Australian software vendor Space-Time Research acquired by Japan's WingArc1st

Melbourne-based software vendor Space-Time Research has been acquired by Japanese software and services provider WingArc1st.

WingArc1st expects to accelerate its global expansion with Space-Time Research’s local knowledge and experience of the Australian and overseas markets.

Headquartered in Tokyo, WingArc1st has over 6000 BI customers in Japan.

Space-Time Research was established in 1986 and has worked with government and statistical agencies around the world, specialising in self-service solutions for the dissemination of official statistics, with specific expertise in privacy and confidentiality. The company has close to 30 employees.

A Space-Time Research spokesperson told CRN that the Australian Bureau of Statistics had been a customer since the company's inception.

Despite Space-Time Research software having mainly been sold through direct channels, WingArc1st has 500 partner organisations involved in reselling its software.

"Our existing customers should not notice any change on a day-to-day basis. We will continue to offer the same local support and our Melbourne-based software development team will continue to develop the existing Space-Time Research software suite," the spokesperson said. 

"However, the deal will allow us to take advantage of synergies and shared resources between the two organisations, as well as expand our product offering in Australia to include both Space-Time Research software and WingArc1st’s product suite, which includes BI and dashboarding products as well as document and print management solutions."

Space-Time Research chief executive Steven Hulse said: "This deal is a real win-win. Our experience in the world of government and statistical data makes for a natural complementary fit with WingArc1st’s solutions for the corporate BI sector."

Hiroyuki Uchino, president and chief executive at WingArc1st, said: "Our mission is to deliver true data empowerment by enabling organisations to make effective data-driven decisions. We are excited to be working with the team from Space-Time Research and believe this strategic acquisition strongly positions us to deliver a new standard in BI solutions to customers across Australia and beyond."