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Confirmit today announced its acquisition of Information Research Management Pty Ltd (IRM), its exclusive value-added reseller in Sydney, Australia.
The acquisition of IRM will enable Confirmit to better serve the expanding Australian, New Zealand and Asian markets with the optimum level of local support. This in turn will enable its customers to develop and deliver world-leading Voice of the Customer (VoC), Voice of the Employee (VoE) and Market Research (MR) programs. It also demonstrates Confirmit’s ongoing strategy to expand its offering to meet market needs, and its determination to deliver the highest quality and most comprehensive range of services and solutions to customers around the world.
IRM (informationrm.com) has acted as Confirmit’s long-term reseller for more than 11 years, providing local sales, support, training and consulting services for Confirmit’s award-winning solutions in Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Existing customers include the NRMA, The Online Research Unit, Pure Profile and Fairfax Media Limited.
The acquisition follows the recent launch of Confirmit’s Australian SaaS environment which introduced a highly-resilient, low-latency service to customers in the region. The increased commitment to the region will leverage growing market interest in the role of customer experience in Asia and support the recent expansion of operations in the area by several leading MR agencies.
“The acquisition of IRM is part of our continued global growth strategy that will enable us to deliver our industry-leading solutions around the world,” commented Henning Hansen, Confirmit president and CEO. “We’re committed to strategically expanding our business through endeavors that will benefit our customers and the wider market.”
Tim Hannington, EVP EMEA & APAC, added: “I’m delighted to welcome the team from IRM and their customers to Confirmit. By consolidating our presence in Australia, we’ll be able to work closer than ever with businesses in this vital region. There is a huge opportunity for us to work with organizations transforming their businesses through cutting-edge Market Research techniques, Voice of the Customer and Voice of the Employee programs.”
The popularity of the mobile channel and social media as a way to share customer experiences and to communicate across the region is proven. 47 percent of shoppers in developing Asia will share poor in-store experiences with friends and family, versus 36 percent in developed countries, according to CustomerExperienceAsia.com. 87 percent in developing Asia report sharing retail experiences via social media channels versus 43.5 percent in developed countries.
IRM General Manager, Chris Breslin, joins Confirmit as Country Manager. Breslin commented: “Joining forces with Confirmit is an entirely logical step for IRM. We’ve worked closely together for over a decade, and by becoming part of the core business, we’ll be able to draw on the wide range of technology, solutions and expertise held across the company. This move represents a great step forward not only for Confirmit, but for companies in Asia Pacific looking to run world-class feedback and research programs.”
Virginia Meikle, Senior Manager Consumer Insights, NRMA, an IRM customer explained: “We’ve worked very successfully with IRM for 7 years, and have enjoyed a great working relationship with the team there. We’re excited by the possibilities including greater access to a wider range of Confirmit’s solutions, and we’re really looking forward to working closely with the expanded team to learn more about how this can help us drive our business forward.”
The newly combined business will be based in Sydney and will be known as Confirmit Australia Pty Ltd. Confirmit previously acquired Integrasco in 2013, CustomerSat in 2012, Techneos in 2011 and Pulse Train in 2007.
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