Sterling, VA, USA, 5 January 2006 – Overwatch Systems today announced that it has acquired Paragon Imaging of Woburn, Mass. The purchase became effective on Nov. 30, 2005. Paragon Imaging is now known as the Boston Operations of Overwatch.
Founded in 1987, Paragon Imaging is a supplier of image processing software for government and commercial applications. Paragon Imaging’s ELT® (Electronic Light Table) Series commercial image processing software is widely used among tactical imagery analysts in the U.S Air Force Theatre Battle Management Core System, the Naval Special Ops Warfare Command and the Defense Intelligence Agency. The Paragon engineering team specializes in NITF (National Imagery Transmission Format) and complies with a range of Department of Defense certifications.
The Paragon Imaging product line is an excellent fit with current Overwatch Systems product offerings. In October 2005, Overwatch Systems combined the resources of four companies – Sensor Systems, Austin Info Systems, IT Spatial and Federal IT – to provide a suite of integrated geospatial and fusion software tools for the defense/intelligence community called the Overwatch Intelligence Center (OIC). The OIC focuses on providing situational awareness by enabling analysts to generate relevant, actionable intelligence faster and more effectively for the warfighter, first responder and decision maker.
The senior management of Paragon has chosen to use a portion of its transaction proceeds to invest back into Overwatch Systems and will continue to manage the company under the new name, Boston Operations of Overwatch. The Boston Operations will report to Kirk Brown, President of Overwatch Geospatial Operations, formerly Sensor Systems, based in Sterling, Va. Brown was the early advocate for acquiring Paragon Imaging and expressed his enthusiasm for the transaction.
“Paragon Imaging enables us to offer our customers an imagery analysis product line that spans from the strategic analyst to the tactical field user. Their market position will also deepen our customer relations with the tactical analysts in the U.S. Military and will create new opportunities for both organizations in the international community,” said Brown. “Paragon Imaging strengthens our engineering team and allows each group to focus on complementary product developments. This will further accelerate our existing market leadership position. The customers of each of our organizations will benefit from the technology offered by the other.”
Mark Stott and Jack Connors, the principal shareholders of Paragon, said at the transaction closing, “We’re very pleased to align our future with Overwatch. We had been approached by other buyers but felt the Overwatch strategy of linking these intelligence resources together makes sense for our customers and our employees. We are delighted to have an opportunity to be part of this larger team.”
In commenting on the transaction, Bill Craven, Chairman of Overwatch Systems, said, “We’re delighted to welcome the Paragon Imaging organization to the Overwatch team both as team members and investment partners. We look forward to leveraging our combined skills and customer base to allow Overwatch to better serve the intelligence community. Paragon helps fulfill our mission to deliver analysis systems that speed actionable intelligence to the warfighter, and to enable information sharing among the agencies that make up the intelligence community.”
About Overwatch Systems
Headquartered in Morristown, N.J., Overwatch Systems provides a suite of integrated software tools that enable analysts to generate relevant, actionable intelligence faster and more effectively for the warfighter, first responder and policy maker. Overwatch Systems is investing to provide analysis tools that enable interoperability among the member organizations of the intelligence community. For more information, visit www.overwatch.com.
About Overwatch Geospatial Operations
Overwatch Geospatial Operations, formerly Sensor Systems, is located in Sterling, VA, and is a leading developer of desktop applications for rapid visualization and analysis of high-resolution satellite and airborne imagery. The RemoteView product family provides solutions ranging from simple desktop viewers to sophisticated image analysis, precision positioning, multi-spectral analysis, mapping, vector management, and geospatial intelligence applications running on UNIX and Windows platforms. Current users include government and commercial organizations around the world. For more information, contact the sales staff at 703-437-7651, or visit the company web site at www.geospatial.overwatch.com.
