What Spectrum Systems does

Spectrum Systems, Inc. is a privately held US IT services and software firm founded in 1994 and headquartered in Riverwoods, Illinois, with additional engineering presence in Moscow (Russia) and Ukraine. The company's flagship product is ALTOS, a patent-pending automated legacy-modernization platform that re-hosts UNISYS ALGOL applications as portable C++ and IBM/UNISYS extended COBOL applications as Java, deploying onto commodity Linux, UNIX, and Windows servers. ALTOS is complemented by dedicated C++ and Java runtime libraries (including Apache Cassandra for big data persistence and Apache Ignite for in-memory acceleration), and is positioned as the only commercially available solution for automated re-hosting of complex UNISYS applications that mix COBOL and ALGOL components. Reported technical metrics include more than 99.9% automatic conversion and problem density two orders of magnitude lower than newly developed code.

Spectrum's customer base is concentrated in financial services, telecommunications, and US federal government. Named logos include SWIFT, Silicon Valley Bank, A.C. Nielsen, AT&T, Lucent, Sprint, Equifax, and a confidential major US payments company. The company monetizes through ALTOS software licensing, conversion professional services, staff augmentation, and a low-cost Advanced Data Analysis and BI subscription practice. Distribution is direct enterprise sales, supplemented by the GSA IT Schedule 70 contract (GS-35F-0048X) for federal procurement and partner channels including SWIFT Registered Solutions Partner, Entrust Premier Value-Added Reseller, and Inventigo. The firm is founder-owned and led by Yuri G. Rabinovitch (President and CEO) and Vit Kantor (Managing Partner), with no disclosed external investors.

Name

Spectrum Systems

Legal name

Spectrum Systems, Inc.

Website

https://spectrsys.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Spectrum Systems is a privately held US IT services and software firm that sells ALTOS, a patent-pending automated platform for re-hosting legacy UNISYS ALGOL and COBOL applications to modern C++ and Java, primarily serving financial institutions, telecommunications carriers, and US federal agencies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legacy Application Modernization Software

NAICS

Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415), Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Enterprise Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Platforms (HDAEAKAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

iPaaS (Cloud Integration Platforms) (HDAEAIAB)

Keywords

• Legacy application modernization
• COBOL to Java conversion
• ALGOL to C++ conversion
• Mainframe modernization
• IT consulting services

Headquarters

HQ city

Waukegan

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Software Licensing (ALTOS Suite): Licensing of ALTOS conversion tools and runtime libraries for automated legacy application modernization. License and services agreements with major financial institutions for converting mission-critical applications.
2. Professional Services: Conversion project management, staff augmentation, and outsourcing services related to ALGOL to C++ conversion and IT consulting engagements.
3. Advanced Data Analysis and BI Subscriptions: Low-cost subscription-based access to advanced data acquisition, analysis, and business intelligence applications.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Spectrum Systems develops and licenses ALTOS, a patent-pending automated platform that converts UNISYS ALGOL applications to C++ and IBM/UNISYS COBOL applications to Java, with multi-platform runtime libraries for deployment on Linux, UNIX, and Windows. The company also delivers professional services around legacy modernization, including conversion project management, staff augmentation, security architecture, messaging/distributed applications, IT security and compliance, mobile application development, and advanced data analysis/business intelligence.

Product overview

Spectrum Systems offers a unified product portfolio anchored by ALTOS, a patent-pending automated legacy application modernization platform that converts UNISYS ALGOL to C++ and IBM/UNISYS COBOL to Java, paired with dedicated C++ and Java run-time libraries. Supporting the core ALTOS platform are specialized service practices covering Security Architecture, Messaging and Distributed Applications, System Development and Integration, IT Lifecycle Management, IT Security and Compliance, and Staff Augmentation. The company also provides mobile applications development and advanced data analysis/Business Intelligence services. Together, these products and services enable financial institutions and enterprises to migrate mission-critical legacy systems to modern, cost-effective commodity platforms while maintaining operational continuity.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ALTOS: Patent-pending automated ALGOL to C++ and COBOL to Java conversion tool for Unisys and IBM legacy applications modernization.

Products and services

• ALTOS Patent-pending automated conversion platform that re-hosts legacy UNISYS ALGOL applications to C++ and IBM/UNISYS COBOL applications to Java, with multi-platform runtime libraries. Targets financial institutions, telecommunications companies, and government agencies running mission-critical legacy systems.
• ALTOS C++ Runtime C++ runtime library and header files supporting converted ALGOL applications, with Native Interfaces API enabling extension of functionality and cloud deployment in VMs and containers.
• ALTOS Java Runtime Java runtime libraries for converted COBOL applications, including Apache Ignite-based in-memory data cache delivering up to 10x performance gains for database-centric workloads.
• Security Architecture and Systems

Quantifiable outcome

• Tens of millions of dollars in annual operational savings for large-scale conversions
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• EquifaxminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 February 2013Agreement with Equifax to conduct comprehensive assessment for Equifax's open source-based systems in Eastern Europe. Spectrum assessed source code and infrastructure including general architecture, organization, and issues from utilizing open source and third-party systems.
• InventigocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2012Inventigo specializes in technology assessment advisory services and innovative software solutions. The partnership delivers high-performance, flexible XML processing solutions for financial applications requiring near-real-time processing of large XML payloads. Spectrum's messaging expertise combined with Inventigo's patented XML processing platform enables solutions with high performance, reliability, and fast time-to-market.
• Herzfeld & AssociatesminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 28 November 2006Partnership with Herzfeld & Associates to fulfill Utah legislative direction on internet security. Together, the firms provide expertise in internet security to better protect Utah residents.
• EntrustcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 6 September 2006Entrust is the world leader in comprehensive security solutions for data protection, user authentication and authorization, and sensitive data management. Spectrum Systems is Entrust's Premier Value-Added Reseller with extensive experience implementing PKI-based security solutions for secure messaging, secure document delivery, and data protection in high-volume, high-reliability environments.
• SWIFTcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSWIFT is the financial industry-owned co-operative supplying secure, standardized messaging services to 7,800 financial institutions in over 200 countries. Spectrum is SWIFT's Registered Solutions Partner, implementing SWIFT-related network and security infrastructure, and developing vertical solutions using SWIFTNet for information exchange including message transformation and application integration.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• IBM: IBM, originator of COBOL, offers IBM watsonx Code Assistant for Z and a full stack of mainframe modernization tools and consulting—an incumbent competitor across Spectrum's enterprise modernization market.
• Atos: Atos is a global IT services provider offering mainframe and legacy modernization practices (COBOL to cloud, application transformation) that overlap with Spectrum's re-platforming and IT consulting offerings.
• Capgemini: Capgemini operates a global Application Services and legacy modernization practice (including mainframe-to-cloud programs for financial services), competing with Spectrum for large multi-year re-platforming engagements.
• AWS Mainframe Modernization: Amazon Web Services provides AWS Mainframe Modernization, a managed service for migrating and modernizing on-premises mainframes (COBOL, PL/I, etc.) to AWS—competing with ALTOS as a cloud hyperscaler alternative for legacy re-hosting.

Direct peers

• Micro Focus (now OpenText): Micro Focus (acquired by OpenText in 2023) provides COBOL development and modernization tooling—Visual COBOL, Enterprise Developer, and Mainframe to AWS rehosting—directly competing with ALTOS for converting legacy COBOL/ALGOL applications to modern platforms.
• Rocket Software: Rocket Software delivers a broad portfolio of mainframe modernization, COBOL development, and re-hosting tools (including Rocket Modernizing Mainframe Applications), serving many of the same enterprise customers as Spectrum.
• Astadia: Astadia is a consultancy-led mainframe modernization firm offering COBOL-to-cloud migration and re-platforming services to financial services and government customers—directly overlapping with Spectrum's ALTOS-driven conversion services model.
• Heirloom Computing: Heirloom Computing specializes in automated refactoring of COBOL, PL/I, and other legacy mainframe languages to Java and modern clouds using its compiler-driven platform—an almost like-for-like competitor to Spectrum's ALTOS conversion engine.
• Blu Age: Blu Age offers automated legacy-to-digital transformation tools that convert mainframe COBOL and other languages into modern Java and web applications, with deep roots in financial services modernization—directly comparable to ALTOS.
• TSRI (Transformational Systems & Research Inc.): TSRI provides automated refactoring of COBOL, PL/I, and legacy languages into Java, C#, and modern frameworks via its JANUS toolset, targeting the same enterprise re-platforming market as Spectrum's ALTOS.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Spectrum Systems