Companies rely heavily on operational spreadsheets to support their day-to-day business. However, without solutions to track changes, businesses find it difficult to maintain the integrity of data when it is distributed across an enterprise environment. With new regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley focusing attention on the information supply chain, it has never been more important for businesses to take control of spreadsheet data.
ClusterSeven solves the problem of controlling this information—delivering a spreadsheet management solution that increases the long-term effectiveness of Microsoft® Office Excel® in complex environments while reducing risk. As a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, the company has worked closely with Microsoft, aligning well with the product groups, achieving strong sales, and raising £2.4 million (U.S.$4.7 million) in venture capital funding.
Partner Profile
ClusterSeven, based in London, is listed among the Top 50 securities technology providers for the capital markets. It provides technology for managing, analysing, and auditing the activity and data generated by Microsoft Office Excel spreadsheets in large organisations.
Benefits
- Additional technical support and knowledge.
- Closer ties secure £2.4 millionin funding.
- Increased potential for joint ventures with partners.
- Greater public relations opportunities.
- Development aligned with Microsoft solutions prior to release.
ClusterSeven launched in 2003 with a view to improving the quality and efficiency of enterprise-wide spreadsheet management. The group, with offices in New York and London, has developed a solution that offers managers rapid business intelligence and reduced risk in operations supported by spreadsheet technology Microsoft Office Excel.
Ralph Baxter, Vice President of Products, ClusterSeven, says: “The problem many companies encounter is that only a snapshot of information is saved in a spreadsheet. There is no easy way to understand the changes and no audit-ability. This makes it difficult to ensure the integrity of information or analyse the way the business has changed over time. We provide the movie version of the spreadsheet.”
Close Relationship from Beginning
The company wanted to gain exposure and take advantage of growth in the market for enterprise spreadsheet management, which is expected to reach £1.6 billion (U.S.$2.1 billion) in 2007. With this in mind, it was extremely important for ClusterSeven to develop a strong market presence that would help it compete with established players.
ClusterSeven has been a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner since its inception and was keen to exploit that relationship with the software vendor. Working closely with Microsoft technicians, ClusterSeven developed its solution using the Microsoft .NET Framework, which ensured its system integrated seamlessly with existing Microsoft technology.
“We actively sought to engage with Microsoft from the outset,” says Steve Semenzato, Chief Executive Officer, ClusterSeven. “There was recognition that the issue of spreadsheet risk would be considered in conversations between Microsoft and its clients, and we felt that was a conversation we wanted to be a part of.”
Technological Support
With the support of Microsoft experts, ClusterSeven has gained a substantial foothold in the marketplace. The credibility from such a close-knit relationship with a global brand has helped the group when negotiating with potential customers.
“We regularly arrange client meetings to which Microsoft employees have also been invited,” says Semenzato. “Our proposition is a ‘business-led’ sale, and the presence of Microsoft representatives allows the business representatives to be comfortable that the technology issues will not be a problem. It shows that, although ClusterSeven is still young, we have the support of a very large, established business.”
Increased Knowledge, Faster Time to Market
The expertise provided by experienced Microsoft technicians helped ClusterSeven accelerate its development life cycles. In addition, a close working relationship with Microsoft provided a clear insight into the software vendor’s product roadmap and ensured early access to products such as the 2007 Microsoft Office system.
“By becoming a partner, we were able to engage directly with the Microsoft Excel team and understand more about the direction of the product,” says Semenzato. “We had access to a large pool of existing developers and could use the Microsoft .NET Framework development studio to achieve productivity gains through rapid application development techniques. The .NET Framework has wide acceptance in the marketplace, and the development platform is stable and robust.”
Increased Business Opportunities
The company has benefited from the credibility a company like Microsoft brings. “The Microsoft relationship has considerably accelerated our sales traction and raised our expectations about the rate of growth of the U.S. business,” says Semenzato. “Being able to introduce clients to the Microsoft team, which can reassure them about the technology, has enabled us to secure deals and win major customers.”
Through the relationship with Microsoft, ClusterSeven has developed a partnership with NASDAQ-listed Hummingbird, recently bought by OpenText, an international provider of enterprise software solutions. The offering from Hummingbird complements the ClusterSeven solution, and the relationship has resulted in a joint client engagement and more business opportunities.
New Funding from Investors
The Microsoft partnership, in tandem with strong sales and a promising product suite, also helped ClusterSeven successfully raise £2.4 million (U.S.$4.7 million) in venture capital funding from investment firm Quester Venture Capital Trust.
Henry Sallitt, Director, Quester Venture Capital Trust, says: “ClusterSeven’s partnership with Microsoft has provided us with an important validation point for the client problem and confirmation that this type of functionality is not in the near-term Microsoft product roadmap.”
In addition to forging new relationships, the partnership with Microsoft has provided ClusterSeven with increased public relations opportunities. The group has been involved in joint sponsored events with speakers drawn from banks such as Dresdner Kleinwort, Mitsubishi UFJ, and RBS. ClusterSeven has also benefited from invitations to attend tradeshows as part of the Microsoft stand, underlining the confidence of Microsoft in the value proposition of ClusterSeven.
Click here to download ClusterSeven's success story in PDF format.
© 2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Microsoft and Excel are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Document Published January 2007
