SWI, ClusterSeven announce strategic partnership

TORONTO--SWI and ClusterSeven announced the formation of a strategic partnership, which will combine SWI's expertise in the Canadian Financial and Energy sectors with ClusterSeven's industry-leading solutions in the End-User Computing (EUC) space. Under the partnership, SWI will further extend ClusterSeven technology into the Canadian market, becoming a key local provider of services and solutions that reduce the operational risk brought about by widespread spreadsheet use.

"We're excited to expand our presence in the Canadian market with SWI, a trusted name in the Financial Service and Energy industries." said Ralph Baxter, CEO of ClusterSeven. "Their deep domain knowledge and extensive project experience fit perfectly with our efforts to help companies comply with market regulations and improve operational efficiency. Now more than ever, regulatory bodies such as OSFI and IIROC are pushing Canadian financial institutions to maintain better internal controls. The combination of ClusterSeven technology with SWI's risk and analytic solutions address these problems at the source, starting with spreadsheet mismanagement."

Globally, institutions are facing great pressure from regulators to demonstrate effective internal financial controls. Procedural weaknesses and lack of proper oversight are attributed to billions of dollars in lost share revenue. SWI and ClusterSeven provide technology and services that enable those controls and provide a path to compliance.

"We are eager to include ClusterSeven as part of our Operational Risk and Business Analytics initiatives." said Nigel Fonseca, CEO of SWI. "Their technology has proven that spreadsheet use does not need to be an area of weakness for financial institutions. Many of our projects involve implementing Analytics and Business Intelligence solutions to reduce human-error and provide our customers deeper insight into their business. This partnership will create the optimal collaboration of technology and services to ensure the reliability and integrity of our customers' financial data."

Based in London and New York, ClusterSeven leads the industry in the management of End User Computing applications. Since 2005, their solutions have helped firms to balance governance, risk and regulatory compliance (GRC) obligations with the need for revenue generation, staff efficiency and productivity. ClusterSeven technology is used today by three of the top five global banks and in over twenty countries worldwide.

Based in Toronto, SWI is a full service software consulting company with services spanning the entire development cycle from inception to retirement. For over 35 years, SWI has been an industry leader in providing innovative software solutions to the Financial and Energy sectors. Their Business Intelligence and Analytics solutions help customers achieve deep business insight, while improving overall processes and reducing user error.