Press release

IDOX acquires specialist in local government election software

Published 30 July 2010

30 July 2010 -- London, UK -- IDOX, a leading independent supplier of software and services to the UK public sector, today announced the acquisition of Computershare Electoral Management Services Ltd (CEMS), trading in the UK as 'Strand Business Systems', one of the UK's leading electoral management systems, which is already used by a quarter of UK local authorities.

IDOX has strong business relationships with more than 300 local authorities through its various products, which help councils transform the delivery of their building, planning and people functions. This new acquisition adds a further important product to its suite of local government services at a time when IDOX believes the number of local elections will rise as part of the new coalition government's plan to increase local decision making. These include new measures such as proposals to increase the number of elected mayors, vote on council tax increases and – following Home Secretary Theresa May's consultation on policing in England and Wales last week – introducing directly-elected local police commissioners.

CEMS is one of the UK's leading providers of electoral management software and services, supplying 116 local authorities covering a voting population of 13 million people.

Commenting on the news, Richard Kellett-Clarke, CEO IDOX said:
"The acquisition of Strand is an important strategic move for IDOX at a key time for local authorities, given the Coalition Government's agenda for increased local decision-making. As a first step we are exploring how our respective technologies can complement each other, but we already know that Strand's electoral management software will help local authorities manage all local elections successfully and cost efficiently.

In the most recent General Election, we saw the scope for things to go awry in election management. If plans for increased local democracy are implemented, councils will need to be ready and have access to tried and tested software solutions that offer efficient management with minimal risk."

Electoral modernisation in the UK has led to a range of innovations from postal voting involving automated signature collection and checking processes to avoid fraud, to electronic voting. Among its development plans for Strand, IDOX intends to add features such as increasing its web and telephone functionality. In addition, IDOX will deploy innovations from the Strand product such as its advanced signature recognition technology, across its existing suite of local government products and services.

The acquisition broadens and strengthens IDOX's leadership in the Land, Property and People markets, where its development expertise, operational skills and strong, pre-existing relationships will benefit Strand's customers.

Ends


For more information, please contact:

College Hill
Andy Achimu
andy.achimu@collegehill.com
Phone: 0207 457 2049

About IDOX group

IDOX group is a specialist information and knowledge management company focusing on the development and delivery of software products and content for information and knowledge sharing for information professionals at all levels and consultancy services for local authorities and related bodies.

From standalone solutions for individual functions through to integrated corporate solutions, the company's market leading IDOX, UNI-form and Plantech portfolio delivers improved data quality, stream-lined information-sharing, enhanced employee productivity and increased responsiveness to the public.

IDOX group is headquartered in London with offices in Glasgow, Manchester and Newbury, United Kingdom.