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Qualys

Qualys, Company offering cloud security services to companies for many years.

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With the rise of personal computers, and then of the internet, there has also originated the need for security for the data and the stuff one puts on the web. Though there are many companies out there, providing antivirus and anti-data-theft services and applications, some companies are there from the very start. These companies were the first ones to bring new products to fight malware and provide protection from any external threat to data online and offline. Qualys is one such company that has been delivering vulnerability management solutions to the IT industry from the very start. Starting from building applications, today, Qualys Inc. is offering cloud security through its web applications using the SaaS model.

About the Company

Qualys is a more than twenty years old company, founded in 1999. Philippe Langlois and Gilles Samoun are the founders of the company, whereas Sumedh Thakar is the current President and CEO of Qualys. The company trades publically at Nasdaq with ticker QLYS. Qualys is known for its cloud security services, including Certificate Inventory, Certificate Assessment, Vulnerability Management, Threat Protection, Web Application Scanning, Web Application Firewall, and Security Configuration Assessment, etc. The company headquarters is based in Foster City, California, the U.S., and around 2000 people work for it. As of 2020, the company made annual revenues worth $363 million. Big names like BT, IBM, Verizon, NTT, Wipro, etc. are some of the permanent clients of Qualys.

Qualys
Image source: www.itsecurityguru.org

Founding Qualys

Philippe Langlois and Gilles Samoun founded Qualys in 1999. Philippe Courtot was the angel investor in the company who also became the first CEO of Qualys. In 2000, the company brought its first product, QualysGuard to the market, which was also the first type of vulnerability management application. The idea behind the company was to build cloud-based products so to scan any network globally. Based on the same idea, in 2002, Qualys launched QualysGuard Intranet Scanner, an application that could scan an entire LAN. In the next few years, the company launched products like FreeMap (2003), QualysGuard product line (2005), QualysGuard Policy Compliance (2008), and QualysGuard Malware Detection Service (2010).
With the launch of new and innovative products, Qualys managed to get ranked among 5000 fastest-growing private companies in the USA in 2010 in the first decade of its launch. It was also named one of the largest private companies in Silicon Valley in 2012. Later in September 2012, Qualys went public on NASDAQ and raised $87.5 million in its first IPO. In 2014, Qualys won the “Best Security Company” by SC Magazine. The next year, the company launched Cloud Agent Platform as well as a free asset management service named Qualys AssetView. In the following year, the company came with ThreatPROTECT, a cloud-based platform for vulnerability detection. The same year, it partnered with Microsoft Azure Security Center to integrate its services to the latter.
The company also made some major acquisitions like the network analysis assets from Nevis Networks (2017), NetWatcher (2017), 1Mobility (2018), Asset Inventory (2018), etc. The company won the Global Vulnerability Management Market Leadership Award (2017), Cyber Security Leader (2017), Gartner Peer Insights Customers’ Choice Award for Vulnerability Assessment (2019), and Best Vulnerability Management Solution (2020). Today, Qualys is operational in over 130 countries and serves over 10,300 customers globally.

The CEO at Qualys

Sumedh Thakar is the President and CEO of Qualys. He was born and brought up in India. Thakar has an engineering degree in Computer Science from Savitribai Phule Pune University. He started his engineering career at Patni Computers as soon he graduated from college in 1997. In 2001, Thakar joined Intacct. Corp as a software engineer and then started working at Northwest Airlines. In 2003, Sumedh became the Vice President of engineering at Qualys, and then in 2014, was promoted as the Chief Product Officer of the company. In November 2019, he was appointed the full-time President and Chief Product Officer. he became the CEO of the company in February 2021.

RingCentral

RingCentral – The Leading Cloud-based Communications Solutions Provider.

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An uninterrupted communication system is a basic requirement for the success of a business. And when you have to deal with international clients, it becomes really necessary to set up a communication system which allows you to have a smooth conversation with the client without making any extra efforts. The American company RingCentral is one of the best business communication services providers which is one of the leaders of the field. When it comes to seamless communication lines for their business, RingCentral is the first choice of most businesses.

About The Company

RingCentral is an American company providing cloud-based communication SAAS services to businesses. The company was founded in 1999, and its headquarters is based in Belmont, California, U.S. It is a publicly traded company and trades as an RNG on New York Stock Exchange. The company had its first IPO in 2013. The company specializes in cloud computing-based business phone systems, and RingCentral Office, RingCentral Mobile, RingCentral Fax are some of its popular products. The company has also launched RingCentral Professional offering services like universal telephone numbers, voice mail, web conferencing, etc., through a dedicated app for both iOS and Android.
Apart from the US, the company has established offices in countries like Denver, Toronto, London, Paris, Singapore, Manila, etc. As of 2019, the company had employed 2,363 people and made annual revenues worth $902.8 million.

Founding RingCentral

Vlad Shmunis and Vlad Vendrow founded RingCentral in 1999 when they sold their previous business RingZero Systems to Motorola. Vlad Shmunis was the founder, and the CEO of RingZero, whereas, Vlad Vendrow worked as the Director of Engineering at RingZero. The company provided communication services to businesses that worked on Microsoft Windows. After they sold the company to Motorola they founded the company in 1999, this time, providing similar services as of RingZero, but using the emerging cloud technology. As the way of doing business was changing with the birth of new technologies, the two founders thought of using those new technologies for the benefit of the business.
RingCentral launched its first cloud phone system in 2003. Though the company was founded in 1999 but received its first capital investment in 2006 through a round of funding, Sequoia and Khosla Ventures being the major investors. In 2009, the company established its services in the UK, and in 2012, the company partnered with AT&T. The next year, RingCentral went public on NYSE, raising $39.8 million in the IPO. The company also partnered with UK’s BT in 2014.
In 2015, Company acquired Glip, and in 2018, it took over the operations of Dimelo, followed by the acquisition of Connect First. The company, in partnership with Avaya, launched the Avaya Cloud Office application in 2020. The same year it also introduced RingCentral Video, a video conferencing product for businesses, and acquired DeepAffects. The next year, Company acquired Kindite.
As per the records, RingCentral is providing its services to 350,000 businesses globally. The company is also one of the fastest-growing cloud-based communication services providers. In fact, Synergy Research ranked RingCentral number one cloud communications solutions in 2017.

RingCentral
Image source: businesswire.com

The Founders Of RingCentral

Vlad Shmunis, along with Vlad Vendrow, founded RingCentral in 1999. Shmunis is also serving the company as the CEO. He went to San Francisco State University, where he earned a bachelor’s as well as a master’s degree in computer science. Shmunis has been in the software industry for more than thirty years. Before founding RingCentral, he has handled prominent positions in companies like Ampex Corporation and had founded another communication system company named RingZero Systems.
On the other hand, Vlad Vendrow is serving the company as the CTO. He has got a master’s degree in computer science and applied mathematics from Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical University in Russia. Before founding the company, he worked as the Director of Engineering at RingZero. Vendrow has been granted over 40 patents in the field of unified communications and cloud services. He is also credited for the success of the RingCentral cloud phone solution.

SS&C Technologies

SS&C Technologies – An American Tech Company That Provides SaaS To The Finance Sector.

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SS&C Technologies Holdings Inc is a fintech company based in Windsor, Connecticut. The company mainly sells software and SaaS (software as a service) to financial service companies. SS&C has a worldwide market and it is traded as a public company and listed in Russell 1000 component. William C. Stone founded this company in 1986 and he is still serving as the chairman of the board. The company has more than 24,000 employees and in the past years, it has acquired numerous businesses that specializes in specific fintech markets.

History Of SS&C Technologies

Founded in 1986, SS&C Technologies went public after ten years but again it was privatized in a leveraged buy-out followed by a second IPO. Currently, SS&C is a public company and it is known for acquiring companies from various horizons which brings a new customer base and unique product lines for specific sectors. They are mainly focused on bringing new products and talents into the company and increase its subsidiaries.

Till 2017, SS&C completed 47 acquisitions in total from the day it was officially launched. In its history of acquiring companies, SS&C made the largest acquisition went it bought Advent Technologies for $2.7 billion. This helped SS&C increase the intensity of its presence in the financial tech sector because Advent was one of its biggest competitors. This acquisition helped SS&C gain a big software company whose products were used by 4,300 various investment fund managers.

In 2005, SS&C Technologies acquired a company called Financial Models Company Inc for $17.70 per share. The company was a leading technology solutions provider for the investment world. The acquisition was completed in cash. SS&C spend a total of $10.13 million for buying the shares of this company and at the end of the deal, the total share of 91 percent was owned by SS&C. This marks another important acquisition in the history of SS&C because the company had to win a bidding war where several other companies participated as well.

SS&C Technologies
Image source: www.worldipreview.com

Recent Years

The last decade started with SS&C acquiring a broker-neutral system provider called Tradeware Global. After two years, SS&C acquired a Texas-based business called Hedgemetrix and this new deal brought twenty customers to the company. Currently, Hedgemetrix is a part of SS&C’s GlobeOp business. The same year, SS&C acquired another company called Thomson Reuter’s PORTIA. The deal was closed for $170 million. For $95 million in cash, SS&C acquired DST Global Solutions and it helped the company target Asia-Pacific locations and EMEA.

In 2015, the company announced that it would be acquiring Citigroup’s Alternative Investor Services business. This deal was closed for $425 million and the acquisition included Hedge Fund Services and Private Equity Fund services. The next company SS&C acquired was Primatics Financial for $122 million from the Carlyle Group and in 2016 the acquisition of Wells Fargo’s Global Fund Services Business took place. This strengthened the fund relationship of SS&C and also brought 384 new employees to the company. Some of the other companies acquired by SS&C in recent years are Salentica, Conifer Financial Services, DST Systems, etc.

Awards

In the last 35 years, SS&C Technologies has been the recipient of several awards and accolades. William C. Stone, for his immense contribution to the financial service industry, received the 2012 Entrepreneurial award from Marquette University. In 2015, the company received Custody Risk Americas Awards for the GlobeOp business unit. It also received the best portfolio accounting title for the Advent Geneva platform and also won WealthManagement.com industry awards for account aggregation.

SS&C Technologies – Founder

William C. Stone is famous as the founder, CEO, and chairman of the board of SS&C Technologies. Stone went to Marquette University and acquired a business administration degree in 1977 and started his company in 1986. Stone initially started the business from his home in Connecticut which has taken a gigantic shape today. Before founding the company, he worked at KPMG.

Xero

Xero – A New Zealand-based Cloud Software Platform For SMEs.

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Xero is a cloud-based software platform that was founded in 2006. It provides Software as a Service (SaaS) and it is a public company listed in the Australian Securities Exchange. Rod Drury is the founder of the company and Steve Vamos is the present CEO. Xero mainly develops accounting software and it is based in Wellington, New Zealand. Apart from the headquarters in Wellington, the company has two other offices in New Zealand. Xero’s products are sold by subscription and are used in more than 180 countries.

About The Company

In 2006, Rod Drury along with Hamish Edwards founded Xero. When they founded the company, it was originally called Accounting 2.0. With time company has grown beyond New Zealand and it has established offices in Australia, United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Africa. In 2017, Xero crossed the mark of having 1 million customers worldwide. It has also landed more than one million subscribers in Australia and New Zealand. From 2006 till 2018, Rod Drury acted as the CEO of the company and he was placed by Steve Vamos in early 2018.

Xero
Image source: wikimedia.org

Origin Of Xero

Before founding the company, Rod Drury explored a lot of other opportunities in the entrepreneurial ground. He tried bespoke software development in Microsoft Access and SQL Server but it was sold off in 1999. Then he started a documentation management startup followed by building an RDBMS for Microsoft Exchange and selling it to Quest Software. Selling the software gave Rod capital for starting Xero. He was also one of the board members of Trade Me that was sold for half a billion US dollars. With the total capital he raised, he was ready to launch Xero.

Xero As a Public Company

The idea of opening a business for cloud-based accounting software clicked in Rod’s mind when he was working at Arthur Young (now part of Ernst & Young). So, eventually, he started planning and raising money to launch the company. In 2007, Xero became a public company and got listed on the New Zealand Exchange (NZD) with a $15 million IPO. For the first few years, the company mainly focused on expanding and strengthening its presence in the New Zealand market and then entered the Australian market and went public there in 2012. In 2018, the company removed its name from NZD and was only listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. After one year, Xero became the third most valuable publicly traded company from New Zealand.

Fundings

In 2009, Xero received funding of $23 million and it was led by Craig Winkler, founder of MYOB. In 2010, it raised $4 million from Valar Ventures, and again in 2012 raised $16.6 million from the same firm. Xero raised $49 million in late 2012 and the major investors were Peter Thiel and Matrix Capital. In May 2013, the valuation of the company became $1.4 billion on the NZE. In October 2013, the two main investors invested another $180 million and with this, the total funding received by company became $230 million. In 2015, a new investor, Accel provided funding of $100 million to Xero. The company bagged the award of the best hybrid deal by Finance Asia in 2018.

After Xero became a public company it acquired a series of businesses. In 2011, Company acquired Paycycle, an Australian online payroll provider, and next year it acquired Spotlight Workpapers. In 2018, Xero established a joint venture with the US payroll platform, Gusto and acquired a data capture solution company called Hubdoc. The company acquired an Australian startup called Waddle that does invoice financing. This year, Xero acquired two companies till now which are Planday and Tickstar AB.

About The Founder

Rod Drury is a famous entrepreneur based in New Zealand. He became famous after founding Xero where he also continued as the CEO till 2018. Rod went to Victoria University of Wellington and started his career with Arthur Young, an accounting firm. Apart from founding Xero, Rod has also co-founded Context Connect and AfterMail.

Boost Media Logo

BOOST MEDIA- Providing High-Class Digital Marketing Services since 2011

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By now we have already become familiar with the term SaaS and the term SaaS stands for Software as a Service. In this kind of service, the company makes software whose license is given to other companies on a subscription basis. IT sector has various needs and in every company, smaller or bigger, an IT department is mandatory. It is important for the proper functioning of the business.

And, all these have eventually topped our priority list once the internet started becoming affordable by everyone. Speaking about SaaS, Boost Media is one of the largest and fastest-growing B2B SaaS companies that exist. Rob Lenderman and David Greenbaum founded the company in 2009 and since then it is excelling in the creative marketplace. Boost Media provides one of the best services in the sphere of digital marketing meeting every need of the clients.

Boost Media Logo

Boost Media Founders

Rob Lenderman went to North Carolina State University to acquire his bachelor’s degree in Nuclear Engineering. He completed his graduation in 1995. In 2000, Rob joined LendingTree as a Lead Developer and eventually, he received a promotion as SEO Architect. He left the company in 2007 and joined Interval International-IAC. He worked there as a product developer for three years.

In 2010, Rob joined Clearwire as the Director of eCare and left it for co-founding Boost Media. He was the Chief Product Officer of Boost Media until Adlabs Technology acquired the company in 2019. Currently, he is holding the same position at Adlabs Technology.

David Greenbaum went to the Yale School of Management for completing his MBA. His career started as an analyst in Goldman Sachs after which he started working for Plum Capital. In this company, he worked with many start-ups handling finance operation of them. It gave him a clear perspective of how he should start one.

David also worked at Interval Leisure Group as the Director of Strategy and M&A. After co-founding Boost Media, David also founded OnPlan.

Funding to Boost Media

Both the founders were well experienced when they founded Boost media. David, by then had already mastered the art of managing finance. The company received its first funding in the year 2011. In the seed funding, Boost Media raised $1.6 million. Some of the major investors included David Frankel, Jed Katz, etc. There was a total of eight investors that led this funding round.

The early Series A funding round took place in September 2011. Webb Investment Network led the funding round. There was another funding round in 2012 and the company raised $1.4 million. Javelin Ventures Partners led another funding round in 2013 and the company raised $2 million.

In 2013, the company raised $8 million in Series B funding from Western Technology Investment, Javelin Ventures Partners, and Battery Ventures. This year, the company also carried out its Series C funding round where it raised $19 million. Within a few years of founding the company, it landed many big investors.

Growth and Success

By this time, Boost Media has already become a well-acknowledged digital marketing service provider in the industry. From displaying advertising to social video, Boost Media released many platforms for better reach.

One such platform was released in 2016 and it was called Boost Media’s Express Platform. It was released in 2016 to help users have access to a marketplace with more than 1,000 professional copywriters.

Within 2016, Boost Media landed more than 200 customers including some big businesses like Jockey, Shutterfly, Liberty Mutual, etc. The team of Boost Media comprises of more than 1,000 experienced copywriters and designers. The company has its headquarters based in San Francisco.

Acquisition by Adlabs Technology

Adlabs Technology is a company working in the field of paid-search ad creations, optimization, and analysis which are powered by AI. The company announced the acquisition of Boost Media in 2019. The agreement included top to bottom of Boost Media’s assets including customer contracts, patents, trademark brands, software platforms, websites, etc.

The key employees of Boost Media were also accepted in the company including Rob. Currently, the company is performing all its operations under the name of Adlabs Technology. Before the acquisition, the company showed excellent results as an independent entity landed many lucrative clients.

Slack Reportedly Chooses NYSE Over NASDAQ for its Direct Listing

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Last year in December, Slack announced that it is prepping for its IPO in 2019 and had hired Goldman Sachs as its Lead Underwriter. Now, according to the reports from Wall Street Journal, the company following the path of Spotify, has selected the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) instead of the NASDAQ for the direct listing of its shares.

slack
Image Slack: fubiz.net

Slack has earned enough value being private, and reportedly, it had $900 million in cash on hand last year. So, similar to Spotify, it is not, specifically, the money for which the company is going public, and hence it has selected the direct listing over the IPO.

Direct listing is a bit different from the IPO, as the companies who file for IPO are looking for more financial support for their growth. In the direct listing, most of the times, the shares are not backed up by any financial institution, and the shareholders like the investors, promoters or the employees can directly sell their shares.

Last year, Spotify also chose NYSE for its direct listing, and now the valuation of the company is $25 billion up. Also, companies like Uber and Pinterest have also selected NYSE for their IPO, this year. Last Friday, Lyft went public on NASDAQ, and reportedly, its price shed over 10 per cent in the morning trading.

The office-messaging platform has been a member of the Unicorn Club for a long time now, and the direct listing of the company will be a financial boost for its investors. The company is still in talks with the Securities and Exchange Commission and has submitted the draft registration statement on Form S-1, last month.

The company, currently, is serving over 10 million daily users across the globe including the 85,000 paid subscribers. It is one of the most valued and successful companies in Silicon Valley, and its direct listing may set a higher bar for the other SaaS companies. For now, Slack has not made any comments on the matter. But, according to the WSJ, the listing may occur in the month of June or July this year.