Storm spreads with the acquisition of Ciall

28 Nov 2017

Karl Flannery, CEO and founder of Storm Technology. Image: Storm

Acquisition adds ERP and CPM to Storm Technology’s cloud offerings.

Irish software powerhouse Storm Technology is set to expand having concluded the acquisition of Ciall for an undisclosed sum.

Ciall is a specialist in enterprise resource planning (ERP) and corporate performance management (CPM) software.

‘We believe this acquisition is a great move for both companies, our clients and our people’
– KARL FLANNERY

The acquisition will increase Storm’s revenue by 25pc and expand its client base to more than 140 organisations. Not only that, but Storm’s team of expert consultants, business analysts, management and service delivery personnel will grow to more than 100 staff.

This news comes just over a month after Storm revealed plans to create 60 new jobs.

The acquisition will see Storm’s portfolio expand to include ERP and CPM along with its traditional mainstays such as the digital workplace, digital customer engagement, data analytics and digital transformation.

From a technology perspective, it will see the addition of Microsoft Dynamics NAV (ERP) and BI360 (CPM) to Storm’s existing expertise in Office 365, Dynamics 365, SharePoint, Business Intelligence, Azure, SQL, data and analytics solutions.

IT’s all about expertise

“We believe this acquisition is a great move for both companies, our clients and our people,” said Storm Technology CEO Karl Flannery.

“Our clients will benefit from the additional expertise we can now offer. Our people will benefit from incremental opportunities to develop their skills and talents across an extensive portfolio of solutions.

“We are thrilled to be adding the expertise and competencies of Ciall and its team to our business. Together, we can accelerate our growth and deepen the value we bring to clients and employees.”

Ciall will now trade as Storm Technology and operations will be integrated at Storm’s head office in Dublin.

“I am very much looking forward to this new stage of our growth and working with the team at Storm,” said Michèle O’Gorman, director at Ciall.

“There are many synergies between our two companies and we have a strong existing working relationship. The acquisition formalises this and enables us to bring our complementary skills and capabilities to the market.”

O’Gorman’s colleague, Michael Horgan, added: “Becoming part of Storm will give us greater scale and will broaden and deepen our offerings to the market. It will also enable us to build on the strong growth we have experienced over the past number of years.”

As well as being a key player in Microsoft’s digital transformation agenda, and a longstanding Microsoft Gold Partner, Storm drives the digital agenda for household names such as AIB, CIÉ, Topaz, Kerry Group and Volkswagen.

Storm was recently recognised by the industry for the quality and impact of its work, winning the Irish Software Association’s Digital Technology Services Project of the Year award and the Tech Excellence IT Project of the Year award.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com