JDA Software Group, Inc. is an American software and consultancy company, providing supply chain management, manufacturing planning, retail planning, store operations and collaborative category management solutions James Donald Armstrong in 1978, founded Calgary, Alberta as a Canadian IBM mid-range software provider. In 1985 Armstrong sold the Canadian business and, along with Frederick M. Pakis, formed U.S.-based JDA Software, Inc. in Cleveland, Ohio. After signing a contract with a Phoenix-based automotive retailer in 1987, all eight JDA employees relocated to the new headquarters in Arizona. After ten years of operation as a privately held firm, JDA became a public corporation on March 15, 1996, re-purchased the original Canadian "JDA" company, and reestablished presence in Canada. In 1998, JDA completed their first major acquisition, the Arthur Retail division, a vendor of planning and allocation software.
International Business Machines Corporation is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation, with headquarters in Armonk, New York. IBM manufactures and markets computer hardware, middleware and software, and offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas ranging from mainframe computers to nanotechnology. The company originated in 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company through a merger of the Tabulating Machine Company, the International Time Recording Company, and the Computing Scale Company.
