Draft:Syncsort, formerly Whitlow Computer Systems
Software company that became Precisely Software
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Syncsort Incorporated was a software company specializing in data integration, data quality, data protection, and mainframe utilities. It originated as Whitlow Computer Systems before rebranding as Syncsort in 1981. Its flagship product, SyncSort, was a dominant sorting algorithm utility for IBM mainframe computers during the 1970s and 1980s.[3]
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Comment: In accordance with the Wikimedia Foundation's Terms of Use, I disclose that I have been paid by my employer for my contributions to this article. Mike Ashmore (talk) 01:59, 13 January 2026 (UTC)
 Logo of Syncsort used from 1981 to the mid-2000s | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Data management |
| Founded | 1968 in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey |
| Founder | Duane Whitlow and Stan Rintel |
| Headquarters | Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey (1980s–2010s) , U.S. |
Key people | Aso O. Tavitian (former CEO, 1975–2008), Lonne Jaffe (former CEO), Josh Rogers (President, later CEO) |
| Revenue | $600 million (2020)[1] |
Number of employees | 2,000 (2019)[2] |
| Website | syncsort |
History
Whitlow Computer Systems: 1968–1981
In 1968, Duane Whitlow and Stan Rintel founded Whitlow Computer Systems to develop software for mainframe computers.[4] Initially, the company focused on creating an airlines reservations system for Control Data, but during development, the founders identified an opportunity to build a faster sorting utility for IBM mainframes.
The company's Syncsort product gained early attention after Computerworld published a front-page story in 1972, helping secure investment and entry into the European market.[5] Syncsort was a high-speed replacement for IBM's sort utility, fully compatible with existing JCL and application code. It became a primary software purchase for many customers, marking one of the first independent software successes in Europe.[6]
Aso O. Tavitian, initially the company's lead salesman, became CEO in 1975 and guided the company for over three decades until 2008.[7] Under his leadership, Syncsort expanded internationally and solidified its mainframe software offerings.
Syncsort Incorporated: 1981–2020
Whitlow Computer Systems formally renamed itself Syncsort, Inc. around 1981. By this time, SyncSort had become the dominant sort utility in the IBM mainframe environment. A 1983 International Data Corporation survey found that 75% of IBM customers using OS/VS1 or MVS employed SyncSort, compared to 18% using IBM's native sort utility.[8]
Syncsort expanded its portfolio with products such as Syback for backup and restore functionality.[9]
During the 1990s, Syncsort entered the client/server space with Unix-based sorting utilities and backup software.[10]
Significant corporate changes included:
- April 2008 – Majority interest acquired by Insight Venture Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Georgian Partners, Goldman Sachs, and others.[11]
- July 2013 – Data protection business spun off and sold to an investor group led by Bedford Venture Partners and Windcrest Partners.[12]
- July 2013 – Lonne Jaffe appointed CEO of Syncsort, initiating expansion into big data and mainframe integration.
Key acquisitions:
- September 2013 – Acquired Circle Computer Group.[13]
- March 2015 – Acquired William Data Systems.[14]
- August 2016 – Acquired Cogito Ltd.[15]
- December 2016 – Acquired Trillium Software.[16]
October 2015 – Clearlake Capital acquired Syncsort.[17]
2017–2019:
- 2017 – Centerbridge Partners acquired Syncsort alongside Vision Solutions.[18]
- 2019 – Syncsort acquired the software and data business of Pitney Bowes.[19]
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Products
Syncsort’s products focused on mainframe utilities, data integration, data quality, and network/security monitoring. Key offerings included:
Groupings
- **Integrate** – Data integration products, including mainframe and IBM i integration and SAP automation.
- **Verify** – Data quality, data governance, observability, and master data management.
- **Locate** – Location intelligence products, including geo addressing, spatial analytics, and mapping.
- **Enrich** – Data enrichment products.
- **Engage** – Customer communication products.
Individual Products
| Product | Type | Description | Platforms | Introduced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Syncsort MFX | Utility | High-speed data sort, join, copy; CPU offload to zIIP engines | z/OS | 1971 |
| Connect | Data integration | Integrates data from legacy systems into cloud and modern data platforms | Windows, Unix, Linux | 2004 |
| Ironstream | Utility | IBM i and z/OS forwarder to monitoring and analytics tools like Splunk, ServiceNow, Micro Focus, Microsoft SCOM, Elastic, and Kafka | z/OS, IBM i | 2014 |
| Syncsort Network Management | Monitoring | Network and security monitoring software | z/OS, Linux, Windows | 2015 (acquisition) |
| Trillium | Data quality | Data cleansing and standardization, customer 360, scalable for big data | Windows, Linux, z/OS | 2016 |
| Assure Security | IBM i security | Compliance monitoring, access control, data privacy and encryption, security risk assessment | IBM i, Windows | 2019 |
| Spectrum | Data management | Complete data management suite including address validation, geocoding, location intelligence, data quality, integration, profiling, and monitoring | Windows, Linux | 2019 (acquisition) |
| EngageOne | Customer communication management | Tools for personalized messaging, interactive video, document composition, chatbots | Windows, Linux, z/OS | 2019 (acquisition) |
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