Verint Systems Buys The Opus Group

Verint Systems has acquired Opus Group in a move to improve its ability to merge the contact center with back-office operations via analytics. Verint acquired Opus through the purchase of assets and liabilities via an all-cash transaction valued at $12 million. Opus is privately held, and the company provides performance analytics for contact centers and back office operations. Opus Group has specialized in using analytics software and professional services to identify business processes, workflow, and its associated data to pinpoint areas of opportunity within a company's call center and back office operations. Verint's ULTRA suite has traditionally focused on contact center recording, workforce optimization and training, and analytics, It's a move that Lou Boudreau, CTO for Verint, says will improve the company's analytic offerings. "We've only been dipping our toes in analytics with ULTRA, but this acquisition shores things up. This provides our customers with a broader suite to compliment what we already offer. It's a unique combination of technology and services that positions us to provide an end-to-end solution." Mariann McDonagh, vice president of global marketing for Verint, says the acquisition helps Verint better position itself against the competition by rounding out the company's product offerings. "Opus Group is a company with deep operational experience in this area. This fills a major gap between the call center and back-office operations." The acquisition moves Verint closer to having a well-rounded workforce optimization suite, and immediately thrusts the company into the performance analytics market, according to Paul Stockford, chief analyst at Saddletree Research. "It means they're not getting crossed off the list when it comes to competitive situations with full suite customers. Previously, they would have had to tell a potential customer, 'We'll bring in a partner.' Now they can do this in-house. It brings them into a more competitive position with Witness Systems. In addition, Opus Group's professional services are very attractive. Professional services are a high margin business, as opposed to call center quality monitoring, which is not." Art Schoeller, a senior analyst with Yankee Group, says, "The acquisition matches well with what Verint has been doing, such as call recording, quality monitoring, etcetera." Opus Group's delivery model is also another advantage for Verint: "[The model] is more risk sharing [than] going to the customer through a Internet connection, downloading the product, and then kissing the customer goodbye. Opus Group does a lot of consultative work and signs up for sharing some of the risk and benefits. Witness Systems' acquisition of Blue Pumpkin picked up [about the] same amount of software, but Witness Systems' delivery model is a less consultative sale. The Opus model is more aggressive." Related articles: QM Is Poised For Growth Witness Systems to Acquire Blue Pumpkin