ICV Partners holds majority ownership of SirsiDynix, with Spotlight Equity Partners as a minority shareholder.

Breeding, Marshall. ICV Partners acquires SirsiDynix. February 2015. Smart Libraries Newsletter. A new era in the corporate history of SirsiDynix, one of the corporate giants of the library technology industry, has begun. After over eight years of ownership, Vista Equity Partners has sold SirsiDynix to ICV Partners, with Vista retaining and company executives acquiring minority stakes in the company. While it is too early to assess how new investment owners will shape the direction of the company going forward, it is clear that SirsiDynix remains a major force in the industry with a very large number of libraries relying on its success. SirsiDynix, along with other Ex Libris, Innovative Interfaces, and Follett Corporation, ranks as a giant in the industry, which also includes dozens, if not hundreds, of mid-sized and small companies. Each of these four companies has earnings in the range of $100 million, develops strategic technology products for libraries, though each follows quite different business strategies and has distinct profiles of customers according to type and geographic region. Globally diverse, SirsiDynix supports customers in over 70 countries. SirsiDynix has a long and interesting history that spans many different companies, products, and personalities. This issue of SLN, examines SirsiDynix, working through the phases of its corporate history, its product strategies, and the potential impact of this business transition.

Breeding, Marshall. SirsiDynix Acquires EOS International. December 2013. Smart Libraries Newsletter. SirsiDynix has acquired EOS International from its cofounder and Chief Executive Officer Scot Cheatham effective November 1, 2013. The transaction was conducted entirely from financial resources within SirsiDynix without additional backing from its private equity owner, Vista Equity Partners. The acquisition of EOS International will expand the presence of SirsiDynix in the small library arena, and will strengthen its overall position in terms of revenue, customers served, and product offer ings. SirsiDynix provides a stable and expansive business environment for the ongoing support, development and marketing of EOS International products.

Breeding, Marshall. SirsiDynix Development Strategies. June 2012. Smart Libraries Newsletter. In recent years, SirsiDynix has been executing a development agenda that provides libraries with tools and interfaces to improve access to their collections and services. The company continues to make improvements in the functionality of its strategic integrated library systems, Symphony and Horizon, concentrating especially on the development of patron-facing tools. These interface products address the different methods with which patrons might want to access the library: BookMyne and BookMyne+ for iOS and Android based mobile devices, Enterprise and Portfolio for the Web, and the Social Library for Facebook. SirsiDynix has also launched eResource Central for access and management of e-books, complementing the capabilities of its Symphony and Horizon ILS products in managing a library's print collection.

Breeding, Marshall. SirsiDynix Launches a Native Facebook app, Develops eResource Central. March 2012. Smart Libraries Newsletter. SirsiDynix launched two new products at the ALA Midwinter conference: the SirsiDynix Social Library and eResource Central. These products continue the company's efforts to create forward-looking products and technologies surrounding its ILS products.

Breeding, Marshall. SirsiDynix Evolution: Recent Developments in the Context of Broad Corporate Strategies. July 2010. Smart Libraries Newsletter. SirsiDynix has taken a number of actions that consolidate and focus its corporate resources. On May 12, 2010, SirsiDynix launched a new Web site and announced a number of major changes related to its operating facilities and its organizational approach to customer service. These moves represent incremental steps toward a number of longstanding business goals. The company positions its moves as offering significant benefits to the libraries that use its products through improved communications channels and more sensitivity to the individual needs of each customer. As a company that serves something over 20,000 library facilities spanning over 70 countries worldwide, these adjustments will have a broad impact.

Breeding, Marshall. Developments at SirsiDynix. February 2010. Smart Libraries Newsletter. SirsiDynix, one of the largest library automation companies, made a number of recent announcements relating to both its products and personnel. December 2009 saw the release of new versions of its major products and the departure of a key executive.

Breeding, Marshall. Two major lawsuits jolt library automation industry. December 2009. Smart Libraries Newsletter. In recent months, two major lawsuits have been filed in the the library automationindustry. Queens Borough Public Library filed a complaint on July 2, 2009 against SirsiDynix for breach of contract and 3M has filed suit against EnvisionWare for patent infringement. Both of these lawsuits address interesting issues that bring pivotal libraryautomation legal concerns to the surface. Neither accusation has been proven, and both are still pending legal action or settlement. The complaints filed with the courts stand as public documents exposing the plaintiffs’ concerns in detail. The defendant’s response to those claims may not become public until the issue comes before a court, or may never be disclosed if the parties settle out of court. While major lawsuits attract much attention, they must be considered skeptically until both sides of the matter can be understood.

Breeding, Marshall. SirsiDynix launches its Faceted Search Product. August 2008. Smart Libraries Newsletter. SirsiDynix has entered the fray of next-generation library interfaces with the announcement of SirsiDynix Enterprise, a search product that features faceted navigation, built using the GlobalBrain data retrieval technology from BrainWare, Inc.. Both SirsiDynix and BrainWare are portfolio companies of Vista Equity Partners.

Breeding, Marshall. Composing a Symphony. November 2007. Smart Libraries Newsletter. SirsiDynix has rebranded Unicorn, their strategic ILS product as Symphony. The company indicates that the initial release of the product will be called Symphony 3.2, reflecting its heritage as an incremental extension of Unicorn 3.1, the last version offered under that name.

Breeding, Marshall. The sun sets on Horizon. June 2007. Computers in Libraries. SirsiDynix announced that it had discontinued development of Horizon and would consolidate its future ILS efforts on Unicorn. Events such as SirsiDynix’s decision to consolidate to a single product cause a great deal of uncertainty and disruption for libraries and detract from the trust that’s necessary for a successful relationship between a library and its automation products supplier. SirsiDynix faces a large challenge in shoring up the trust with the Dynix/Horizon half of its customer base. The prompt delivery of truly outstanding replacement products is the only salve that will heal the wound.

Breeding, Marshall. SirsiDynix consolidates Its International operations. May 2007. Smart Libraries Newsletter. SirsiDynix took one step in its reorganization following its acquisition by Vista Equity Partners by establishing SirsiDynix International, consolidating all its operations outside North America. Prior to this move, there were separate and often independent sales, support, and administrative operations, including Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and Latin America. SirsiDynix has a broad international presence, providing library automation software to libraries in at least seventy countries. The international sector is of critical importance to the future of the company. About 25 percent of the company’s customers lie outside the U.S. and Canada. Due to market saturation in North America, the international sector offers the greatest potential market for new sales. SirsiDynix International will be lead by Keith Sturges.

Breeding, Marshall. SirsiDynix ILS set on single course. April 2007. Smart Libraries Newsletter. The June 2005 consolidation of Sirsi Corporation and Dynix created SirsiDynix,which stands as the largest company in the library-automation industry. Although many aspects of the company have been integrated, until recently the company sailed two flagship library-automation systems: Horizon and Unicorn. The company’s mid-March announcement hoists a single flagship—marking a significant change in course—based on the company's Unicorn platform. SirsiDynix entered a new phase of its corporate history when San Francisco-based Vista Equity Partners, a private-equity firm that manages about a $1 billion in assets, acquired it. Announced on December 27, 2006, the transaction closed on January 17, 2007. SirsiDynix reported it would consolidate development efforts into a single ILS platform based on Unicorn. Ongoing development on Horizon has ceased. Horizon 7.4 will be its terminal version. Libraries operating one of the SirsiDynix legacy systems—including Dynix Classic, DRA Classic, INLEX/3000, and MultiLIS—will be offered a migration path to Rome.

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August 13, 2024. SirsiDynix and Recollect partner to provide seamless curation and discovery of digital content. SirsiDynix, a pioneer in library management solutions, and Recollect, a leading provider of cloud-based digital asset management and collection management software, are pleased to announce the availability of Recollect's comprehensive content platform to SirsiDynix customers around the world. Designed to support libraries, universities, archives, and government organizations in curating highly discoverable digital collections, Recollect's all-in-one solution unites digital asset management and digital preservation functionality with community engagement tools. This means customers can capture and oversee new content, protect and publicize historic documents, and leverage industry-leading storytelling capabilities to spark conversations with their communities.

August 6, 2024. Beamafilm announces partnership with SirsiDynix. Beamafilm, a leading streaming platform for libraries, is excited to announce its integration with SirsiDynix, a global leader in library technology solutions. This partnership will provide libraries with seamless access to Beamafilm's extensive collection of high-quality streaming content via SirsiDynix's discovery and eResource Central management systems.

August 1, 2024. SirsiDynix announces general availability of Offload System Administration Services (OSAS). SirsiDynix, a leading provider of library technology solutions, announced the general availability of Offload System Administration Services. The latest addition to the company's professional services lineup, this first-of-its kind offering helps libraries supplement their administrative efforts and amplify their impact. Backed by a team of expert consultants with extensive product knowledge and an average of 17 years' industry experience, OSAS supports SaaS-hosted Symphony and Horizon customers in tackling a wide range of projects and identifying new ways to leverage SirsiDynix software.

July 26, 2024. SirsiDynix announces general availability of CloudSource+. SirsiDynix, a leading provider of library technology solutions, is pleased to announce the release of CloudSource+, a robust new content and discovery services solution that is now available to libraries everywhere. CloudSource+ is an extension of the company's CloudSource OA platform, which became generally available in December 2021 and is live to more than 500 libraries of all types worldwide. CloudSource+ unites almost one billion closed-access records with an ever-expanding index of global open access (OA) and open educational resources (OER). With holdings management tools for full-text linking—including a link resolver, knowledge base, and support for proxy services—and an emphasis on increasing the visibility of high-quality OA content, CloudSource+ seeks to redefine the traditional discovery experience and save libraries time and money along the way.

July 18, 2024. SirsiDynix announces partnership with Library Market. SirsiDynix, a leading provider of library technology solutions, announced a strategic partnership with Library Market, a premier marketing and web development agency. The collaboration, which is fueled by a shared commitment to connecting libraries with their communities, will make Library Market's LibraryCalendar event management system available to SirsiDynix customers. One of the only creative firms dedicated exclusively to uplifting libraries, Library Market offers three core marketing and technology products: LibraryWebsite, LibraryBrand, and LibraryCalendar. LibraryCalendar, a fully integrated event and room management system, equips library professionals with the tools they need to seamlessly direct and promote library programming. With an intuitive user interface, settings that adapt to support libraries of all sizes, easy ILS integration, and more, LibraryCalendar helps libraries both meaningfully engage their patrons and expand their reach.

June 28, 2024. SirsiDynix at the 2024 ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition. SirsiDynix, a leading provider of library technology solutions, is pleased to announce that they will be exhibiting at the 2024 ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition, the largest library event of the year.

June 5, 2024. New partnership between SirsiDynix and Research Solutions broadens horizons for easy-access scholarly content. SirsiDynix, a leading provider of library technology software, announced a partnership with Research Solutions, a trusted partner providing cloud-based workflow solutions to accelerate research for R&D-driven organizations. Driven by a shared belief in the power of openly accessible scholarly research, the new partnership seeks to greatly improve the article fulfillment process for customers of SirsiDynix's CloudSource+ discovery services platform and Research Solutions' Article Galaxy Scholar content delivery service.

April 18, 2024. City of Gold Coast Libraries selects SirsiDynix's SaaS-hosted Symphony ILS, BLUEcloud modules, and more. SirsiDynix announced that they will soon deliver several industry-leading solutions to Australia's City of Gold Coast Libraries. Among the products selected by the Queensland-based library network are Symphony, the most widely installed integrated library system in history, SirsiDynix SaaS, and a number of BLUEcloud modules.Located across the Gold Coast region, City of Gold Coast Libraries comprises 11 branch libraries, seven self-service kiosks, and a mobile library. In support of their diverse community of more than 600,000 residents, the Libraries offer an array of inclusive, comprehensive resources. This includes extensive physical and digital collections—which total nearly one million items—as well as a vibrant range of programming opportunities, such as author talks, family engagement sessions, and English conversation circles.

April 3, 2024. SirsiDynix at the Public Library Association 2024 Conference. SirsiDynix will be exhibiting at the Public Library Association 2024 Conference, taking place at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio, this week.

December 20, 2023. How one R1 institution is opening the door to open access. When Mississippi State University Libraries discovered SirsiDynix's CloudSource, they were in the midst of overhauling their e-resource management strategy. Six months after adopting the new content and discovery services platform, MSU Libraries are providing their researchers, students, and community scholars with seamless access to high-quality academic e-resources—and revitalizing their budget along the way.

Dec 31, 2014 ICV Partners acquires majority ownership of SirsiDynix from Vista Equity Partners
A new era in the corporate history of SirsiDynix, one of the corporate giants of the library technology industry, has begun. After over eight years of ownership, Vista Equity Partners has sold SirsiDynix to ICV Partners, with Vista retaining and company executives acquiring minority stakes in the company.

Nov 01, 2013 SirsiDynix acquires EOS International from Scot Cheatham
SirsiDynix announced the acquisition of EOS International, a California-based technology company that develops award-winning solutions for legal, government, corporate, medical, and other special library customers. With 1100 implementations worldwide, EOS customers will join SirsiDynix customers to create the largest and most inclusive customer base in the history of the library automation industry.

Oct 03, 2011 Bill Davidson named Chief Executive Officer of SirsiDynix
SirsiDynix announced the transition of SirsiDynix Chief Operating Officer Bill Davison into the role of Chief Executive Officer. Matt Hawkins, SirsiDynix departing CEO, will remain involved with the company as an executive advisor and member of the board of directors. Day-to-day operations of SirsiDynix will be assumed by Davison in his new role of CEO

Dec 16, 2010 Matt Hawkins named SirsiDynix CEO
SirsiDynix announced that Matthew Hawkins has been named chief executive officer. Hawkins, the company’s chief operating officer since 2007, succeeds Gary Rautenstrauch, who will remain with SirsiDynix as Executive Chairman.

Apr 28, 2009 President and Founder Scot Cheatham assumes role of CEO
EOS International announced that Scot Cheatham, the company's President serving in a strategic planning role, will assume the duties of the company's Chief Executive Officer from Mr. Tony Saadat, who recently left the company.

Jun 19, 2007 Gary Rautenstrauch appointed CEO of SirsiDynix

Dec 27, 2006 Vista Equity Partners acquires SirsiDynix for $260 million
Vista Equity Partners, a San Francisco private equity firm with about $1 billion under management acquires SirsiDynix from its current owners, including Seaport Capital and HM Partners. Value of the transaction estimated at $260 million.

Oct 2005 SirsiDynix purchases Sirsi Limited for $5.9 million
SirsiDynix acquires remaining shares of UK-based Sirsi Limited for $5.9 million

Aug 01, 2005 21st Century Group closed the merger of Dynix with Sirsi Holdings to form SirsiDynix
In August 2005, 21st Century Group successfully closed the merger of Dynix with Sirsi Holdings to form SirsiDynix, distributing proceeds to its limited partners, while retaining an equity stake in the merged entity. 21st Century Group fully exited its investment in January 2007, when SirsiDynix was sold to Vista Equity Partners. (http://www.21stcenturygroupfund.com/realized1.html)

Jun 01, 2005 Sirsi Corporation acquires Dynix
Sirsi Corporation, with the financial backing of its owner Seaport Capital, acquired Dynix. Dynix was owned by a group of venture capital funds including 21st Century Group, Greanleaf Ridge, and Stratford.

Jan 13, 2005 Sirsi Corporation acquires Docutek for $2.8 million
Sirsi Acquires Docutek Information Systems Inc. Docutek offers Docutek ERes, Docutek VRLplus, and Docutek atSchool products, which serve 550 customer sites

Jun 12, 2002 Jack Blount named President and Chief Executive Officer of epixtech

Jun 01, 2001 Scot Cheatham acquires ownership of EOS International from Dawson Holdings PLC.
EOS International, a California-based library automation company with offices and service centers located throughout the globe, announced that CEO Scot Cheatham has successfully acquired ownership of the company from Dawson Holdings PLC. In an effort to redirect their focus solely on European operations, Dawson Holdings, a United Kingdom corporation, agreed to sell all of its interest in EOS International to original founder Scot Cheatham.

May 17, 2001 SIRSI Corporation acquires DRA for $51.5 million
SIRSI Holdings Corp. announced that McGuire Acquisition Inc. a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of SIRSI, accepted for payment the 4,438,648 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of Data Research Associates, Inc. SIRSI also announced that it expects to promptly consummate the merger of McGuire with and into DRA, pursuant to which DRA will become a wholly owned subsidiary of SIRSI Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of SIRSI.

Jan 13, 2001 Patrick Sommers appointed President of Sirsi Corporation
Sirsi Corporation announced that it has appointed Patrick C. Sommers, as president of the company. Jim Young, co-founder steps down as president and will remain the chair of the Board of Directors. Co-founders Jacky Young and Mike Murdock will also step out of day-to-day managment of the company and focus on strategic technology developments.

Jan 2001 Sagebrush partners with Sirsi for Accent
Sagebrush partners with Sirsi to release Accent, a centralized school library automation system based on Unicorn.

Jul 01, 2000 Dynix acquired by 21st Century Group
The Company is the world’s leading provider of library automation systems and software. The Company offers proprietary software along with the necessary third party hardware, software and services to deliver a complete automation solution to its library customers. The Company’s products are adapted for use in all types of libraries including academic, school, public and special libraries, varying from single site operations to large branch systems and consortia. The Company has over 4,000 customers worldwide serving more than 23,000 individual library branches. In August 2005, 21st Century Group successfully closed the merger of Dynix with Sirsi Holdings to form SirsiDynix, distributing proceeds to its limited partners, while retaining an equity stake in the merged entity. 21st Century Group fully exited its investment in January 2007, when SirsiDynix was sold to Vista Equity Partners.

Nov 05, 1999 21st Century Group and Green Leaf Ridge acquire Ameritech Library Systems from South Central Bell
Dynix was Acquired by 21st Century Group in July 2000. South Central Bell (SCB) which recently acquired Ameritech, announced the sale of its Ameritech Library Systems division to a pair of investment companies, the 21st Century Group, LLC, and Green Leaf Ridge Co., LLC.

Oct 1999 Sirsi Corporation recapitalized by CEA Capital Partners
Venture capital fund CEA Capital Partners makes its initial investment in Sirsi Corporation.

Nov 05, 1996 Lana Porter named President of Ameritech Library Services
From Library Systems Newsletter: Ameritech Library Services has named Lana Porter, currently vice president of customer service in the customer business service unit of the parent corporation, as its new president. Porter's experience in the library automation industry includes having been president of LS/2000 from its acquisition by Ameritech in 1990 until its merger with NOTIS in 1992. In addition she has spent, several months as an executive in the Paris office of Dynix. Porter holds an MBA from Ohio State University and has held a number of positions in marketing, operations, and customer service, both at Ameritech and Ohio Bell.

Oct 1994 Data Research Associates acquires MultiLIS
Data Research Associates acquires MultiLIS from Sobeco Ernst and Young.

May 1994 Ameritech Library Systems formed
Ameritech consolidates its library automation business units, combining NOTIS Systems and Dynix Systems which had previously operated independently.

1992 Ultimate Corp sells its stake in Dynix for $2.2 million

Jun 1990 Sirsi UK Limited founded by Peter Gethin and Nick Dimant
Peter Gethin founded Sirsi Limited in May 1990 and has been Managing Director since that that time and served as , Managing Director Europe, Middle East and Africa for Sirsi Corporation.

1986 Dynix Management buys out Eyring Research Institute ownership in Dynix

1979 Sirsi Corporation founded as Specialists in Reliable Software, Inc.
Sirsi Corporation founded by Jim Young, Jacky Young, and Mike Murdock.

Aug 1975 Data Research Associates founded by Mike Mellinger

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2023 SirsiDynix Accomplishments Narrative

New Product Announcements

2023 saw the announcement of two new products--BLUEcloud Mobile2 and BLUEcloud Discovery. Additionally, SirsiDynix increased the development resources working on the core BLUEcloud Modules, with special emphasis on BLUEcloud Circulation. SirsiDynix also announced a unique, new service in 2023 called Outsourced System Administration Services or OSAS for short. Finally, we concluded the highest sales and adoption year in the history of CloudSource and introduced a partnership with Gale that added hundreds of millions of new resources to the CloudSource database. Each of these products/services will be discussed in following paragraphs.

BLUEcloud Mobile2 (BCM2)

BLUEcloud Mobile2 is the next-generation successor to our industry-leading BLUEcloud Mobile designed with a patron-first perspective. First announced in April 2023 and slated for GA in Q1 of 2024, BCM2 delivers an intuitive and accessible app that makes it easy to discover library resources, understand and manage patron accounts, and access important information about a patron’s library branches, locations, hours, etc.

Built from the ground up, leveraging innovative technology, BCM2 is suitable for all types of libraries and consortium. BLUEcloud Mobile2 is a native app for both Android and iOS with parity of feature sets but also designing capabilities to ensure that the look and feel is platform-specific.

Overall benefits include faster development and delivery timelines, integrated administration, stability and security, and tight integrations with device-specific functionality (Apple Wallet, user authentication and biometrics, etc.). BCM2 will also feature deep integration with other core SirsiDynix products, and importantly for libraries with busy staff, BCM2 is administered directly from within BLUEcloud Central.

BLUEcloud Discovery

BLUEcloud Discovery, slated for general release in 2025, is a cloud-born library resource discovery solution for public, academic, special and K-12 institutions. Like Enterprise, it will deliver a complete set of Discovery functionality that offers a high degree of customizability with a component-based CMS design. It can be utilized as a library’s website and it will provide a central search for all library resources with improved bibliographic search including authority data and FRBR clustering.

As a next-gen search platform, it includes functionality beyond Enterprise, by leveraging a more flexible component-based architecture and improved interoperability with other apps. It will feature improved administrative capabilities with enhanced consortial functionality. BLUEcloud Discovery will also feature a fully-described, public-facing API, and expands the template/theme concept for an improved “out-of-the-box” experience.

Outsourced System Administration Services (OSAS)

OSAS is truly a one-of-a-kind product, unique to the ILS industry. Announced in mid-2023, we recently concluded a successful pilot phase, and 2024 will see the widespread adoption of this new offering.

OSAS allows libraries to get more done with existing staff levels. SirsiDynix consults with OSAS libraries and then takes on routine tasks that enable librarians to focus on the needs of their patrons and stakeholders. These tasks include: weekly and routine maintenance, error monitoring, daily bib loads, OnDemand reports, policy changes and general questions, annual inventory, discards, fiscal rollovers, etc. It also includes product planning sessions, e.g., adding hold lockers, and third-party administration such as loading eResource records into Enterprise on a weekly basis.

OSAS is truly the right product at the right time. With libraries experiencing critical staff shortages, system administrator departures and other challenges related to the post-pandemic environment we find ourselves in, OSAS is proving to be an invaluable solution for many libraries.

CloudSource and CloudSource+

2023 was a banner year for CloudSource, SirsiDynix’ Open Access content solution. In the 2nd year since product launch, the CloudSource customer base grew to 373 institutions representing more than 500 libraries. With the launch of the CloudSource+ Live Pilot Program, CloudSource expanded beyond the open access collection (now at more than 60M articles, books, and other open educational resources) to include subscription content as well.

The CloudSource+ index also broadened beyond scholarly content with the addition of Gale metadata--adding more than 1B records, including non-scholarly resources such as news, popular magazines, trade journals, and more. The integration with Gale helps to bring libraries complete coverage of their subscription content while providing streamlined, direct linking to Gale resources.

Other 2023 Highlights

The SirsiDynix user North American user conference--COSUGI 2023—had over 850 attendees making it the most well-attended COSUGI conference in nearly 20 years.