MANCHESTER, U.K. and LONDON--Interact Software (Interact), a leading intranet solution provider for enterprise businesses across North America and EMEA, today announced the acquisition of Sideways 6, an integrated crowdsourcing and idea management platform that empowers employees and improves companies through the power of employee ideas. 

“Sideways 6 is the gold standard integrated employee idea platform that provides companies with real-time data on how their employees are feeling, what they need from their employer and where the business can improve,” said Simon Dance, CEO, Interact. “Our enterprise customers need to harness this information from a variety of sources, and Sideways 6 allows us to easily integrate with existing systems and serve this functionality right inside the Interact intranet.”

Sideways 6 integrates directly with platforms such as Teams and Workplace, and powers some of the world's leading employee ideas programs, including MyContribution at Balfour Beatty, Straight to Stuart at Marks & Spencer and InGenius at Nestlé. These and other current Sideways 6 customers will continue to benefit from its market-leading products, while additionally gaining from Interact’s reach, expertise and products. 

This acquisition comes at a time when enterprises globally are seeking innovative ways to increase employee engagement and attract top talent in a highly competitive labor market. A Gallup report reissued in January 2023 titled, “The Benefits of Employee Engagement” ties employee engagement to 11 business performance outcomes, including customer loyalty/engagement, absenteeism, safety incidents and profitability, to name a few. Companies such as Sims Limited have already seen the value of increased engagement and information sharing due to Interact’s intranet platform. 

“We have partnered with Interact for our employee engagement, communication and intranet services for almost four years, and we have seen a significant uptick in employee engagement, eNPS and overall knowledge-sharing practices at Sims Limited,” said Réal Hamilton-Romeo, Global Head of Communications & Marketing at Sims Limited, a leading metal recycling company with 200 facilities, operations in over 15 countries and nearly 5,000 highly skilled employees. “Having even more tools at our disposal to continue building internal trust and rapport is an exciting development, and we’re looking forward to the new engagement tools Sideways 6 brings to the equation.”

The Sideways 6 acquisition is the latest indicator of Interact’s year-over-year growth and expansion into enterprise companies with tens of thousands of intranet users.  

“Our customers, employees and the whole Sideways 6 family are excited to join Interact and be a part of its amazing growth trajectory,” said Will Read, CEO, Sideways 6. “With this development, Sideways 6 customers will benefit from our increased access to resources that drive innovation and bring more value to their business.”

About Interact Software 

Founded in 1996, Interact Software supplies an award-winning intranet platform that boosts productivity and drives engagement to provide an elevated employee experience. With customers like Domino’s, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Levi’s, Sony PlayStation and others, Interact serves enterprise companies throughout North America, EMEA and Australia. In 2023, ClearBox Consulting named Interact a “Choice” intranet provider, the top honor in its Intranet and Employee Experience Platforms review. 

About Sideways 6 

Founded in 2014, Sideways 6 is a leading idea management software company headquartered in London, UK. Committed to bringing good ideas to life every day, everywhere, and from everyone, Sideways 6 offers innovative software solutions and related services to help organizations transform their businesses by harnessing the power of employee ideas. As a consistent frontrunner in the integrated idea management space, Sideways 6 has been recognized on g2.com for 'Best Support' by its customers.

SOURCE Sideways 6