Birst Provides Technology Platform for Ground-Breaking Financial Benchmarking Application

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - May 17, 2011) - Birst, a leading provider of Software-as-a-Service solutions for business intelligence (SaaS BI) and analytics, today announced that its technology is serving as the platform for SVB Analytics's new financial benchmarking application. SVB Analytics developed and implemented the application, based on Silicon Valley Bank's proprietary data, leveraging the extensive analytics expertise of Birst's professional services team.

"We're a financial services company that is focused on providing clients with business-critical information services," said Ashraf Hebela, Head of Product Management, SVB Analytics. "With Birst's help and deep understanding of how analytics applications are structured and built, we were able to design, construct, and implement this application quickly, rather than trying to build something from scratch or stitch together a solution from multiple vendors."

The new flexible, on-demand application is the foundation of SVB Analytics Benchmarking, the only service enabling private technology, life sciences and cleantech companies to compare their financial performance against that of relevant peers. Utilizing Birst's technology, SVB Analytics Benchmarking aggregates relevant data so clients can see how they compare to other companies of their size, in their industry, and/or in their geographic location without divulging the identity of the other companies.

"Companies in any industry with vast amounts of client data have the enviable opportunity to transform that information into valuable products and services that provide insight to others," said Brad Peters, CEO of Birst. "At Birst, one of our top priorities is helping businesses to monetize their rich data assets in new, profitable ways. Typically, organizations with these types of data assets need the assistance of a technology provider in order to take advantage of that; that's where Birst adds value with our unique product and services capabilities."

About SVB Analytics
SVB Analytics, a member of SVB Financial Group (NASDAQ: SIVB), provides business-critical information for private companies and their venture capital investors. Its services enable companies to comply with tax and audit requirements and report to their boards more effectively, and enable investors to make and manage their fund investments with greater insight. Specifically, SVB Analytics offers corporate equity management solutions to track and expense ownership interests accurately and valuation services to help companies comply with IRC 409A, FAS 123R, FAS 141/142 and FAS 157. Please find more information at www.svb.com/svbanalytics.

About Birst
Birst is the SaaS Business Intelligence leader that accelerates business results by deploying fast, powerful, and agile business intelligence solutions for its customers. Birst overcomes the traditional cost, complexity, and performance barriers of business intelligence with rapid, flexible, affordable solutions that simultaneously improve the reach and power of analysis in an organization. Birst solutions are accessible from any Internet-connected device with a modern browser, feature high levels of security, and are highly scalable. For more information, visit www.birst.com.