Cortell merges with SIM, pools skills to deliver true business analytics offering

Cortell Corporate Performance Management (Cortell) and the Smart Information Management (SIM) division of the Pro Solutions Group, have joined forces in a merger that will see both companies pool their various skill sets to deliver a complete end-to-end information management and business analytics offering to the southern African market.

The merger is effective as of 1 August 2012. The merged entity will operate from Cortell’s offices in Woodmead, Johannesburg, and all staff members of both sales and technical expertise have joined the Cortell team from SIM.

David McWilliam and Craig Hart will be joining Greg Bogiages and Max Ottavini on the Cortell executive team. McWilliam is a business intelligence industry veteran, having been at the helm of Cognos through its buyout and merger with IBM. Bogiages is likewise an industry stalwart, having qualified as a Charted Accountant in 1985 and spending time as a lecturer before joining the Financial Performance Management (FPM) space. Hart and Ottavini have years of experience from both a technical and a business perspective. Together, the directors of the new Cortell form a powerhouse of knowledge and experience.

“SIM are specialists in business analytics and optimisation, where Cortell have always focused more on the FPM and predictive analytics aspect of information management,” says Bogiages. “Bringing these skills together was a logical step for both companies. With Cortell’s combination of financial, accounting and technical skills, as well as our footprint in Africa, and SIM’s skill in business analytics, we are perfectly positioned to meet the business intelligence needs of the South African and African market.”

Both companies are accredited and certified resellers of IBM business analytics solutions, with different and complementary areas of focus, including IBM’s TM1 FPM solution, SPSS predictive analytics, Cognos business intelligence, business optimisation and more. In an environment where the specialist skills required to design and implement such solutions are in limited supply, this merger enables resources to be combined to deliver better services and solutions to customers across the board.

“We have always been in the business of helping organisations improve decision-making. Following this merger we will now be able to offer our customers a comprehensive solution offering. From analytics to information optimisation, finance to predictive analytics, we can now help our clients to make better business decisions across all areas of their business,” McWilliam concludes.