Avant-Garde Computing

Avant-Garde Computing was founded by Timothy P. Ahlstrom and F. Morgan LaMarche and incorporated in 1978.{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Timothy P. Ahlstrom: Inventor, entrepreneur, 60|date=September 11, 1998|page=54|journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110566108/|via=Newspapers.com}}{{unbulleted list citebundle|{{cite journal|last=Knox|first=Andrea|title=Succeeding via computer failure|date=January 14, 1984|page=1-D, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274035/succeeding-via-computer-failure-page-2/ 11-D]|journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274029/succeeding-via-computer-failure-page-1/|via=Newspapers.com}} See also: {{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Company cashes in monitoring computer networks|date=January 22, 1984|page=56|journal=Asbury Park Press|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118272882/|via=Newspapers.com}} See also: {{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Electronic network that troubleshoots for computers|date=January 30, 1984|page=56|journal=The San Francisco Examiner|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118272491/|via=Newspapers.com}}}}{{rp|1-D}} Ahlstrom and LaMarche were previously 20 year veterans of IBM, both working in that company's marketing department. In their off-time in the early 1970s, the duo built a device that would warn computer operators when a data tape was close to the end of its reel, founding Ahlstrom LaMarche & Co. to market it.{{cite journal|last=Binzen|first=Peter|title=Local companies are flying high in high technology|date=August 21, 1985|page=1-E, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274179/local-companies-are-flying-high-in-high/ 5-E]|journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274172/local-companies-are-flying-high-in-high/|via=Newspapers.com}}{{rp|1-E}} The device proliferated rapidly in the computer rooms of various companies, and the duo later sold their company and its patents to Telegentics of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, to reportedly modest profit.{{rp|11-D}}{{rp|1-E}} After several years, the duo regrouped and discussed starting another business.{{rp|1-E}} They decided to invite several top executives of companies who ran large mainframe computer networks to dinner at a restaurant. When Ahlstrom and LaMarche asked them what troubles they frequently encountered, network management was cited as the most challenging task. These conversations inspired the duo to raise the capital to incorporate Avant-Garde Computing in Cherry Hill; in order to secure adequate financing, the two also put second mortgages on their homes.{{cite journal|last=Reitman|first=Valerie|title=Avant-Garde takes action to end its financial woes|date=June 7, 1989|page=1-F, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274273/avant-garde-takes-action-to-end-its/ 9-F]|journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274264/avant-garde-takes-action-to-end-its/|via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Cherry Hill firm announces sale|date=January 16, 1981|page=30|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118272781/|via=Newspapers.com}}

The company's first product, Net/Alert, was announced in October 1979. It was a hardware–software network management suite comprising a light-pen-capable, color CRT monitor, logic analyzer, and graphical software to analyze traffic on a mainframe network and display and print reports based on the collected data.{{cite journal | last=Staff writer | date=October 22, 1979 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ChMAmfS1nEkC&pg=PA43 | title=Monitor Colors Network Performance | journal=Computerworld | publisher=CW Communications | volume= | issue= | pages=44–45 | via=Google Books}}{{rp|44–45}} Net/Alert took two years to develop and was primarily the brainchild of Ahlstrom; LaMarche meanwhile possessed the marketing prowess.{{cite journal|last=Thompson|first=Gary|title=Now He's Engineering a Stock Sale|date=February 8, 1984|page=27|journal=Philadelphia Daily News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274043/|via=Newspapers.com}} In the time between the product's development and their first sale, the duo sold a 45-percent stake of Avant-Garde Computing, worth US$500,000, to Northern Telecom's United States subsidiary in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1980.{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Business summary|date=September 20, 1980|page=15|journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118273993/|via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite journal|last=Wallace|first=Jean|title=A new breed of investors in area|date=October 2, 1983|page=F1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118272831/a-new-breed-of-investors-sprouts-in/ F3]|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118272846/a-new-breed-of-investors-sprouts-in/|via=Newspapers.com}}{{rp|3F}} Northern Telecom U.S.'s Spectron division purchased the first Net/Alert units–worth $3.6 million—in January 1981. With the help of Spectron,{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Cherry Hill firm announces sale|date=January 16, 1981|page=30|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118272781/|via=Newspapers.com}} Avant-Garde won clients such as Citibank, Xerox, Cigna, MetLife, Chase Manhattan Bank, Shearson/American Express, and Air France within two years of Net/Alert's introduction.{{cite journal|last=Fein|first=Esther|title=Computer Company Thrives on Glitches|date=May 15, 1984|page=D4|journal=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/15/business/computer-company-thrives-on-glitches.html|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20230210233134/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/15/business/computer-company-thrives-on-glitches.html|archivedate=February 10, 2023}}{{cite journal|last=Reibstein|first=Larry|title=Software company plans to offer stock|date=May 28, 1983|page=48|journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274002/|via=Newspapers.com}}

In June 1983, Avant-Garde went public, issuing 1.1 million shares of common stock.{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Computer software firm will issue common stock|date=June 8, 1983|page=29|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118272795/|via=Newspapers.com}} The proceeds from the company's initial public offering allowed the company to retire its debt and earn working capital.{{cite journal|last=Briggs|first=John G.|title='Going public' helps firms raise funds|date=February 26, 1984|page=C1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118272918/going-public-helps-firms-raise-funds/ C3]|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118272916/going-public-helps-firms-raise-funds/|via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Business summary|date=February 15, 1984|page=21|journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274050/|via=Newspapers.com}} Soon after the IPO, Northern Telecom relinquished their 45-percent stake in Avant-Garde, pocketing $20 million in the process.{{rp|3F}}

Sales and profits doubled for Avant-Garde between the last quarter of 1982 and the first quarter of 1983. In November 1983, Avant-Garde received a $1 million order for Net/Alert from Southern Bell, their largest order yet.{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Business summary|date=November 18, 1983|page=41|journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274016/|via=Newspapers.com}} This was followed up by a $3.8 million order from Merrill Lynch the next month. This sale alone was larger than Avant-Garde's entire second-quarter revenue earnings ($3.5 million).{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Business summary|date=December 15, 1983|page=83|journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274019/|via=Newspapers.com}} Avant-Garde ended the year with a $250,150 order from Indiana Bell.{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Business summary|date=December 21, 1983|page=75|journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274025/|via=Newspapers.com}} By January 1984, 60 units of Net/Alert had been shipped to a variety of clients, including Walt Disney World, the Library of Congress, Credit Suisse, El Paso Natural Gas, Florida Power & Light, and Public Service Electric & Gas Company.{{rp|1-D}}{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Avant-Garde Computing doubles sales and profits|date=August 27, 1983|page=52|journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274009/|via=Newspapers.com}} Avant-Garde's main rivals at the time comprised Tesdata Systems and Encom. Tesdata had been faltering financially while Encom's network management product was much smaller in scope than Net/Alert.{{rp|11-D}}

Avant-Garde employed 110 people in February 1984. Following a profitable third quarter of 1983 in which the company saw their sales double and revenues triple and received five new orders (including one from the IRSST, a government institution of Quebec),{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Avant-Garde Computing|date=March 9, 1984|page=43|journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274058/|via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Business summary|date=February 15, 1984|page=21|journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274050/|via=Newspapers.com}} Avant-Garde moved their headquarters from Cherry Hill to a larger 36,000-square-foot building in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. The company also opened four regional offices across the nation: in Manhattan, Atlanta, Chicago, and San Francisco.{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Data equipment firm moves to Mount Laurel|date=May 10, 1984|page=29|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118272929/|via=Newspapers.com}} In 1984, Inc. named Avant-Garde the 72nd fastest-growing corporation in the United States.{{cite journal|last=Kamen|first=Robin|title=On list of fastest growing|date=May 16, 1984|page=C-18, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118272955/nj-firms-page-2-of-2/ C-22]|journal=The Record|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118272964/nj-firms-page-1-of-2/|via=Newspapers.com}}{{rp|C-22}}

In May 1984, the company released Net/Guard, a network security hardware–software suite for mainframe computers.{{cite journal | last=Staff writer | date=April 9, 1984 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mt0cw1-3PIkC&pg=RA1-PA98 | title=Avant-Garde Computing, Inc.: Net/Guard | journal=Computerworld | publisher=CW Communications | volume=XVIII | issue=15 | page=98 | via=Google Books}} Features of Net/Guard include the creation of a log of all numbers who dialed into the mainframe, as well as the date, time, and length of those remote sessions; the ability to set a whitelist of phone numbers who can dial into the mainframe; the ability to limit what functions of the mainframe and what files in the mainframe's database may be accessed, on a per-user basis; and the ability to set security questions before the user is granted access the mainframe; among other features.{{cite journal|last=Schweizer|first=Paul|title=Local firm develops system to limit computer access|date=March 14, 1984|page=45|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118272924/|via=Newspapers.com}}

A month after they first shipped Net/Guard, Avant-Garde earned Bytex Corporation, a network switch manufacturer from Boston, as a client, and reported sales of $15.4 million and net income of $1.4 million in fiscal year 1984, a doubling of both figures from the previous year.{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Roundup|date=June 8, 1984|page=60|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118272980/|via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Avant-Garde Computing|date=June 15, 1984|page=46|journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274064/|via=Newspapers.com}} Between May and July 1984, the company generated $5.7 million in sales, leading to $626,000 in profit, breaking previous records of profitability for the company.{{cite journal|last=Knox|first=Andrea|title=Mt. Laurel high-tech firm has record quarterly profit|date=September 12, 1984|page=57|journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274070/|via=Newspapers.com}} Employment in Avant-Garde reached 200 people total by the end of July.{{cite journal|last=Staff writers|title=N.J. a leader in high-technology|date=July 29, 1984|page=C1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118273002/nj-a-leader-in-high-technology-page/ C3]|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118273008/|via=Newspapers.com}}{{rp|C3}} Avant-Garde closed 1984 (for the company, the second fiscal quarter of 1985) with a peak of $4.9 million in sales, leading to $396,000 in profit.{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Mt. Laurel firm logs 50% sales increase|date=December 18, 1984|page=29|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118273039/|via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite journal|last=Knox|first=Amanda|title=Avant-Garde profits up|date=December 18, 1984|page=35|journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274076/|via=Newspapers.com}} This represented a slight diminishing of profits, as was predicted, due to a late delivery to a large client.{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Computer firm expects diminished earnings|date=November 22, 1984|page=111|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118273027/|via=Newspapers.com}}

Avant-Garde posted their first drop in earnings in March 1985 (during their third fiscal quarter of 1985). Although they had reached 52nd place in the Inc. 500 and gained even more clients as disparate as Target, Union Bank of Switzerland, Raytheon, MasterCard International, Ford, and Southern Company Services, the company realized fewer sales than in previous years, attributed to the gutting of Avant-Garde's senior sales staff.{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=The young and feisty|date=March 1, 1986|page=58|journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274217/|via=Newspapers.com}} A lawsuit filed against Avant-Garde's European sales division in 1983 also penalized the company's earnings, through settlement costs and legal fees.{{cite journal|last=Knox|first=Amanda|title=Earnings drop for first time for N.J. firm|date=March 20, 1985|page=84|journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274124/|via=Newspapers.com}} In the final fiscal quarter of the year, the company reported "administrative confusion" and the inability to install customer's orders on-time,{{cite journal|last=Knox|first=Amanda|title=Avant-Garde Computing expects a loss|date=June 14, 1985|page=55|journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274132/|via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Local computer firm predicts revenue drop|date=June 15, 1985|page=16|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118273191/|via=Newspapers.com}} ultimately leading to a $392,000 loss by the end of the quarter—the company's first ever loss.{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Mount Laurel firm logs $392,000 loss|date=July 16, 1985|page=43|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118273207/|via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Net income declines for 2 S. Jersey computer firms|date=July 20, 1985|page=16|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118273220/|via=Newspapers.com}}

The company reached peak employment with 215 employees in August 1985; in the same month, the company posted their second consecutive quarterly loss.{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Avant-Garde reports 2d straight loss|date=August 20, 1985|page=38|journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274167/|via=Newspapers.com}} In an attempt at turning around the company's fortunes,{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Avant-Garde Computing absorbs $1.2 million loss|date=November 27, 1985|page=18|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118273241/|via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Financial|date=October 24, 1985|page=37|journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274187/|via=Newspapers.com}} Ahlstrom appointed Michael L. Sanyour, formerly the CEO and director of Subaru of America, as president and COO of Avant-Garde in October 1985.{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Computer firm picks new executive team|date=October 2, 1985|page=46|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118273229/|via=Newspapers.com}} In January 1986, British Telecom signed an agreement with Avant-Garde to become the exclusive distributor of the company's products within the United Kingdom,{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Business summary|date=January 25, 1986|page=41|journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274206/|via=Newspapers.com}} The following month, Sperry Corporation won a non-exclusive distribution agreement to resell Avant-Garde's software in the United States.{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Business summary|date=February 6, 1986|page=43|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118273293/|via=Newspapers.com}} Avant-Garde extended their agreement with British Telecom in May.{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Business summary|date=May 16, 1986|page=87|journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274231/|via=Newspapers.com}} Avant-Garde had faith that these two alliances would increase direct sales of their products, although they admitted growth would be slow, their partnership with Sperry bearing no sales within the first two months.{{cite journal | last=Abelson | first=Reed | date=April 21, 1986 | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A4213603/GPS?sid=wikipedia | title=Avant-Garde's 'soft' wares pulling down earnings | journal=Philadelphia Business Journal | publisher=American City Business Journals | volume=5 | page=24 | via=Gale}} In February 1986, the company logged a $1.3 million loss for the last fiscal quarter of 1986.{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Computer firm logs $1.3 million loss|date=February 6, 1986|page=83|journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274215/|via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Aydin posts steep drop in profit; losses reported by Avant-Garde|date=February 28, 1986|page=36|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118273302/|via=Newspapers.com}} Meanwhile, Avant-Garde dropped to 81st place in the 1986 Inc. 500 list.

In late March 1986, the company introduced a pair of software packages for mainframes, Net/Command and Net/Adviser. Net/Command was a network monitoring package that could run on a single networked workstation and provided control tools and diagnostics to system operators. Net/Adviser meanwhile was an add-on for Net/Command that used artificial intelligence to recommend solutions for the problems that Net/Command identified. Both products directly competed with IBM's NetView, with Network World calling Avant-Garde the "company most aggressively pursuing the same niche as IBM", and Net/Command being "the only true competitor to NetView".{{cite journal | last=Korzeniowski | first=Paul | date=October 6, 1986 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oRwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA26 | title=NetView enhancements separate winners from losers | journal=Network World | publisher=IDG Communications | volume=3 | issue=31 | page=23, 26 | via=Google Books}}{{rp|26}}

Despite Avant-Garde trimming executive salaries by 20 percent and staff down to 160 by July 1986, the company reported losses of $2.3 million during the final fiscal quarter of 1986, contributing to an annual loss of $5.2 million.{{cite journal|last=Wallace|first=Jean|title=Avant-Garde Computing loses $5.2 million|date=July 12, 1986|page=16|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118273325/|via=Newspapers.com}} Sanyour resigned as president of Avant-Garde in August 1986, citing a loss of interest in the company. Ahlstrom reassumed his position.{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Computer firm's president resigns|date=August 16, 1986|page=16|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118273336/|via=Newspapers.com}} The string of quarterly losses continued unabated in fiscal year 1987: the first quarter with $774,000,{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Avant-Garde Computing adds to string of losses|date=September 12, 1986|page=48|journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274247/|via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Computer firm logs 6th loss in row|date=September 12, 1986|page=64|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118273342/|via=Newspapers.com}} the second with $895,000.{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Avant-Garde Computing reports $895,000 loss|date=December 4, 1986|page=51|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118273357/|via=Newspapers.com}} the third with $541,000; and another loss in fourth quarter (reportedly far less than the third).{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Roundup|date=March 13, 1987|page=37|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118273361/|via=Newspapers.com}} The company broke its two-year losing streak in the next two quarters, with net profits of $87,000 and $247,000, owing to a newly imposed cost-cutting regime within the company and a reduction in staff to 150.{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Roundup|date=August 26, 1987|page=47|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118273371/|via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Avant-Garde posts quarterly gain|date=November 25, 1987|page=35|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118273379/|via=Newspapers.com}} The victory was short-lived however, as the company reported a $408,000 loss the quarter after.{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Avant-Garde Computing reports $408,000 loss|date=March 11, 1988|page=35|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118273386/|via=Newspapers.com}} At the end of the fiscal year, the company reported another annual loss, of $2.3 million.{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=South Jersey earnings report|date=August 3, 1988|page=57|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118273394/|via=Newspapers.com}}

In May 1988, executives tasked Weeden Capital Management, the company's market maker, on possible transactions that could be taken to save the company, including partial or total sale of Avant-Garde's assets.{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Business summary|date=May 26, 1988|page=33|journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274252/|via=Newspapers.com}} Concurrent Computer Corporation later agreed to distribute Avant-Garde's products to the American federal government, as well as in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan and other countries in Southeast Asia, in August 1988.{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Business summary|date=August 2, 1988|page=17|journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274255/|via=Newspapers.com}}

Following a $1.6 million loss in the first quarter of the following fiscal year,{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Avant-Garde loses $1.6 million in quarter|date=September 15, 1988|page=31|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118273400/|via=Newspapers.com}} Ahlstrom resigned from Avant-Garde, citing health reasons. Richard Abraham, boardroom director since 1987, was named the new president and CEO.{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Avant-Garde founder, chief executive quits|date=November 18, 1988|page=49|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118273406/|via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Business summary|date=November 18, 1988|page=49|journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274259/|via=Newspapers.com}} The company reported a $562,000 loss in the second fiscal quarter;{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Avant-Garde reports $562,000 quarter loss|date=December 15, 1988|page=65|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118273414/|via=Newspapers.com}} a much larger loss of $2 million followed in the next quarter, prompting bankruptcy negotiations within the company.{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Computer firm loses $2 million|date=March 18, 1989|page=31|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118273419/|via=Newspapers.com}} After six months of deliberation, Boole & Babbage, a software company in San Jose, agreed to purchase Avant-Garde and assume certain liabilities for $4 million in cash.{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Ailing Mount Laurel software firm bought|date=June 7, 1989|page=49|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118273432/|via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Bay Area Notebook|date=June 7, 1989|page=60|journal=The San Francisco Examiner|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118272517/|via=Newspapers.com}} As part of the agreement, Avant-Garde filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 1989.{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Avant-Garde Co. files a Chapter 11 petition|date=July 22, 1989|page=43|journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274280/|via=Newspapers.com}} The company lost $4.5 million between April and July 1989, nearly double that of their losses for the entire prior fiscal year.{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Avante-Garde loses $4.5 million for year|date=July 29, 1989|page=31|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118273440/|via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Thrift suspends stock dividend|date=July 29, 1989|page=41|journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274286/|via=Newspapers.com}} In September 1989, Avant-Garde agreed to pay $1.05 million divided among shareholders who filed a class-action lawsuit against the company in 1985, charging that the company had misled underwriters during its IPO.{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Business summary|date=September 8, 1989|page=43|journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274293/|via=Newspapers.com}} This settlement contributed to the company posting its final loss of $2.9 million at the end of the second quarter of its final fiscal year.{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Avant-Garde posts $2.9 million loss|date=December 15, 1989|page=57|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118273448/|via=Newspapers.com}}

The bankruptcy court of Trenton, New Jersey, approved Boole & Babbage's acquisition of Avant-Garde in January 1990.{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Court clears way for Avant-Garde sale|date=January 19, 1990|page=19|journal=Courier-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118273455/|via=Newspapers.com}} The takeover completed in February 1990.{{cite journal|last=Staff writer|title=Business summary|date=February 15, 1990|page=51|journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118274305/|via=Newspapers.com}} Avant-Garde remained a subsidiary of Boole & Babbage for some time after the purchase, later being renamed to Boole & Babbage Network Systems (not to be confused with Network Systems Corporation).{{cite journal | last=Horwitt | first=Elizabeth | date=February 11, 1991 | url=https://archive.org/details/sim_computerworld_1991-02-11_25_6/page/n47/ | title=Network management gaps targeted | journal=Computerworld | publisher=IDG Publications | volume=XXV | issue=6 | page=46 | via=the Internet Archive}}

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Category:1978 establishments in New Jersey

Category:1990 disestablishments in New Jersey

Category:Computer companies established in 1978

Category:Computer companies disestablished in 1990

Category:Defunct computer companies of the United States

Category:Defunct computer hardware companies

Category:Defunct software companies of the United States

Category:Networking hardware companies

Category:Software companies established in 1978

Category:Software companies disestablished in 1990

Category:Mount Laurel, New Jersey