Enterprise software: SAP's SAPPHIRE NOW opens tomorrow in Orlando; Rising Vertex competitor Avalara ups IPO target
Tom Paine
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Not a bad lineup for Call to Lead Summit #SAPPHIREC2L #sapphirenow2018 pic.twitter.com/iEK5tSYKAo
— Zach Vernon (@SAPSupplyChain) June 4, 2018
SAP's annual SAPPHIRE NOW user conference kicks off in Orlando tomorrow and runs through Thursday. CEO Bill McDermott starts Tuesday morning with his keynote, and co-founder & Chairman of the Supervisory Board Hasso Plattner, SAP's tech guru, follows with his on Wednesday morning. Although SAPPHIRE NOW is less focused on celebrities and social causes than Salesforce's Dreamforce, there are some, and Jon Bon Jovi opens Thursday morning. Justin Timberlake will headline the concert on Thursday night.
Is there a unifying theme? SAP does not appear to have as much of a crisis on its hands as last year with the indirect access issue, since somewhat resolved or calmed. Integration (of data, apps) may be one, though that's a sometimes amorphous topic. The SAP HANA platform will be on center stage. Expect emphasis on McDermott's promise to shake up the CRM market (vs. Salesforce primarily), Machine Learning and AI, Open Source, and vertical market solutions, according to Diginomica .
Jennifer Morgan, SAP's highest ranking exec in Newtown Square (Member of the Executive Board of SAP SE, President, Americas and Asia Pacific Japan, Global Customer Operations) also speaks on Thursday morning.
More than I thought:
Not a bad lineup for Call to Lead Summit #SAPPHIREC2L #sapphirenow2018 pic.twitter.com/iEK5tSYKAo
— Zach Vernon (@SAPSupplyChain) June 4, 2018
SAP hopes to blow the doors off Salesforce with a block of C/4HANA https://t.co/mUDnNNMuku via @theregister
— tom paine (@phillytechnews) June 5, 2018
Vertex' (tax software, King of Prussia) Seattle-based competitor Avalara aims to raise up to $181M in IPO at $19 to $21 per share, an updated filing shows. Speculation is that a successful IPO would result in a valuation of over $1 billion.
Founded in 2004, Avalara has been growing rapidly but is still racking up large losses .
This is enterprise-class tax software for large businesses. Vertex is a close partner to SAP; Avatar just hired an Oracle exec as its CTO. It leads one to wonder how much Vertex, founded in 1978, would be worth if it went public.
Investment Roundup: USA Technologies, SimpleTire, BrightView Holdings, Safeguard Scientifics
Tom Paine
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Shares of Malvern-based USA Technologies Inc. (USAT) broke into a new 52-week high last Tuesday, hitting a peak of $14.00, following the company's announcement of the pricing of a public offering. It generated gross proceeds of $75.7 million.
USAT now has a market cap of $723 million. USA Technologies fiscal third-quarter revenue was $35.8 million, up 35% year over year, though much of that growth could be attributed to its acquisition of Canteloupe Systems. Full year fiscal 2018 revenue is expected to be between $138 million to $142.
USAT spent a period of several years without much momentum, with the market not ready for its technology. I remember a time when it was practically begging for more capital. It provides a digital payment option to vending machines and other remote devices. If the size of this market is large enough, then it will be a good candidate to be snapped up by a bigger player.
I've used USAT technology in a couple of places, and it seems to work well.
SimpleTire, the Bensalem-based online tire site, received what was termed a "significant investment" from Cleveland-based Dealertire LLC . SimpleTire is a six-year-old startup that links existing tire dealers into a nationwide e-commerce platform.
Brothers Andy and Josh Chalofsky developed the concept for SimpleTire while working in their family's traditional tire store, along with their business partner Kenny Pratt. The three founders will continue to lead the company. SimpleTire is expected to exceed $500 million in annual sales for 2018.
KKR-backed BrightView Holdings, based in Plymouth Meeting, the largest provider of commercial landscaping services in the US, filed today for an IPO for up to $100 million , although it could eventually reach $500 million according to some analysts.
3M Ventures, the venture capital arm of 3M Co., was among big-name companies to participate in a $20 million round of funding for Madison, Wisconsin-based health tech company Propeller Health.
Safeguard Scientifics was also a return investor. Propeller Health makes software designed to help patients better manage asthma, COPD and other respiratory diseases.
Daily Page 5/30: Comcast to try selling movie tickets through X1; Bensalem's SimpleTire receives "significant investment"
ambien tweeting is a dangerous game
— Sam Altman (@sama) June 7, 2017
Laugh of theDay: ‘Bezos needs a boss’: Protestors ask for CEO oversight outside Amazon’s shareholders meeting https://t.co/0gA2a6XiHa via @GeekWire
— tom paine (@phillytechnews) May 30, 2018
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Drawing the Future of Shopping With Michael Rubin (Wall Street Journal)
Drawing the Future of Shopping With Michael Rubin https://t.co/E66BOuI2sF
— tom paine (@phillytechnews) May 25, 2018
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