The firm recently chose Singapore as its South Asian headquarters, after opening new subsidiaries in Thailand as well as parts of Europe.
"We do have long-term plans to expand into North Asia and Japan," Tom Malone, SRC's CEO, told reporters at a media briefing here last week.
CEO, SRC Software
Such tools give a clearer view of corporate finances to aid long-term strategic planning, and are typically used by a company’s top decision makers such as the chief financial controller. Most industry watchers consider CPM to be an outgrowth of the business intelligence software segment, the battleground of companies like Hyperion, Cognos, Business Objects and SAS Institute.
Before 2004, SRC relied on a European software firm called Frango AB as its sole reseller outside the U.S. However, rival Cognos, having acquired a company called Adaytum in 2003 for its planning and budgeting tools, added Frango to its shopping list last October for US$53.1 million. The move prompted SRC to ramp up its direct presence worldwide to salvage its overseas customer base.
"SRC was hidden from many of our customers behind the Frango veil because they were our representative here (in Asia)," Malone said.
"We moved quickly and hired virtually all of Frango’s employees who were supporting our product. We also terminated our agreement with Frango in October 2004," he added.
Without disclosing specific terms of the deal, the firm reached an agreement with Cognos last month to transfer nearly 200 of Frango's CPM customers to SRC.
The shift affected around 20 companies in Southeast Asia, including Singapore Airlines, Malaysian Airlines, Thai Farmers Bank and Singapore-based mobile operator StarHub and Parkway Group Healthcare.
These clients are now supported by SRC's offices in Singapore and Thailand, Malone explained.
Having a direct sales presence here, he said, will also benefit the customers in terms of having a wider choice of SRC's software packages. The company currently offers 10 CPM modules that are tailored for vertical industries like healthcare, insurance, manufacturing and retail.
"Frango was only selling three of SRC’s 10 offerings. They were only selling budgeting, reporting and payroll planning," Malone said. "Not a single customer in Europe or Southeast Asia is even aware of the rest of our portfolio."
By branching out internationally, he hopes to even out revenue contribution from the U.S and other countries in the next few years.
Of the US$45 million in revenue SRC garnered in 2004, close to 40 percent were from international markets. Southeast Asia contributed US$8 million to the company's total sales last year, Malone said.
Play video
There are currently no comments for this post.