Data Critical Restructuring Operations
Following on the heels of announcing its first-quarter
results and the pending merger with VitalCom
of Tustin, California, Data Critical Corporation disclosed its plans
to restructure operations that will focus on its core hospital and
cardiology businesses. Consequently, the company will be
consolidating its Seattle-based hospital and physician hand-held
operations into its corporate headquarters in Bothell, Washington.
The restructuring will result in the loss of approximately 120
positions, half of which will be in the physician handheld division,
reducing the company’s workforce by 17 percent.
"As the emerging market for wireless health care
technologies continues to unfold, Data Critical will focus on
developing sustainable, scalable revenue streams," said Richard
Earnest, president and CEO of Data Critical. "We will focus on
growth-oriented and profitable business lines and will continue to
review all of our product lines. Where business lines are not core
to our overall strategy we will seek an appropriate alternative for
those assets."
The Washington-based company said that by the end of second
quarter, the reorganization will be complete and will produce
annualized cash savings of approximately $2-million.
Such reorganization and cost-reduction efforts should not only
strengthen the company’s financial position but also maximize
operating efficiency and align resources with a focused business
plan, which will include the pending merger with VitalCom, said
Earnest.
In an earlier statement, the company said that it was working
with VitalCom, a provider of patient monitoring systems, on
transitional plans; both companies expect the transaction to close
at the end of the second quarter or early in the third quarter.
VitalCom will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Data Critical. The
integration of their respective technologies will result in a
broader alarm notification and networking portfolio of products to
their partners and customers, said Jeff Brown, chairman of Data
Critical.
For more information: http://www.datacritical.com/pressReleases.cfm
Mobileinfo Comments and Advisory: It is too bad that
Data Critical could not produce a profitable business. Part of the
problem is that a lot of startups do not do enough business process
analysis and do not interview a large number of their customers - in
this case, physicians, to find out their most pressing problems.
Patient Monitoring Systems does have viable applications for which
they should find paying customers.
