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Private company

Magic Solutions

American software company

Magic Solutions International, Inc. (known as Magic Solutions) was a company that specialized in help desk automation and asset management software. Based in the East Coast of the United States, the company emerged as an unplanned spin-off from a computer systems integrator, and was later considered one of the East Coast's most successful independent software vendors of the 1990s. Magic Solutions was founded in 1988 by Igal Lichtman and was headquartered in Paramus, New Jersey, U.S.2 It ceased to exist in 1998.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1988Founded1

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Magic Solutions International, Inc. (known as Magic Solutions) was a company that specialized in help desk automation and asset management software. Based in the East Coast of the United States, the company emerged as an unplanned spin-off from a computer systems integrator, and was later considered one of the East Coast's most successful independent software vendors of the 1990s. Magic Solutions was founded in 1988 by Igal Lichtman and was headquartered in Paramus, New Jersey, U.S.2

The story

MicroAge, of Mahwah, New Jersey, was a retail computer franchise in the 1980s that achieved a considerable level of success. It transitioned from a retailer of stand-alone computers into a value added reseller and offered LAN installations for local businesses. A significant problem faced by the company after formation was the management of equipment that was sold and returned for service. At the time, a PC-based tracking program that could monitor serial numbers, warranty entitlement and a complete service history did not exist. Igal Lichtman, president of MicroAge, and one of the three owners, designed a "workflow" for a service management program that enabled staff to effectively run the company's service department. Employing the "C" programming language, and working together with former colleagues and friends from the Israel Defense Forces, Lichtman created the application, "ServiceMagic".

Shortly after the creation of ServiceMagic, one of MicroAge's largest clients, a "Fortune 500" company based in Westchester County, New York, U.S., was discarding its mainframe computer and consequently required a help desk application that was compatible with a PC network. Lichtman worked with the client's Information technology (IT) department to modify ServiceMagic and designed a new product, "SupportMagic". The client installed the fledgling Btrieve-based software and successfully transitioned from a Computer Associates mainframe-based Netman. Following a magazine article on the development of SupportMagic, Lichtman received over one hundred telephone inquires for the software product, an increase in demand that led to the inception of Magic Solutions.

From Wikipedia’s article on Magic Solutions, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Acquisitions

On March 25, 1998 Network Associates announced its plan to close a transaction whereby it would acquire Magic Solutions for approximately US$90 million for the purchase of in-process research and development. Network Associates then sold Magic Solutions' assets to BMC Software (NYSE:BMC) on December 15, 2003 for an approximate cash sum of US$47 million; the official date of the acquisition was February 2, 2004.

From Wikipedia’s article on Magic Solutions, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Timeline

  1. 1998Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. 1988Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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