Philly EnterpriseTech Roundup 12/8: DuckDuckGo v Google; Lyft / Uber IPO filings (in confidence)


Tom Paine




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DuckDuckGo performed a study that it says shows that Google hasn't kept its promise to stop bubble-wrapping users , in other words giving users search results biased to an individual's personal preferences. This drew a response from Google via Danny Sullivan .

Yesterday afternoon, the news came out that Lyft had filed confidentially for an IPO. Later that night, it was disclosed that Uber had also filed confidentially .

IBM sells a software portfolio, including Notes and Domino , to an Indian company, HCL, for $1.8 billion. Notes was not created by IBM, but by Lotus Development Corp, Mitch Kapor's company that began with Lotus 1-2-3, which was eviscerated by Microsoft Excel in the spreadsheet market. Notes was perhaps the first true collaboration software. Lotus was later acquired by IBM in 1995.

Cambridge-based Moderna Therapeutics watched its share price slip within hours of pulling off the biggest initial public offering in biotech history, falling 19% from the IPO price by the end of Friday. The IPO raised about $600 million.

It seems that either Google, Amazon or Microsoft touch every subject I write about now.






at 8:46 PM 0 comments

Elemica is one of the Philly area's best-kept tech secrets


Tom Paine




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Elemica is one of the Philly area's best-kept tech secrets. From its Wayne headquarters, Elemica manages real-time supply chain and market data for some of the World's leading companies.

Founded in 2000, Elemica refers to itself as "the leading Digital Supply Network for Chemical and other Process Manufacturers." It originally was a consortium, and the partners were owners as well as customers. Original partners included Dow, DuPont, BASF, Shell Chemicals, Bayer, Atofina, BP and Rohm and Haas. The initial funding was $100 million, provided by the consortium members themselves.






Its location near SAP's North American headquarters was likely no coincidence, as most of its members were large SAP ERP customers. Elemica customer applications exchange data at various points with SAP ERP, may be integrated with SAP Ariba, or generate output which can be analyzed more deeply with BI tools on SAP HANA. Elemica does not view SAP Ariba as a competitor, but as a complementary provider.


Elemica's original location was in Center City before moving to Wayne. It has a satellite office in Atlanta where some of its tech leadership is located.

Elemica is what is called a "networked" supply chain system, meaning that each customer is not isolated within the system, but can interact with others on the network to share information and do transactions. This is important because Elemica customers frequently buy from each other at different levels of the supply chain.

The original business model was effective to the point that the format worked, but with limitations. Since the principal customers were also owners, Elemica was managed more like a shared cost center rather than a market-driven business. In addition, Elemica needed new capital to modernize and expand, find new customers and new ways to use the data it its customers generate.

So in 2016, Elemica was sold to the highly respected (by most) enterprise tech oriented PE firm Thoma Bravo . Terms were not disclosed.

“The goal remains to grow Elemica’s business network into a multi-trillion-dollar commerce engine annually,” said John Blyzinskyj, CEO of Elemica, at the time of the Thoma Bravo deal. "This acquisition will accelerate the time to market for solutions that automate and orchestrate mission critical supply chain processes across a global community of buyers, suppliers and logistics providers. Thoma Bravo’s exceptional track record and proven expertise in our industry will enable Elemica to further capitalize on its growth and leadership."

With the original ownership structure removed, Elemica could now concentrate more on broadly on the market it serves and price and allocate resources in a way that better reflected market needs. It also presumably gained the funds needed to become more state-of-the-art technologically.

Under Thoma Bravo ownership, Elemica has worked on improving its external communication, improving the depth of supply chain visibility, and completing an overall digital.transformation, Elemica Director of Product Marketing David Cahn told me in an interview. (Dave, a Villanova grad, has been in every corner of the enterprise software world.) Another use case for Elemica to explore is the value of its customers aggregate data. For example, since it has such a strong position in the chemical industry, the aggregate of its customers' supply chain data might paint a more complete picture of what's happening in that market.

Also, Elemica is conducting a blockchain pilot with a major customer and a third-party software firm.

Elemica hosts its cloud on Amazon Web Services, with in-memory capabilities.

A recent challenge has been adjusting to changes resulting from the Dow / DuPont merger.

Supply Chain networks have changed with new technology. Supply chain planning in the past was typically based on semi-static or out of date information, and scenario testing took up considerable compute time and thus was difficult to modify. Now, with in-memory processing and other technological advances, supply chain planning is a nearly real time exercise and the market for supply chain software has been reinvigorated.

Dave discussed the difficulties of moving a business from a service bureau mentality to a digital mode.


Elemica now has revenue in the $50 million range (though I don't know what it sees as its addressable market) and is growing at 10% annually. It has around 200 employees.


at 11:00 PM 0 comments

Anaplan CEO on using blockchain technology for enterprise planning efficiency




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Philly EnterpriseTech Roundup 12/5: Bear repellent spill in NJ Amazon warehouse; FS Investments trying to close merger later this month


Tom Paine




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One was left in critical condition, and 54 Amazon worker were treated after a discharge of bear repellant occurred in a Robbinsville (Mercer County) NJ Amazon warehouse. A can was punctured by an automated machine Wednesday morning inside the building, causing the spill. In total, 25 workers were hospitalized.

The critical patient has improved and all patients are expected to be released from the hospital within 24 hours.
Local bears, presumably, have been thoroughly repelled. But this incident may add to the current labor tensions over Amazon's warehouses.

THIS WASN'T EVEN AMAZON'S FIRST BEAR REPELLENT ACCIDENT . (Wired)

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As it works to pull off a merger, FS (formerly Franklin Square) Investments admits to having some shortcomings . In a recent call with analysts and in a meeting with advisers, FS Investments' senior management publicly acknowledged its various shortcomings, including the eroding valuation of its flagship fund, the publicly traded FS Investment Corp. FS currently manages $24 billion. As executives acknowledge, the net asset value and share price of FS Investment Corp. are both eroding.

FSIC is seeking shareholder approval to merge with another listed BDC, Corporate Capital Trust (CCT). The shareholders of FS Investment Corp. (NYSE:FSIC) and Corporate Capital Trust (NYSE:CCT) approved proposals related to the merger of FSIC and CCT at their respective annual meetings, and the merger is expected to occur around December 19.



















































at 11:21 PM 0 comments

Philly EnterpriseTech Roundup 12/4: Hamilton Lane invests in NEA spinoff; Liberty Media reported wanting to buy iHeart; GSK snags Tesaro

Tom Paine




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Maryland-based New Enterprise Associates (NEA), one of the largest venture capital firms in Silicon Valley, has created a $1.35 billion spinoff fund consisting of its more mature startup investments.

The new fund, NewView Capital, will take startups that have been sitting on NEA’s books for a decade or longer and haven’t sold out or gone public. Investors include fund manager Goldman Sachs, NEA itself and Philly-based investment manager Hamilton Lane. Meanwhile, existing investors can cash out.

Among the holdings included in NewView are 23andMe and a small stake in Uber Technologies. Thirty-one portfolio companies are moving from NEA to NewView.

Wharton grad Ravi Viswanathan is leaving NEA to run the new operation. The valuation process necessary before splitting off the investments was challenging at times, Viswanathan told Bloomberg.





The New York Post reports that Liberty Media is positioning itself to acquire radio giant iHeartMedia when it exits bankruptcy, probably
early next year.

Liberty chairman John Malone wants to combine iHeart with his other music properties, which include satellite-radio giant Sirius XM as well as concert promoter Live Nation and its Ticketmaster service.





Tesaro shares soared 60% following a $5.1 billion takeover bid From GlaxoSmithKline . Tesaro’s drug Zejula belongs to a class of cancer drugs called PARP inhibitors, that work by blocking an enzyme that cancer cells use to repair damage in their DNA.


















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Veeva Systems, reporting excellent quarter, nears billion dollar run rate


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Veeva Systems (NYSE: VEEV) is now closing in on a billion dollar annual run rate, reporting Thursday total quarterly revenues of $224.7 million for its 3Q FY 2019 , up 27% Year-over-year, beating forecasts, and showing a positive outlook for FY 2020. Its Veeva Vault business is growing at 52% per year and represents 48% of Veeva revenue. The operating margin for Veeva was 37.6% in the quarter, an all-time high. Veeva now has a market value of nearly $14 billion.


Veeva, based in Pleasanton, CA, has a marketing, product development and sales presence on the east coast based out of its Radnor offices. Many of its largest customers are based in the Pennsylvania / New Jersey region. Veeva's industry-specific SaaS offerings are sold almost exclusively to the life sciences industry.

Vault's scale remains underappreciated by the Street, as its annual run rate can triple within five years to $1.2 billion and control "meaningful" market share within the $5-billion total addressable market, KeyBanc Capital Markets' Brent Bracelin said, according to Benzinga .

Veeva CFO Tim Carbral said in an interview with CMLviz.com , "Given the size of the market within life sciences, we think we could get multiple billions [of dollars of revenue] from life sciences."

"We're now on our way to being one of the few multi-billion-dollar cloud companies. And we are in unique in having really strong growth and profit. You know, it's been five years since our IPO, this was our 21st earnings call. And we have exceeded top and bottom line, consistently, on every single call." added Veeva head of marketing Nitsa Zuppas.

Most of Veeva's growth has been organic to date, and the company has been successful in leveraging a handful of pinpoint acquisitions. I would expect in the near future maybe a little more of the same, but there's a lot happening in pharma's digital ecosystem and some larger targets may eventually present themselves. Veeva is also named by some analysts as a possible target for some very large tech companies.

In another issue, a federal judge in Manhattan last Monday refused to toss claims by a New York-based company that makes software for clinical drug trials, Medidata Solutions, that Veeva lured away several key employees and used their knowledge of confidential information to develop its competing product.

Veeva is not cheap, with its stock priced at 14x FY2020 forecasted revenue.






at 12:42 AM 0 comments

Bush 41: The commencement speech that was never heard

Tom Paine




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When I graduated from Business School some time ago, I received my degree in a separate business school ceremony before attending the general commencement ceremony for the entire university across campus. It was a perfect May day in Charlottesville. We were honored to have then-Vice President George Herbert Walker Bush as the commencement speaker. One of his sons, Marvin, had received an undergraduate degree from the University on that day.

Bush began his speech, but within a couple of minutes the microphone cut off. No problem, someone adjusted it. He started again, but the mic cut off again in a few seconds. After a brief delay, he began again, and then it cut off. This happened over and over again, perhaps a total of 10 times, until he finally gave up.

It was difficult for all of us to watch that. but Bush was patient and handled it professionally. I pondered whether it was just a short, or if someone on the University's staff was deliberately sabotaging his speech. More likely the former. But I never heard an explanation.

Although most commencement speeches are formulaic, I would have certainly liked to have heard what he had to say.

RIP



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The Day in Tweets 11/30




















































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Veeva Announces Fiscal 2019 Third Quarter Results: Total Revenues of $224.7M, up 27% Year-over-year

Veeva Announces Fiscal 2019 Third Quarter Results
Total Revenues of $224.7M, up 27% Year-over-year

Subscription Services Revenues of $178.2M, up 25% Year-over-year

November 28, 2018 04:05 PM Eastern Standard Time
PLEASANTON, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Veeva Systems Inc. (NYSE: VEEV), a leading provider of industry cloud solutions for the global life sciences industry, today announced results for its fiscal third quarter ended October 31, 2018. All results, including prior periods, and guidance reflect the new revenue recognition standard ASC 606.

“Our focus on innovation and customer success coupled with our consistent execution sets us up for a great finish to the year and establishes a strong foundation for next year and beyond.”
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“We executed well across all areas of the business, expanding our leadership with Veeva Commercial Cloud and Veeva Vault,” said CEO Peter Gassner. “Our focus on innovation and customer success coupled with our consistent execution sets us up for a great finish to the year and establishes a strong foundation for next year and beyond.”

Fiscal 2019 Third Quarter Results:

Revenues: Total revenues for the third quarter were $224.7 million, up from $177.0 million one year ago, an increase of 27% year-over-year. Subscription services revenues for the third quarter were $178.2 million, up from $142.8 million one year ago, an increase of 25% year-over-year.
Operating Income and Non-GAAP Operating Income(1): Third quarter operating income was $63.1 million, compared to $42.5 million one year ago, an increase of 48% year-over-year. Non-GAAP operating income for the third quarter was $84.4 million, compared to $58.4 million one year ago, an increase of 45% year-over-year.
Net Income and Non-GAAP Net Income(1): Third quarter net income was $64.1 million, compared to $34.9 million one year ago, an increase of 83% year-over-year. Non-GAAP net income for the third quarter was $70.3 million, compared to $38.9 million one year ago, an increase of 81% year-over-year.
Net Income per Share and Non-GAAP Net Income per Share(1): For the third quarter, fully diluted net income per share was $0.41, compared to $0.23 one year ago, while non-GAAP fully diluted net income per share was $0.45, compared to $0.25 one year ago.
“We are pleased to report our results came in well above guidance for the quarter, as we continued to deliver a unique combination of growth and profitability,” said CFO Tim Cabral. “Looking to next year, we expect to hit $1 billion in total revenue, significantly ahead of our original plan.”

Recent Highlights:

Strategic Wins for Vault Clinical — The company had its first Veeva Vault CTMS win with a top 20 pharmaceutical company, who will deploy globally. Another leading CRO chose Veeva Vault eTMF, the third top 7 CRO to standardize on the product.
Veeva Extends Leadership in CRM Across All Segments — A top 10 pharmaceutical company added more than 5,000 Veeva CRM users across multiple regions as part of its global expansion. Additionally, a major consumer health company selected multichannel Veeva CRM for 40 markets. Momentum also continued in SMB, with Veeva adding 31 new customers since the start of the fiscal year.
Top 50 Pharma Goes Global with Veeva OpenData — Veeva signed a top 50 pharmaceutical company to implement Veeva OpenData globally. In addition, a top 20 selected Veeva OpenData for the U.S.
Continued Enterprise Progress in Vault RIM — In the quarter, a top 20 pharmaceutical company chose Vault RIM for its global regulatory operations, the sixth top 20 to select Veeva regulatory solutions.
Financial Outlook:

Veeva is providing guidance for its fiscal fourth quarter ending January 31, 2019 as follows:

Total revenues between $226 and $227 million.
Non-GAAP operating income between $77 and $78 million(2).
Non-GAAP fully diluted net income per share of $0.40(2).
Veeva is providing guidance for its fiscal year ending January 31, 2019 as follows:

Total revenues between $855.8 and $856.8 million.
Non-GAAP operating income between $298.6 and $299.6 million(2).
Non-GAAP fully diluted net income per share of $1.58(2).



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Larry Ellison makes a brief appearance at AWS: reinvent






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Philly EnterpriseTech Roundup 11/27: BuzzFeed CEO proposes industry mergers; Technical glitch screws up 'The Match' revenue; FT profiles SEI's Al West

Tom Paine




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The FT did an excellent profile of Al West and his Oaks-based business, SEI Investments . It explains how SEI started as a systems house and moved to become a major funds manager in addition to third-party systems management. (The FT seems to give non-subs a one time-limited read.)


Vanguard cut its minimum investment from $10,000 to $3,000 , adjusting in one area it was considered behind much of the industry.



In a New York Magazine interview , BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti floated the idea of a merger between other digital publishers such as BuzzFeed, Group Nine Media, Refinery29, Vox Media and Vice Media. And its more than a float; actual discussions between some of these parties are reportedly already occurring.

Most of these firms have historically relied on paid content for revenue. A few years ago the paid content market's potential seemed limitless to some, but the law of big numbers started kicking in and showed the market is ultimately finite. Thus the pressure from VCs and corporate investors to rationalize costs, starting with cutting duplicate overheads among the firms. At the same time the combined companies would have more leverage in dealing with online ad giants Facebook and Google (and an oncoming Amazon).

No one has any idea how these things might work out, but a merger between BuzzFeed and another Comcast-backed venture, Vox Media, could be a logical first step.


In a somewhat related item, the made for TV (well, isn't everything?) "The Match: Tiger vs Phil" bombed out commercially because of a malfunctioning sign-in page at the source of the broadcast, AT&T's Turner Media's Bleacher Reports' website. Many could get in for free while the sign-in feature did not work, leaving those who actually paid $20 furious. Comcast and most everyone else who carried the broadcast agreed to refund all paying customers. It was not, as some thought, Comcast's error.
But the actual viewership numbers were outstanding - several times what At&T expected. Of course, too much traffic may have caused the systems failure.



The non-partisan website Watchdog.org notes that with a new state law on the books , Pennsylvania is aiming to be a vanguard of autonomous vehicle technology. The recently signed Act 117 0f 2018 establishes a number of guidelines and practices for the use of automated vehicles in work zones and platooning of motor carrier vehicles. Bill sponsor Rep. Greg Rothman, R-Camp Hill, said even more proposals related to autonomous vehicles should be expected in the next legislative session as the state looks to stay on the cutting edge.

“We already rely on machines,” Rothman said. “And most of our cars you're driving today are operated by computers. So, the question is, can you respond as quickly? Can you react as quickly as a computer? And the answer is no, you can't.”


at 10:36 PM 0 comments

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