Israeli technology vendor NICE Systems has announced its intention to buy UK customer feedback analytics vendor Fizzback.

NICE will pay $80 million for Fizzback, whose software-as-a-service offering uses text analytics to process customer feedback forms.

The London-headquartered company, formerly known as Instant Market Intelligence, counts Tesco, Waitrose, the Carphone Warehouse and BT among its customers.

NICE Systems, which is best known for its defense and security analytics technology, will fold Fizzback into its portfolio of "customer experience management" products. These include voice analytics software and call centre management systems.

Back in 2005, Fizzback received early-stage funding from UK start-up incubator Accelerator Group. Writing on the group’s blog, a representative from the firm called the NICE Systems deal "a great result for the team and the investors". 

However, they added that "its a disappointment that a company which had begun to make a global impact in the world of customer experience management, had captured some of the largest corporate clients worldwide, is not going solo ‘all the way’".