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SPSS Inc. made a move to expand its analytics offerings to text mining with the $2.5 million acquisition Friday of LexiQuest Inc.
LexiQuest develops linguistics-based text mining and information management software. Chicago-based SPSS previously had focused on predictive analysis of structured or numerical data. It now will be able to move into unstructured data analysis.
SPSS rival SAS Institute Inc. made a similar move last month when it signed up text mining software developer Inxight Software Inc. to provide much of the technology in its forthcoming SAS Text Miner application, expected around the middle of this year.
“There is a tremendous amount of data that traditional data mining cannot access directly,” said SPSS President and CEO Jack Noonan in a statement. “By combining text mining and traditional data mining technologies our customers will have access to a wealth of undiscovered information to make effective decisions. It stands to reason that good information drives good decisions, and text mining adds a new dimension to effective decision-making.”
LexiQuests text mining software is used primarily in the pharmaceuticals, law, government, information technology and finance verticals. SPSS Business Intelligence division will sell and support LexiQuest software.
“Combining the technologies of both companies will give our customers the best data mining has to offer,” said Bruno Henry, the now former CEO of LexiQuest, in New York.