Logi Analytics acquired by ERP vendor Insightsoftware

Logi Analytics was acquired by ERP vendor Insightsoftware.

Financial terms of the deal, which closed on April 7, were not disclosed, and Logi was advised by Macquarie Capital as the acquisition was put together. Logi is now a subsidiary of Insightsoftware but will operate and market as a separate business unit.

Logi, founded in 2000 and based in McLean, Va., focuses on capabilities that enable developers to build analytics applications. Insightsoftware specializes in financial reporting and budgeting ERP software; it was founded in 1993 and is based in Raleigh, N.C.

In June 2020, the vendor unveiled Logi Composer, a new tool for developers to create embedded analytics applications. At the time, then CEO Steven Schneider called the release the most significant new product in Logi's history, the culmination of more than seven years of research and development.

Schneider stepped down in October 2020 after five years as CEO while remaining the vendor's executive chairman. Kevin Greene, who had been Logi's COO since 2017, was named Schneider's replacement.

Greene said joining forces with Insightsoftware will speed up Logi's growth.

"We are constantly innovating and seeking opportunities to expand our reach," he said in an email to TechTarget. "Through this relationship with Insightsoftware, we now have access to tens of thousands of enterprise customers, a global channel partner distribution network and resources for inorganic expansion to provide a superior analytics end-user experience for corporate and commercial software application teams."

He added that numerous companies approached Logi about acquiring the vendor following a strong second half of 2020, and Insightsoftware was the best fit.

"Insightsoftware and Logi share a common objective of enabling customers to derive insights from transactional and operational data to drive faster, more informed decisions," Greene said. "The combination provides significant value for both companies."

In particular, he said Insightsoftware stands to benefit from Logi’s operational reporting system that will be paired with Insightsoftware’s financial reporting, and Logi's embedded analytics capabilities opens up a new market for Insightsoftware to provide embedded BI to commercial and enterprise software teams.

Logi, meanwhile, will benefit from insightsoftware’s scale, resources and expertise to accelerate growth opportunities, according to Greene. 

Similarly, Donald Farmer, principal of TreeHive Strategy, said Logi and Insightsoftware provide complementary capabilities and are a good fit for each other. In particular, while Insightsoftware offers strong enterprise reporting and financial reporting tools, its business intelligence and embedded analytics capabilities were limited before acquiring Logi.

"Logi brings a good self-service platform to the table, but also the ability to embed analytics into the workflow of Insightsoftware's planning, consolidation, tax and treasury applications," Farmer said. "This could be an important differentiator for Insightsoftware over the next few years."

He added that in addition to accelerated growth, the acquisition should bring Logi some added stability.

"After the acquisition and onboarding is settled, Logi should find itself more stable than in recent years, with scope for innovation," Farmer said. "Insightsoftware has said that Logi will be independent within the Insightsoftware stable, but let's see how that plays out in the long run. There have been some concerns -- mostly overblown -- about Logi's viability which should now be assuaged."

Before acquiring Logi, Insightsoftware had made nine acquisitions and was itself acquired by private equity firm TA Associates in 2018.

Jim Triandiflou, CEO of Insightsoftware, called the acquisition of Logi a critical piece of the company's long-term strategy.

"With Logi Analytics' robust operational reporting solution paired with our market-leading financial reporting, we can provide our customers the ability to report on every area of their business," he said in a statement. "In addition, Logi Analytics' leading position in embedded analytics opens a whole new market opportunity for us."

The acquisition, meanwhile, continues an ongoing consolidation trend among BI vendors.

The months from July 2018 through June 2019 were particularly eventful, beginning with Qlik's acquisition of Podium Data and ending with Google's purchase of Looker for $2.6 billion on a Friday and Salesforce's $15.7 billion acquisition of Tableau the following Monday.

It was a flurry of activity not seen among BI vendors since 2007 when IBM acquired Cognos, SAP bought Business Objects and Oracle purchased Hyperion.

The trend slowed over the next 12 months and into the COVID-19 pandemic period with little activity. But in recent months Tibco acquired IBI (formerly Information Builders), Qlik bought Blendr.io, and on March 31 ThoughtSpot, a vendor some speculate might be an acquisition target itself, purchased SeekWell.

Now, Logi is joining forces with Insightsoftware, and the question isn't whether another acquisition will happen but when.