SPSS Acquires Australian Market-Research Firm
Strengthening its position in market research and in the Pacific Rim, SPSS Inc. (Chicago) announced on Nov. 23, 1998, that it has acquired SurveyCraft Pty. Ltd. (Victoria, Australia), for approximately $2 million. The parties completed the transaction on Nov. 13, 1998.
This is the third market research related acquisition for SPSS in the last 14 months. In September 1997, SPSS acquired Quantime Ltd., a leading supplier of software and services for the market-research industry and in October 1997, SPSS acquired In2itive Technologies, developer of Windows-based software for market research.
Australia-based SurveyCraft develops products for market research including CATI, CAPI for handheld computers, multimedia CAPI, Web surveys, data entry from pen and paper, cross tabulation, statistical analysis, and data export and import. In 1994, SurveyCraft became the first global research software to support Asian languages. SurveyCraft has established itself as the major computer-aided interviewing (CAI) software in Asia and Japan.
"This is another important step for the SPSS market-research business and its long-term growth," says Jack Noonan, SPSS president and CEO. "This acquisition will result in expanded SPSS product and service capabilities which will benefit both our Pacific Rim and worldwide market-research customers."
As a result of the acquisition, SurveyCraft will become part of the SPSS market-research group which includes the former Quantime and In2itive organizations. This division serves the leading firms in the market-research industry and the market-research departments of Fortune 1000 corporations. SPSS may merge the SurveyCraft product line into its suite of market-research software.
SPSS Inc. provides analytical software to users pursuing scientific research, business intelligence (data mining and market research), and quality-improvement work. SPSS products and services help users leverage information to grow revenues and improve processes. Today, more than 2 million people use SPSS desktop-analysis tools to create and distribute information. The company celebrates its 30th anniversary in 1998.
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