SOS respond to Axxia acquistion by LexisNexis

Following on from the acquisition of Axxia by LexisNexis – a deal that now makes Axxia and Visualfiles members of the same group, Michael Platt, the managing director on long-time Visualfiles partner SOS made the following statement…“Firstly, despite widespread consolidation of software suppliers, SOS is not up for sale. Visualfiles already has 150 joint sites with SOS and only a handful with Axxia, so the Axxia user base offers the potential for Visualfiles to extend its market share.“Secondly, we would like to reassure SOS and Visualfiles customers that the high standards of professional services and customer care which they enjoy is unaffected by this announcement. We will continue to work closely with Visualfiles.”Visualfiles (* see below) has also declared that it will continue to support and where appropriate develop further integration with SOS Practice Manager. Visualfiles will also continue to work closely with SOS on joint opportunities, ensuring customers have the widest options available to them.Michael Platt added “Visualfiles new customers now have a genuine choice of best of breed solutions in the back office: SOS will appeal to some and Axxia to others. However our 20 year relationship with Visualfiles has resulted in a very detailed level of integration, and obviously this will be a plus factor for some firms. Our development into the front office and Visualfiles extension of back office solutions with the Axxia acquisition we regard as indicative of the organic growth of our respective companies.”* The Visualfiles statement, issued by LexisNexis Visualfiles chief sales officer Mark Armstrong, reads “The LexisNexis policy of developing both integrated and open solutions means that we will continue to work with a wide range of suppliers to satisfy the differing needs of our customers. Given the long standing relationship between Visualfiles and SOS, we would like to confirm that we remain fully committed to working closely with SOS in the future. We will continue to support and where appropriate develop further our integration with SOS software. We will also continue to work closely with SOS on joint opportunities, ensuring we satisfy (customers) current and future needs in the best possible way.”• Amid all the excitement of the LexisNexis/Axxia deal – which was the only taking point at yesterday’s Legal IT Show in London – one other piece of news slipped under the radar. This was the departure of Neil Ewin, the founder and chairman of Visualfiles, which was acquired by Lexis Nexis in 2006. We understand Neil has retired to spend more time with his money.