IBM's acquisition of SPSS further strengthens IBM's business analytics and optimization strategy by providing predictive analytic capabilities that can help customers predict future events and proactively act upon that insight to drive better business outcomes.

With this acquisition, IBM expands its focus on business analytics and optimization designed to meet growing customer needs to cut costs, reduce risk and drive profitable growth. The acquisition, along with IBM's existing software and services portfolio, will enable business leaders and CIOs to leverage trusted information and analytics for better, faster decisions and continuous optimization throughout the organization.

The addition of SPSS will help IBM deliver market-leading, comprehensive predictive analytics capabilities including data collection for market research and feedback management, text and data mining, advanced statistical analysis and predictive solutions, enabling customers to gain insights into complex questions, predict potential future outcomes and take action.

The acquisition strengthens the range of offerings available through the recently announced IBM Business Analytics and Optimization consulting organization, with its 4,000 consultants lending expertise to help clients better use their information for smarter business outcomes. And, it is in alignment with IBM's broader business strategy, which combines organic growth with acquisitions to move the company into higher value capabilities that accelerate margin expansion.

SPSS will be integrated into IBM's Information Management software portfolio and the many industry offerings already available. Predictive analytics will also be an essential component of the smarter business systems that IBM is helping companies and organizations build to help address the complex challenges presented by the exponential growth of data.

Additional information about IBM's business analytics and optimization strategy is available at: http://www.ibm.com/software/data/new-intelligence/

For more details about the combination of IBM and SPSS see: http://www.ibm.com/software/data/info/spss/

    Media Contacts:
    Kaveri Camire
    IBM
    914-766-1195
    kcamire@us.ibm.com

    Steve Milmore
    IBM
    781-313-2403
    smilmore@us.ibm.com

SOURCE IBM Corporation

http://www.ibm.com

Analyses that previously required multiple steps and knowledge of statistical techniques can now be completed in minutes to drive more targeted and effective campaigns. PASW Direct Marketing has an intuitive interface allowing marketers to quickly perform sophisticated analysis with six analytical procedures, including recency, frequency, and monetary (RFM) analysis, cluster analysis, and prospect profiling. PASW Direct Marketing also allows marketers to improve campaigns to potential customers through postal code analysis, propensity scoring, and control package testing.

Dan Skoglund, president, marketing services group at dbp Chicago, a marketing and production services agency, said, "PASW Direct Marketing is a fantastic tool that allows our non-technical business users to get results delivered in seconds that are easily deciphered in color-coded charts. This module gives users all the statistical tools they need to easily conduct various marketing analyses, which are essential for companies like dbp Chicago to better understand and classify customers, and improve campaign results."

For marketers today, the old adage still holds true, that "half the money spent on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half." Organizations can quickly maximize the value of marketing dollars by selecting the customers and prospects most likely to respond to campaigns. For instance, the "propensity to purchase" function relies on previous response information and customer characteristics in ranking which customers and prospects are likely to respond to an offer. This eliminates people on mailing lists least likely to respond, and keeps funds and resources targeted on profitable revenue generation at every interaction.

Gina Miller, vice president, director of customer engagement at Colman Brohan Davis, Inc., a brand strategy and creative marketing firm, said, "We use research and data-driven insights to help brands find a differentiated position in highly competitive industries. We constantly work to develop more cost-effective, strategic communications that drive revenue. PASW Direct Marketing is a smart application that better targets campaigns, and is a tool that can streamline our ability to identify, keep and nurture the best customers."

Jason Verlen, chief product strategist for SPSS, said, "The top marketers are taking a mathematical approach to better understand customers and optimize campaigns. Knowing specifically which customers to target - and more importantly, who not to target - reduces marketing waste and quickly adds ROI and value, so marketing is no longer viewed as a business expense. PASW Direct Marketing - and all the new modules now available with PASW Statistics 18 - deliver incredibly robust functionality that increases the usability of advanced analytics on a single platform."

Register for PASW Direct Marketing Webinar

For more information on PASW Direct Marketing, please register for a complimentary webinar - "Easily Identify the Right Contacts" - on Wednesday, August 19, 2009, at 11 a.m. CT.

Pricing and Availability

All PASW Statistics 18 modules are now available for Windows, Linux and Mac platforms on the desktop; and Windows, Solaris, Linux, AIX and HP/UX on the server. Pricing for PASW Direct Marketing, and every other PASW Statistics 18 module is available at the SPSS Web Store.

About SPSS Inc.

SPSS Inc. is a leading global provider of Predictive Analytics software and solutions. The Company's complete portfolio of Predictive Analytics Software (PASW) products - data collection, statistics, modeling and deployment - captures people's attitudes and opinions, predicts outcomes of future customer interactions, and then acts on these insights by embedding analytics into business processes. SPSS Solutions address interconnected business objectives across an entire organization by focusing on the convergence of analytics, IT architecture and business process. Commercial, government and academic customers worldwide rely on SPSS technology as a competitive advantage in attracting, retaining and growing customers, while reducing fraud and mitigating risk. Founded in 1968, SPSS is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. For more information, please visit www.spss.com.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6031381&lang=en

SOURCE: SPSS Inc.

Tim Powers, SPSS Inc. 
(312) 251-6553 
tpowers@spss.com

A recent IBM Global CIO Study involving 2,500 CIOs from 78 countries found that leveraging analytics to gain a competitive advantage and improve decision-making is now the top priority for CIOs. As more organizations harness the exponential growth of data with Predictive Analytics to improve decision-making, the demand for smart and savvy professionals fluent in this knowledge is critical. The PASW Statistics Certification gives employers the confidence in an individual's ability, and advances careers and creates leadership opportunities for these professionals.

Joe Somma, director, market intelligence at Independent Health, said, "We have built an analytical platform with Predictive Analytics Software from SPSS to improve our marketing efforts, better engage with customers and improve treatment outcomes. Finding professionals with the right skill set in statistical analysis is paramount to furthering our organization's goals. The PASW Statistics Certification establishes a basis to find qualified candidates, screen for the best talent and locate low-risk employees that can give us a competitive edge."

PASW Statistics Certification will also create a worldwide user community taking advantage of Predictive Analytics Software to improve business outcomes. This trusted network allows those with certification to collaborate on development efforts, share business problems and solutions (by industry), showcase achievements and search for potential employment.

Michael Bigenwald, vice president of worldwide education for SPSS, said, "The introduction of an official certification program for PASW Statistics establishes an industry baseline of knowledge for statistical analysis using our product. By providing a formal declaration of an individual's professional competence with PASW Statistics, this certification serves as a significant differentiator in Predictive Analytics and an asset for those vying for positions in today's job market."

Availability

PASW Statistics Certification testing will begin in November 2009. To ensure success in the certification exam, SPSS also offers a comprehensive training program providing the necessary skills and understanding of PASW Statistics to become certified. Pearson VUE, the global leader in computer-based testing, will administer the exams at its testing centers worldwide. For all other inquiries or certification questions, please visit www.spss.com/certification or send an email to certification@spss.com.

About SPSS Inc.

SPSS Inc. is a leading global provider of Predictive Analytics software and solutions. The Company's complete portfolio of Predictive Analytics Software (PASW) products -- data collection, statistics, modeling and deployment -- captures people's attitudes and opinions, predicts outcomes of future customer interactions, and then acts on these insights by embedding analytics into business processes. SPSS Solutions address interconnected business objectives across an entire organization by focusing on the convergence of analytics, IT architecture and business process. Commercial, government and academic customers worldwide rely on SPSS technology as a competitive advantage in attracting, retaining and growing customers, while reducing fraud and mitigating risk. Founded in 1968, SPSS is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. For more information, please visit www.spss.com.

SOURCE: SPSS Inc.

Tim Powers, SPSS Inc. 
(312) 261-6553 
tpowers@spss.com

Thaler is the Robert P. Gwinn Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics and Director of the Center for Decision Research at the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business. He will explain how recent research in behavior can be utilized to improve decisions about health, wealth and happiness.

Silver has repeatedly produced uncannily accurate predictions on his website FiveThirtyEight.com -- from the performance of Major League Baseball players to politics --- successfully predicting the winner in 49 of 50 states in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. He will share some of the lessons learned about turning mountains of data into nuggets of gold and will address how to effectively work with data to generate more accurate predictions.

Directions User Conference also features:

-- Organizations such as Advance Auto Parts, First Tennessee Bank, Procter & Gamble and Southwest Airlines delivering best practices and successes achieved using Predictive Analytics Software (PASW(R)).

-- More than 90 breakout sessions providing insight into new product developments in Predictive Analytics Software -- data collection, statistics, modeling, text analytics and deployment.

-- SPSS Expo showcasing applications, services, and cutting-edge technology from partners and product experts.

-- Product Experience Room offering valuable one-on-one time to ask SPSS experts --from development, product management, training, and tech support -- the most pressing questions.

Stephen Gold, vice president of worldwide marketing at SPSS, said, "Directions is a unique opportunity to experience thought leadership in Predictive Analytics and discover how leading organizations are transforming themselves from a 'sense and respond' workplace to a 'predict and act' enterprise. Attendees will learn how to empower their organization to gain competitive insight and optimize outcomes, including maximizing customer profitability, retention, and satisfaction; predicting fraud before it happens; and detecting risk in real time."

Registration

For more information and to register for Directions, please visit: http://www.spss.com/spssdirections/na/

About SPSS Inc.

SPSS Inc. is a leading global provider of Predictive Analytics software and solutions. The Company's complete portfolio of Predictive Analytics Software (PASW) products -- data collection, statistics, modeling and deployment -- captures people's attitudes and opinions, predicts outcomes of future customer interactions, and then acts on these insights by embedding analytics into business processes. SPSS Solutions address interconnected business objectives across an entire organization by focusing on the convergence of analytics, IT architecture and business process. Commercial, government and academic customers worldwide rely on SPSS technology as a competitive advantage in attracting, retaining and growing customers, while reducing fraud and mitigating risk. Founded in 1968, SPSS is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. For more information, please visit www.spss.com.

SOURCE: SPSS Inc.

Christina Preiss, SPSS Inc. 
(312) 651-3437 
cpreiss@spss.com