StepStone, a global leader in talent management solutions, is recording an acceleration in sales of its Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offerings in the third quarter of 2009, partly driven by a number of new contracts with large enterprise customers. In the first two months of the current quarter (July-September 2009) StepStone has seen key performance indicators – recurring revenue increase, new customer wins and upsells/cross sells – showing increases of up to 20% over the equivalent period in the second quarter. Wins with large enterprise customers include successes in the retail, pharmaceutical, financial services, construction and entertainment sectors, underlining the breadth of applicability of StepStone’s Talent Management technology. With StepStone’s SaaS business model, these sales translate into a continuing, month by month increase in the company’s recurring revenue base.
“Our third quarter has historically not been strong for us in terms of bookable new business, as our European customers are typically not very active in July and August,” said StepStone CEO, Colin Tenwick. “But as we grow our global footprint in the US, Asia and countries such as South Africa, combined with increasing business confidence and acceptance of our SaaS business model in all markets, we have seen a measurable acceleration of both new customers and additional business with existing users. This growth in Solutions, combined with signs of stabilisation we are seeing in our Online business, supports the view that we have turned the corner in our market.”
Notable successes recently include the completion of the first stages of a major project with a South African retail group; three substantial deals in Switzerland in the pharmaceutical and entertainment sectors won against major software industry players; five new customers won in manufacturing and professional services businesses in Denmark; an important deal with a major energy company; and a sizeable contract in the US in the construction sector.
StepStone’s on-demand, SaaS business model delivers a solid, predictable revenue stream back to the business while offering customers the opportunity to benefit from enterprise level software without the penalty of high up front licensing charges or substantial implementation costs. “With businesses starting to think again in terms of growth and rebuilding market share, the need for talent strategies to find, retain and develop the next generation of business leaders is getting stronger,” adds Colin Tenwick. “Our ability to win in global markets, often against very substantial competitors and in a macro environment that is still difficult, underlines the value and rapid ROI that our SaaS business model and software technology can deliver.”
