New owners promise to "weed out" rogue Fast agents

Controversial software licensing services firm the Federation Against Software Theft (Fast) may be about to turn over a new leaf after it was acquired this week by compliance software and services specialist Computer Software Group (CS Group) in a cash deal worth £10.5m.

Fast has been the subject of considerable criticism from IT Week readers over the past year, with many IT managers claiming that some of the company's sales teams were guilty of overly aggressive sales tactics and implying that firms could face software audits and fines if they did not sign up to Fast's software asset management services.

However, Vin Murria, chief executive of CS Group, which focuses on providing compliance solutions to the legal and not-for-profit sectors, insisted that the new owners had a different sales philosophy and pledged to instill its approach on Fast's agents.

She added that while it was still necessary to let customers know the potential consequences of non-compliance, "our approach is not about threat, it is about carrots".

Fast chief executive Geoff Webster and finance director Tracey Baldwin have both resigned from the business and in a thinly veiled dig at Fast's previous management Murria said that CS Group would retrain the company's sales teams and "weed out" those agents who do not comply with its new approach.

"If [sales] people are given guidance they will follow it," she said. "We work in a different way [to Fast]; our sales methodology is about understanding the client, understanding their needs… and focusing more on the savings [compliance can deliver]."

But despite Fast's troubled recent history Murria insisted that CS Group would retain the company's brand and its structure, which sees a not-for-profit arm operate alongside the Fast business. "We will continue to run Fast as a separate brand," she said. "But we will allow the business to address our user base, including 3,000 law firms and 70 percent of the UK's not-for-profit organisations."

IT Week would like to hear from IT managers visited by Fast agents in the coming weeks.