Precisely

Precisely is a software company specializing in big data, high speed sorting products, data integration data quality, data enrichment, and location intelligence offerings, for IBM i, Hadoop, Microsoft Windows, UNIX, Linux, and mainframe computer systems.

History

Syncsort

1968-1989

In 1968, Duane Whitlow and Stan Rintel started Whitlow Computer Systems to develop software for mainframe computers. The result was a business with a niche product portfolio originally based on high-speed data sorting, but which later moved into Big Data, Hadoop, Cloud, and ETL (extract, transform, load).

According to Whitlow, the company's original task was to develop an airlines reservations system for Control Data. In the course of that work, the founders encountered timing charts for IBM's existing sort utility, and thought they could build a sort that was much faster. Sales improved after then-startup Computerworld published a front page story about syncsort's product. That story resulted in openings in Europe, and the company was one of the first to sell an independent software product in Europe. For some customers, syncsort was their first non-IBM software purchase. Advertising for Syncsort (both the company and the software product) was done in-house from 1971, their founding year (as Syncsort), until 1986.

1990-2019

In the 1990s, already known eponymously as Syncsort, the company expanded into client/server environments with a Unix-based sort utility and a backup product. In 2004, Syncsort introduced DMExpress, which added extract, transform and load (ETL) integration capabilities, metadata management and improved job management.

In April 2008, Insight Venture Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Georgian Partners, Goldman Sachs and other investors bought a majority interest in Syncsort Incorporated. In 2013 Syncsort recruited former CA and IBMer Lonne Jaffe as CEO. Also in 2013, Syncsort acquired Circle Computer Group, whose product DL/2 facilitates migration of mainframe data, especially from IBM IMS instances to IBM's DB2 under z/OS. In October 2013, Syncsort sold its data protection business to an investor group led by Bedford Venture Partners and Windcrest Partners. The spun off data protection business is now called Catalogic Software.

In 2015 Syncsort acquired William Data Systems, a network monitoring and security software company, and Clearlake Capital Group acquired Syncsort; Syncsort President Josh Rogers was appointed CEO. In 2017 Centerbridge Partners acquired Syncsort along with Vision Solutions; the two companies combined into one.

In 2019 Syncsort acquired the software and data business of Pitney Bowes in a $700 million transaction backed by affiliates of Centerbridge Partners, L.P. and Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. This expanded Syncsort's global presence.

Precisely: 2020s

In May 2020, Syncsort rebranded itself as Precisely. In March 2021, Clearlake Capital Group, in affiliation with TA Associates re-acquired Precisely in a deal worth $3.5 billion, which it had sold four years before to Centerbridge Partners. Centerbridge Partners retained a minority stake.