Founded in 1992, Silwood Technology Limited (Silwood) is the UK-based developer of a unique application metadata intelligence software product called Safyr®.
Safyr provides enterprise architects and data modellers with the ability to explore, discover and visualise the data structures, and relationships inside their enterprise ERP or CRM application packages, no matter how large, complex or customised they may be. It works with SAP, SAP BW, Salesforce, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, Siebel, Microsoft Dynamics and Oracle E-Business Suite.
The benefit of using Safyr for the customer is to accelerate delivery of critical information and data management projects through intelligent use of metadata from these large and complex ERP & CRM systems.
Challenges
Despite having partners in Canada, the US, Croatia, Russia, South Africa and the Czech Republic (including Collibra, Infogix, SNP, Itelligence, IBM, ASG, Adaptive, erwin and Idera) offering its software, and nearly 500 large enterprise customers, Safyr was still not very well-known in the UK or US.
With EU GDPR legislation coming into effect in May 2018, Silwood was keen to promote its Safyr solution to organisations that invest large sums in managing their enterprise database packages (for example SAP, Oracle), but who did not have easy and quick access to the metadata in those systems.
After a competitive pitch, Vitis PR was hired to the team’s specially-tailored GDPR-related PR plan and follow-on promotional ideas.
Silwood also recognised that Vitis PR’s strong existing relations with its preferred media targets meant the team could reach the right people with the business’ key messages in the six months before May 2018’s GDPR implementation.
Solution
As Vitis PR wanted to re-introduce Silwood to all of the UK media that wrote about or were focused on data, technology solutions and the channel, the team created a company backgrounder. This detailed Silwood’s positioning and expertise in metadata discovery, its Safyr solution’s features and how it could be used to aid effective delivery of companies’ Information and Data Management programs.
By tying the backgrounder to the imminent implementation of GDPR, Vitis PR targeted media that was interested in learning more about the barriers, and opportunities, that GDPR would bring to organisations of all sizes. At the same time, the backgrounder was also used to reach out to media that were already savvy about metadata but welcomed Silwood’s insights into the challenges associated with the metadata underpinning ERP and CRM applications, and how to simplify data discovery.
Research often gains invaluable PR coverage, so Vitis PR also recommended research that evaluated 5 ERP and CRM packages evaluated for GDPR personal data.
Vitis PR also managed articles, press releases, interviews and SEO feedback.
Results
By offering news releases, editorials and thought leadership pieces, and interviews, Vitis PR secured 87 pieces of tier 1 coverage over the first year, including business, technology, data and channel publications, and analyst houses.
- Release coverage including CSO, CIO, Techworld, Dataversity, IT Pro Portal, IDG, Datanami, Beta News, Destination CRM, Database Trends and Applications, Knowledge Management World and The Global Data Management Community
- Article x 18 including Network Computing, Information Management, Information Age, GDPR Report, Channelnomics, Channel Eye, Dataversity, Knowledge Management World and IT Reseller
- Interviews x 6 including Enterprise Times, Data Management Review and Channel Partners
- Analyst briefings