When you’ve been in the data analytics business for more than 25 years, you start to become adept at spotting potential synergy between various companies in the space. Such was the case for me with Dell and StatSoft.
When I looked at Dell, I saw a leading global brand committed to delivering its customers a complete set of end-to-end solutions. I saw a company focused on expanding the breadth and depth of its software offerings. And I saw a leadership team in the process of building out a comprehensive information management software solution – albeit with one key missing link when it came to advanced analytics.
When I looked at StatSoft, I saw one of the best kept secrets in the software industry. I saw a customer-focused company that had grown into one of the industry’s leading providers of advanced analytics solutions. And I saw a technology platform with a 30-year track record of delivering the predictive analytics capabilities organizations need to better understand their businesses.
Separately, I saw two great companies both focused on the same goal – empowering their customers. Together, I saw a potential industry powerhouse. This was in 2013, and at the time, it was nothing more than internal conjecture of the part of an independent industry consultant. So you can imagine my excitement when, more than a year later, Matt Wolken, vice president and general manager of Dell Software’s information management solution, told me that Dell was in fact acquiring StatSoft and asked me to come onboard as general manager of global advanced analytics. It was one of the rare instances in which no analytics were necessary for me to make a fast, smart decision – and accept the role.
Synergy, while a great thing, is just a starting point. Turning that synergy into tangible business momentum is the far greater challenge, but in the first 100-plus days since the acquisition of StatSoft, we’ve managed to do just that.
Momentum is first and foremost about meeting the present day needs of your customers. Though the Statistica platform has a track record that speaks for itself, we’ve redoubled efforts to talk with our customers (and there are lots of them – Statistica has millions of users worldwide) about how their needs are evolving and how we can improve the product as a standalone offering. We’re taking that feedback and investing heavily in the continued development of Statistica, in order to not only deliver market-leading functionality that’s native to the product itself, but to continue supporting key industry standards and technologies.
Momentum is also about excitement, and there’s plenty to be excited about right now if you use Dell’s information management solutions. We’re in the process of building out an aggressive integration roadmap, with the aim of leveraging the many synergies that exist across our portfolio in order to deliver even more powerful solutions for our customers. Rest assured, Statistica will be at the forefront of these efforts. Whether it’s with our Boomi integration technology, our Toad family of business intelligence and data visualization solutions, or our Kitenga big data analytics platform, the opportunities for powerful integration with Statistcia are many, and we’ll have much more to share in the not-too-distant future.
Lastly, momentum is about validation, and we’ve been pleased to receive more than our share in recent months. Statistica has long been recognized as one of the industry’s premier advanced analytics tools, and it continues to garner that recognition as part of the Dell family. When it comes to advanced analytics, Hurwitz & Associates and Dresner Advisory Services rank among the industry’s preeminent third-party analyst firms, and their recent independent assessments of the Statistica platform are the latest confirmation of the significant value we offer our customers. It goes without saying that we’re both proud and excited to have earned the respect of these trusted industry advisors.
And speaking of trusted industry advisors, we’re thrilled to announce that former Enterprise Management Associates analyst Shawn Rogers has joined the Dell Software information management team as our chief research officer. Shawn’s track record in the BI and analytics space speaks for itself, and we’re excited to have him onboard.
There’s an old sports adage that once a team gets momentum going, there’s not much you can do to stop it. Well, we’ve got the momentum going, and over the next few months – and well beyond – we don’t intend to stop.