promise we're making and we wouldn't be doing this if we didn't think we could get the work done in time," says John Backus, InteliData's president and CEO.
Integrion executives acknowledge that the company did not anticipate the complexities it has encountered in linking banks' legacy systems to Integrion's platform. The Interpose product, which currently is installed in five Integrion banks and nine former...