Over five decades ago, three extraordinary visionaries united with a shared fervor for research, gathering in a charming restaurant booth to disrupt the industry. It was in 1967, when:
- The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”: The iconic album was released in June and is considered one of the greatest albums in rock history.
- The first Super Bowl was played, marking the beginning of the Super Bowl era in American football.
- The first ATM (Automated Teller Machine) was installed in London, revolutionizing banking.
- “Star Trek” made its television debut, becoming a beloved science fiction series.
Joe Weisman, Leif Gjestland, and Charlie Yarbrough co-founded CfMC (Computers for Marketing Corporation) with a mission to democratize market research. Their innovation placed the power of statistical analysis directly into the hands of researchers and opinion pollsters.
Starting with grassroots computer hardware and punch-card programming for survey data tabulation, the company thrived, achieving an exceptional longevity few can claim. Their technology evolved through countless iterations, revolutionizing the industry in the process.
In 2015, the company rebranded as Survox, emphasizing its focus on voice-based data collection and processing. ‘Sur’ signifies their optimization of surveys, and ‘Vox’ represents the voice of customers, employees, and citizens. It also highlights their specialization in voice-based data collection to accommodate the diverse engagement methods of today’s respondents.
Survox’s original vision, to maximize insights from survey research, endures with a team that includes many who worked alongside the founders. The company maintains its primary focus on voice, recognizing the value of verbatim responses in revealing true intent. As technology evolves, speaking to devices has become more natural, further enhancing the importance of voice-based data.
On September 1, 2017, Enghouse Systems Limited (TSX:ENGH) acquired Survox, ushering in a new chapter in the brand’s history. The team remains committed to collecting and analyzing voice responses seamlessly, providing insights with high confidence. They have made the auto-generation and delivery of personalized voice-based surveys a reality, translating conversations into real-time trend and sentiment analysis.
Today, Survox embarks on a new journey as Enghouse Insights, aligning its foresight and passion with the founders’ vision and Enghouse’s commitment to delivering top-tier software solutions. As Enghouse Insights, the journey continues, marked by growth, adaptation, and a relentless pursuit of technology’s potential to enhance market research and opinion polling.