Bytes of Knowledge bulks up

IT shop acquire Duthies' e-learning venture

Email | Print By Geert De Lombaerde

Duthie has developed education materials for Caterpillar Financial customers worldwide.

Local IT firm Bytes of Knowledge has acquired Duthie Associates, a 20-year-old company that specializes in online training manuals and other presentations.

The deal, which closed Sept. 1, gives Bytes of Knowledge CEO Julie May another source of growth to add to her more traditional networking, Web design and project management services. The acquisition also delivers May some clients in the Washington and Chicago markets. Among those on Duthie's customer roster are the U.S. Department of Defense, Corrections Corp. of America and Caterpillar Financial.

“As soon as Bob approached me, I knew this move would fit perfectly into our ongoing strategy,” May said in a statement. “Our customer base is similar, yet complementary, and we will be able to easily integrate their solutions into the software we develop for clients.”

At Bytes of Knowledge, Duthie Associates founder Bob Duthie has taken on the role of chief learning officer. His son, Andrew, will take the lead on transitioning clients to May's firm. Also joining Bytes are Garry Hornbuckle as director of eLearning and Nancy Bass as lead visual artist of eLearning.