Deal with military vendor boosts software developer. (Technology).

ENFISH Corp., a Pasadena business software developer, has signed a deal with Air Force contractor Science Applications International Corp. that eventually could generate millions of dollars in license fees.

Enfish's Enterprise software works within a network to compile information from various applications (e-mail, word processing, Web site, desktop publishing, etc.) and present it in context on an individual's PC. So, when someone in Colorado changes the budget of a project, the update is automatic at the desktop of a team member in California.

Enfish Chief Executive Louise Wannier said the Air Force deal is the first of several in an ongoing relationship with SAIC. Deals between Enfish and SAIC will be phased in as SAIC gets government and commercial contracts.

Details of the contract were not disclosed, but Wannier said it would help put Enfish over the profitability hump by the end of this year. "They are the most important contractor in the defense sector," she said. "And they are very important to our company."

Outside spokesman Matthew Propst said that if SAIC continued to use Enfish software in its governmental contracts, the value could exceed $1 million.

Jim Belford, senior systems engineer with SAIC, said the Air Force is a client with the need to coordinate 100 people at 30 bases around the country. SAIC, a research and engineering company, chose Enfish Enterprise to organize projects and communications.

Enfish was founded in 1993 as a research and development effort, funded by an initial round of venture capital of $6.3 million. The company last year merged with KnowledgeTrack Corp., another business software application manufacturer, and is set to close a third round totaling $10 million.