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SAI Global set to radically shake up commercial information market

Announcement posted by Parker Public Relations Melbourne 12 Nov 2014

 

Acquiring the exclusive, perpetual rights in Australia to visualisation software, Encompass*, is a clear signal by SAI Global that it is looking to radically transform the local commercial information market, mounting a serious challenge to traditional suppliers.

In a move that will have many of its competitors scurrying back to the drawing board, SAI has also made a bold strategic decision to transform its traditional information brokerage business into a true information solutions business, providing users with a significantly more valuable service.

The significance of the software acquisition has not gone unnoticed by the market, with the SAI Global’s share price lifting by 6 percent on the day the deal was announced at the company’s AGM in October.

According to newly-minted SAI Global CEO and managing director, Peter Mullins (formerly Head of Information Services and Property), the increase is a sign industry analysts recognise the value the deal brings to the business in the face of a maturing commercial information market and increasing customer expectations.

“Without a doubt, the agreement enables us to gain complete control over one of our strongest market differentiators,” he says. 

Mr Mullins predicts that over the next few years there will be significant changes in the commercial information market in Australia. “We are seeing the banks and professional services – the biggest consumers of commercial information - demanding solutions that will reduce the cost of managing the information they rely on to deliver core services, while at the same time increasing the value they derive from information they have spent millions of dollars on.”

He says Encompass has already caught the attention of many of SAI Global’s largest competitors in the commercial information space, a number of which have scrambled in recent months to develop ‘me-too’ offerings, all of which are yet to be delivered.

This failing, he says, takes on new significance following the deal.

According to SAI Global Head of Information Services Strategy, Benjamin Balk, Encompass will without a doubt be the cornerstone of SAI’s re-invention as an information solutions provider.

“Securing the exclusive and perpetual rights to this service gives us the capability to provide the best possible customer experience in the commercial information market. We’ll be giving our customers more than just the data; we’re putting context around this data and adding value, while at the same time making this data more easily accessible to a variety of users at all levels,” he says.

Mr Balk says it is clear that information about companies, directors and financial security interests, such as that  from the Personal Property and Securities Register, has grown in both volume and complexity, making it harder for someone reviewing this information and data to make consistent decisions in the normal operation of their businesses.

What Encompass does is unlock the power of this data, putting users very much in the driver’s seat. It brings all the information and data together, making it clearer, less complicatedand allows for quicker and more reliable decision-making.”

Mr Balk anticipates SAI Global’s position as Australia’s provider of innovative commercial information solutions is likely to go largely unchallenged for some time as competitors scramble to respond to this new way of working with commercial information and data. “The reaction we have seen from competitors to the Encompass offering is a clear indication that they acknowledge that it represents the next evolution of commercial information management.”

Currently SAI has more than 25 per cent of the Company Search market in Australia, and this is set to grow as a result of the deal.

Encompass has been disrupting the commercial information market in Australia since its 2012 release.  According to its CEO and co-founder Wayne Johnson, it has ‘altered the way people think about, use and buy commercial information.’

Encompass will be offered as part of the SAI Global Property division’s suite of information solutions.

About Encompass …….

*Provided under a Software as a Service (SaaS) model, Encompass enables users to graphically work with information and data that is traditionally held in cumbersome text based reports sourced from government agencies, credit bureaus and other data companies. Such information is time consuming to collate and analyse effectively. Encompass been embraced by professionals from banking and finance, government professional services – including 70 per cent of the top 20 insolvency firms in Australia among their subscriber base.  Using the power of visualisation, Encompass takes  the headache and costs out of working with information that is traditionally time consuming to search, review and manage, such as reports from ASIC, land title offices and the PPS Register.

link:  SAI Global ASX ANNOUNCEMENT - 23 October 2014

link: Encompass ANNOUNCEMENT – 23 October 2014

link: About SAI Global

link: About Encompass Corporation

For more information contact:

Wendy Parker on 0422 694 503

Benjamin Balk on +61 401 672 313

Peter Mullins on +61 2 8206 6182