Supernova Award Category
The Problem
For most companies, the revenue process is disjointed and stitched together with a several software solutions and vendors: a separate one for pricing, configuration, e-commerce, contract management, and even billing. This is especially true of enterprise-level organizations. Apttus has streamlined the entire process by creating Quote-to-Cash solutions, which not only allows the entire process to run smoother, but actually increases total revenue by feeding data from each step into a patented, machine-learning powered solution.
The Solution
Apttus’ vision is to create a sales revenue operation that’s completely optimized and efficient, leaving behind delays that result from manual processes and integration solutions from multiple entities. Committed to customer success, Apttus’ values are driven by the New Front Office philosophy of delivering B2B customer service at B2C speed through modernization of revenue operation, speed, and efficiency in the cloud.
The results
In June 2016, Apttus surveyed over 150 executives driving Quote-to-Cash business transformation projects in their organizations. A complete summary is available here: http://apttus.com/resources/apttus-quote-to-cash-impact-study/
Notable metrics include:
41 percent faster contract processing37 percent increase in contract compliance21 percent reduced rogue discounting26 percent faster Quote-to-Cash cycle108 percent faster completion of Excel-based tasks37 percent faster time to approve a deal8 percent larger deal size overall99 percent of customers plan to extend, or keep as is, their usage of Apttus
Metrics
The metrics listed in the results testify to the impact of Quote-to-Cash solutions, but company-level results include the notable growth of Apttus' ecosystem of customers and the brand itself. While Apttus was founded in 2006, and run profitably, it was in 2013 that the organization began expanding rapidly. Since that time, employee count has risen from 30 to over 1300, offices have been opened in London, Sydney, India, Japan, Chicago, and Bozeman (Montana), in addition to its HQ in San Mateo, California. The company was recently valuated at over $1B in a September 2015 funding round of $108M. These results are in direct correlation with Apttus' customer base, which has risen to over 500 clients, including over 100 of the Fortune 500, constituting millions of user licenses. More information on customer success can be found here: http://apttus.com/customers/
The Technology
Apttus provides solutions that streamline the end-to-end sales process from the buyer’s interest all the way to the collection of revenue, a process coined the Quote-to-Cash process. Apttus’ full footprint is comprised of 3 pillars: Configure-Price-Quote, Contract Management, and Revenue Management.
Disruptive Factor
As the pioneer of Quote-to-Cash, Apttus is recognized as the indisputable leader in the market. When Apttus made headlines as a new Unicorn in the Silicon Valley, Forbes handpicked Apttus and CEO Kirk Krappe as the Unicorns Class of 2015, Entrepreneur of the Year. With other prestigious awards like the Deloitte Technology Fast 500, CIO Review 100 Most Promising Microsoft Solutions 2015, Montclare SaaS 250, and Business Insider 50 Companies to Bet Career Your On to support this claim, Apttus continues to lead the Quote-to-Cash space with its consistent yearly growth.
Apttus‘s tremendous success and potential uncapped market has not gone unnoticed; Andrew Bartels, an analyst with Forrester Research, said, “There’s definitely a difference. Companies that are selling software to businesses and have clients that have three-year contracts have a very sticky revenue stream.” Apttus, well-positioned with its cash in a stable space, faces no danger of fading out of popularity and has set revenue streams, and is expected to continue to grow as the #1 in the QTC market.
Shining Moment
Recently, the Intelligent Cloud was unveiled as a new addition to these capabilities: essentially, using machine-learning and Artificial Intelligence, salespeople are given behavioral direction to match their quotes, pricing, configuration and overall deals to those of the company's true sales rock stars, resulting in larger, faster, and more easily approved deals.