Evolve IP closes strong year with local deal


Tom Paine



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Wayne-based cloud services provider Evolve IP closed out another year of strong growth, COO and GM Guy Fardone told me in a phone interview. He declined to reveal revenue figures for 2012, but said growth had averaged well over 100% per year over the past few years. Evolve IP appeared on the 2012 Inc. 500 (#321) with reported 2011 revenue of $17.2 million, up from $1.4 million in 2008 (it was founded in 2006).

The company has also been doing some deals, not to buy technology, but to acquire some managed service providers' customer bases and partnering with others. Locally, in late December Evolve IP announced a transaction with Exton-based Semperon, in which Evolve IP acquired Semperon’s Broadsoft Unified Communications customer base and Semperon became an Evolve IP reselling partner. Fardone would not disclose the size of the transaction or the number of customers involved, but did say
the two companies had worked together for some time. Evolve IP is also using acquisitions and partnerships to expand towards a nationwide service footprint. In September, it acquired Chicago area managed communications provider IPiphany.

Guy Fardone




When I asked Fardone how Evolve IP compared to other Philly area-based VoIP/Unified Communications providers such as Alteva and CoreDial, he said EvolveIP was considerably larger, tended to serve larger enterprise customers, and probably provided a higher percentage of data services in addition to VoIP as part of its overall business mix (Alteva parent WVT Communications reported cloud communications revenue of $3.6 million in third quarter 2012, an increase of 38% over the prior year). One particular area of focus for Evolve IP is serving the high volume corporate call center market.

Evolve IP is not like a traditional telecom company that operates a large network. Rather it is more of a software company that has built a proprietary platform which integrates unified communications, VoIP and virtualization technology from vendors including VMware, EMC, Broadsoft, Cisco and Microsoft. Its proprietary OSSmosis Portal gives customers a dashboard from which they can self-manage their communications features. It provides a "virtual switch" and manages customer data off premise in the Cloud, operating data centers in Wayne and Las Vegas. It currently has 80 employees, and they are looking for people (see current openings).

Evolve IP has raised over $24 million. Investors have included Ira M. Lubert, chairman and co-founder of Independence Capital Partners, and Peter G. Peterson, co-founder of pioneering PE firm The Blackstone Group and one time US Secretary of Commerce. Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and Co-Founder Thomas J Gravina previously served as President and CEO of King of Prussia-based ATX Communications, which was acquired by Broadview Networks in 2006. Fardone, who was also an Executive Vice President at ATX, is active in the Philly Tech community and with organizations including PACT. Both Gravina and Fardone are Villanova graduates. Vice Chairman and Co-Founder Michael Peterson is the son of Peter G. Peterson.

While many of the managed service aspects of business telecom require a strong local presence, and various network providers have different regional focuses, the software and cloud computing aspects are not inherently local. Continued movement toward nationwide consolidation in the industry is inevitable.

Earlier this year, Evolve IP opened an incubator-like "innovation center" for startups at its campus on Old Eagle School Road. The center, which also offers possible tax and assistance benefits due to it being located in a Keystone Innovation Zone, initially is offering 10,000 square feet of space, although that could eventually be expanded to 100,000. Evolve IP also described how it helped keep some customers afloat after Hurricane Sandy.




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Daily Links 12/31/2012: Comcast price hikes; Amazon apologizes for Xmas Netflix outage




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Comcast Celebrates New Year With Broadband Price Hikes
Hike Depends on Market, Competition
(Broadband Reports)

Year in Review: SAP HANA in 2012 (ASUG News)

Amazon Apologizes for Christmas Eve Outage Affecting Netflix (Bloomberg)

Pinterest Sued by Former Business Partner of Early Investor
(All Things D)
Plaintiff Theodore F. Schroeder is said to be a ""a young practicing lawyer and "self-taught computer genius”" working in the Philadelphia region at a company that he does not want to disclose.

OneTwoSee links pro sports, TV, ad data (Philly.com: Philly Deals)

PANL Most Likely To Pop on CES News, Short Interest, Says Cowen (Barron's: Tech Trader Daily)
Universal Display (PANL) is based in Ewing, NJ.


The Path of 2012 into 2013, the Road Ahead for Devon IT (Devon IT: Thin Tank Blog)



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Philly Tech People News 12/30/2012: Ametek names new EVP & COO; BFTP/SEP names Moul & Egosi to board









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David A. Zapico Named Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Ametek (PR Newswire)

The Board of Directors for Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania (BFTP/SEP), at its Annual Meeting on December 19, 2012, welcomed two new members to its Board, it announced in an emailed release . They are: Richard S. Egosi, Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary of Teva Pharmaceuticals, and Bob Moul, CEO of appRenaissance and President of Philly Startup Leaders.



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Why 1.2 million people want to work for Comcast (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Cable rates to rise again effective Jan. 1 in the Lehigh Valley and New Jersey (The Express-Times)

Service Electric May Lose Fox Networks, WNEP (Multichannel
News)



PAREXEL International Announces Acquisition of Liquent, Inc., and Updates Financial Guidance







BOSTON, Dec. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- PAREXEL International Corporation (Nasdaq: PRXL) announced today that on December 21, 2012, the Company acquired all of the outstanding equity securities of Liquent, Inc., a leading global provider of Regulatory Information Management (RIM) solutions. Liquent provides an integrated platform of software solutions for regulatory submissions and product registration management, as well as a range of complementary business process outsourcing capabilities. Liquent was founded in 1994, and its clients include more than 200 biopharmaceutical and life sciences companies. With headquarters in Horsham, Pennsylvania, and additional offices in the United Kingdom, Germany and India, the Company employs nearly 300 individuals. Prior to the sale, Liquent was owned by Marlin Equity Partners. The purchase price was approximately $72 million (which was adjusted at closing to reflect Liquent's cash, indebtedness and working capital balances at closing), and was funded through the expansion of one of the Company's existing credit facilities.
Josef von Rickenbach , Chairman and CEO of PAREXEL stated, "The acquisition of Liquent further strengthens our regulatory capabilities by adding a robust information technology platform. Through Liquent's flagship software platform, InSight®, our clients will have access to comprehensive regulatory agency submission planning, viewing, tracking, publishing, and registration management throughout the entire lifecycle of a medicinal entity. We are pleased to be able to provide this new offering and believe that it will enhance the portfolio of products and services that we provide through our Perceptive Informatics business. We expect the acquisition will also benefit the PAREXEL Consulting and Medical Communications Services business, where we will be able to leverage Liquent's significant expertise in regulatory information management outsourcing through its Liquent Direct® solutions."
In conjunction with the completion of the acquisition of Liquent and other factors covered in this release, PAREXEL also updated its forward-looking financial guidance for the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2013 (ending December 31, 2012) and for the full Fiscal Year (ending June 30, 2013). PAREXEL has increased its forward-looking service revenue guidance for the second quarter as a result of accelerated project performance, and for the full Fiscal Year as a result of the positive contributions from the Liquent acquisition, as well as better overall performance. Including these factors, the Company anticipates reporting consolidated service revenue in the range of $415 to $420 million for the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2013, and in the range of $1.675 to $1.695 billion for Fiscal Year 2013 in its entirety. Of the increase, the Liquent acquisition is expected to contribute a small amount of service revenue in the second quarter and between $17 and $23 million in service revenue during the second half of Fiscal Year 2013. Previously issued consolidated service revenue guidance was $400 to $410 million for the second quarter, and $1.630 to $1.660 billion for the Fiscal Year.
The Liquent acquisition is expected to have a dilutive effect on earnings per share as reported under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) in the range of $0.02 to $0.04 for Fiscal Year 2013, including the amortization of intangibles and other costs. Excluding the amortization of intangibles and other costs, the acquisition is expected to be accretive. In addition to the impact from Liquent, the Company expects to have slightly better operating performance. Taking into account the afore-mentioned factors, PAREXEL now anticipates reporting GAAP diluted earnings per share in the range of $0.33 to $0.34 for the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2013 and in the range of $1.32 to $1.39 for Fiscal Year 2013. Adjusted earnings per diluted share are expected to be between $1.36 and $1.43 for Fiscal Year 2013 (adjusted earnings per diluted share is a non-GAAP measure that excludes the impact of certain items that were recorded in the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2013 and reconciled to GAAP in the Company's press release dated October 30, 2012 including the sale of a building, a favorable adjustment to restructuring reserves, a charge relating to a dispute, and one-time adjustments to deferred tax assets, but does not include any items related to the acquisition of Liquent).
Previously issued guidance was for GAAP earnings per diluted share to be in the range of $0.31 to $0.33 for the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2013 and in the range of $1.30 to $1.40 for Fiscal Year 2013. For the full Fiscal Year, adjusted earnings per diluted share had been expected to be in the range of $1.34 to $1.44 (adjusted earnings per diluted share excluded the impact of the special items that were recorded in the first quarter as referenced above).
With regard to other events, delays in decision-making by clients are expected to lead to softer new business wins in the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2013, and a shift of pending requests for proposals into the third quarter of Fiscal Year 2013. The Company has taken this into account in the revised financial guidance that has been issued in this press release.
In addition to the financial measures prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), the Company uses certain non-GAAP financial measures. The Company believes that presenting the non-GAAP financial measures contained in this press release assists investors and others in gaining a better understanding of its core operating results and future prospects, especially when comparing such results to previous periods or forecasted guidance, because such measures exclude items that are outside of the Company's normal operations and/or, in certain cases, are difficult to forecast accurately for future periods. Management uses non-GAAP financial measures, in addition to the measures prepared in accordance with GAAP, as the basis for measuring the Company's core operating performance and comparing such performance to that of prior periods and to the performance of its competitors for the same reasons stated above. Such measures are also used by management in its financial and operating decision-making. Non-GAAP financial measures are not meant to be considered superior to or a substitute for the Company's results of operations prepared in accordance with GAAP.
About the Company
PAREXEL International Corporation is a leading global bio/pharmaceutical services organization, providing a broad range of knowledge-based contract research, consulting, and medical communications services to the worldwide pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. Committed to providing solutions that expedite time-to-market and peak-market penetration, PAREXEL has developed significant expertise across the development and commercialization continuum, from drug development and regulatory consulting to clinical pharmacology, clinical trials management, medical education and reimbursement. Perceptive Informatics, Inc., a subsidiary of PAREXEL, provides advanced technology solutions, including medical imaging, to facilitate the clinical development process. Headquartered near Boston, Massachusetts, PAREXEL operates in 73 locations throughout 51 countries around the world, and has approximately 14,000 employees. For more information about PAREXEL International visit www.parexel.com.
PAREXEL is a registered trademark of PAREXEL International Corporation, and Perceptive Informatics is a trademark of Perceptive Informatics, Inc. All other names or marks may be registered trademarks or trademarks of PAREXEL International Corporation, Perceptive Informatics, Inc. or their respective owners and are hereby acknowledged.
This release contains "forward-looking" statements regarding future results and events, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's expected financial results, future growth and customer demand. For this purpose, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, the words "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "intends," "appears," "estimates," "projects," "will," "would," "could," "should," "targets," and similar expressions are also intended to identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this release involve a number of risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual future results and actual events may differ significantly from those suggested or indicated in the forward-looking statements contained in this release. Important factors that might cause such a difference include, but are not limited to, risks associated with actual operating performance; actual expense savings and other operating improvements resulting from recent and anticipated restructurings; the loss, modification, or delay of contracts which would, among other things, adversely impact the Company's recognition of revenue included in backlog; the Company's dependence on certain industries and clients; the Company's ability to win new business, manage growth and costs, and attract and retain employees; the Company's ability to complete additional acquisitions and to integrate newly acquired businesses or enter into new lines of business; the impact on the Company's business of government regulation of the drug, medical device and biotechnology industry; consolidation within the pharmaceutical industry and competition within the biopharmaceutical services industry; the potential for significant liability to clients and third parties; the potential adverse impact of health care reform; and the effects of exchange rate fluctuations and other international economic, political, and other risks. Such factors and others are discussed more fully in the section entitled "Risk Factors" of the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2012 as filed with the SEC on November 8, 2012, which "Risk Factors" discussion is incorporated by reference in this press release. The Company specifically disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the future. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's estimates or views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.

PR Newswire (http://s.tt/1xHnu)


Saturday Highlights 12/29/2012: Intel working on new Smart TV project




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Hey, cloudy tech vendors on Amazon: AWS can fluff you up
And not in a good way
(The Register)

Court reinstates Kenexa India managing director (Times of India)
Curious situation.

Intel to Revisit Smart TVs With HP, Others: Report (Multichannel News)

Questions Remain Over Hewlett’s Big Charge on Autonomy Acquisition (New York Times: Bits)

Targets missed, Nook sells stake to Pearson to secure book distribution (Paid Content)




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Daily Links 12/28/2012: Pittsburgh tech growth credited to Ben Franklin Technology Partners




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Pittsburgh's road to tech success wasn't the smoothest (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Credits creation of Ben Franklin Technology Partners 30 years ago.

BYOD, Telehealth, SaaS to Drive Health Care IT in 2013 (eWEEK)

HP Just Released A Brutal Chart That Tells You Everything You Need To Know About The Company's Crisis (SAI: Enterprise)

Temple’s next president gets ready, delays inauguration (Philadelphia Inquirer)






SAP's Poonen: 2012 Was the Year of Enterprise (Video/Bloomberg TV)



Sanjay Poonen, President for Global Solutions at SAP AG, discusses cloud expansion and mobile reach with Bloomberg TV.




Parexel International to acquire Horsham-based Liquent for $72 million



Tom Paine





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Waltham, MA-based Parexel International, which provides information technology and clinical support services to the biotech industry, announced today that it was acquiring Horsham-based Liquent, a global provider of Regulatory Information Management (RIM) solutions, for $72 million. Liquent was acquired from PE firm Marlin Equity Partners, which had in turn acquired it from Thomson Reuters in 2010.

Parexel said in a statement that it expects Liquent to enhance services provided by its Perceptive Informatics unit, which has offices in Wayne, Pa and East Windsor, NJ dating back to Parexel's 2008 acquisition of UK-based ClinPhone for approximately $180 million. ClinPhone became part of Perceptive Informatics.

Liquent was founded in 1994 and has almost 300 employees, Parexel said. The company has offices in the United Kingdom, Germany and India in addition to Horsham. Liquent competes to varying degrees with other area firms such
as NextDocs and Octagon Research Solutions (recently acquired by Accenture) which develop IT solutions that help streamline the regulatory approval submission process for drug developers.

In issuing adjusted guidance, Parexel said it expected Liquent to contribute "between $17 and $23 million in service revenue during the second half of Fiscal Year 2013". Parexel expects its total revenue to be in the range of $1.675 to $1.695 billion for Fiscal Year 2013 in its entirety.

Rick Riegel is Liquent's current CEO. Parexel's announcement did not address future
management plans.




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Daily Links 12/27/2012: Marvell seeks to void $1.2 billion patent judgment to Carnegie Mellon




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‘The Cloud’ Challenges Amazon (New York Times: Bits)

The data center and mobile web drive Lightower Fiber’s and Sidera’s $2B merger (Gigaom)

Six Cable Deals We Might See in 2013 (Light Reading Cable)
Would Comcast try to acquire ADT?

Motorola Sells Home Automation Group: What Will Verizon Do? (CEPro)

Philly as Big Data tech center (Philly.com: Philly Deals)

Marvell seeks to void $1.2 billion patent judgment (Reuters via San Jose Mercury News)

SAP’s Sanjay Poonen weighs in on the big tech trends for 2013 (video) (VentureBeat)

SAP Targets 'BYOD' Dilemma With New Afaria Release
(CRN)

Synchronoss Technologies buys RIM's cloud services unit(Reuters)
Synchronoss is based in Bridgewater, NJ, with R&D offices in Bethlehem.


Highlights last week on Philly Tech News (12/17/2012 to 12/23/2012)





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From Philly Tech News:

Newtown-based systems integrator EPAM Systems acquired Empathy Lab, the Conshohocken-based digital strategy and design firm.

The Philly Fed manufacturing index snapped back from a weak, Sandy influenced November reading to go back into positive territory in December, and an indicator of future business confidence also improved.

I looked back to December 2001, when Comcast announced its huge, transformative acquisition of AT&T Broadband.


From other sources:

Google indicated it would try to sell its Horsham-based Motorola Home unit before the end of the year, and it succeeded in reaching a deal to sell it to Georgia-based cable tech firm Arris for $2.35 billion, mostly in cash. Google will end up owning about 16% of Arris.

Comcast crossed the $100 billion market value level for the first time (although it closed today slightly below that level).

Oracle acquired Northern Virginia-based Marketing Software as a Service firm Eloqua, perhaps creating a challenge for Salesforce.com since many of its customers integrate Salesforce solutions with Eloqua.

Wayne-based Healthcare IT firm Medecision is laying off 83 employees, mostly in software and tech support areas.

And First Round Capital released its always anticipated Holiday video, this year a combination of "Call Me Maybe" and "Gangnam Style".




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