W2O acquires social media analytics platform Symplur
W2O, the leading independent provider of analytics-driven, digital-first marketing communications to the healthcare sector, has acquired Symplur, a social media analytics platform exclusively focused on the healthcare sector.
Symplur provides an easy-to-use interface and analytical capabilities that will help make W2O’s data and analytics operating system and technology accessible to a broader range of non-technical users. In the future, W2O will add new features and products to the platform that will further be informed by and benefit its wide range of healthcare clients.
Symplur’s proprietary, purpose-built social media analytics platform – the only tool of its kind on the market designed entirely for healthcare – allows for the rapid and easy identification of social media trends among physicians, patient advocates, life science professionals, media and other key audiences of interest to healthcare organizations, government entities and academic institutions. Through a collaboration with the California Life Sciences Association, W2O and Symplur are already utilizing the platform in conjunction with W2O’s proprietary data and technology stack to track COVID-19-specific conversations and trends across the healthcare ecosystem.
The acquisition is designed to expand W2O’s proprietary data and technology platform and corresponding solutions, further enabling the firm to focus on combining data-rich intelligence with technology to solve clients’ problems in real-time, successfully communicate and market their product offerings, and drive overall value for their brands.
“Insights derived from social media analytics are significantly impacting the entire healthcare ecosystem. Our massive Healthcare Social Graph® platform, which uses machine learning, enables us to extract the most valuable insights to meet the needs of a diverse range of healthcare clients and ultimately drive their priorities forward,” said Audun Utengen, Symplur co-founder and CEO. “This work over many years has helped us expedite the development of relevant, powerful technology platforms like those used to help track critical COVID-19 conversations from authentic, expert sources.”
Symplur’s technology and intelligence reports are currently utilized by pharmaceutical companies and government agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
Symplur and W2O are privately held companies, and the financial terms of the acquisitions are not being disclosed. This acquisition, which was completed in partnership with W2O’s private equity partner, New Mountain Capital, marks the firm’s fifth acquisition in nine months. Symplur, which will now operate as W2O symplur, adds a team of seasoned software architects and developers to the W2O family. Symplur co-founders Utengen and Thomas Lee will continue to serve in leadership roles and be key participants in the development of the firm’s audience planning product suite.
