1spatial Share Discussion Threads

[yump] 08/1/2013 13:25

412069
That's a good read.

I'm trying to find out how dependent each application of big data is on geospatial big data.

That could give some indication of where SPA might go with acquisitions.

atm it seems there might be 2 options:

1. Look for companies that broaden and integrate with the geospatial services SPA offer, so that they can offer a wider range of services.

2. If there are not many established geospatial big data specialists, mop them up to produce one heavyweight. Particularly if other big data service providers and businesses cannot do without geospatial big data for their different offerings.

Because of the shortage of big data analysts, you'd also expect that for some time, margins should be pretty nice. They're not easy to clone.

[412069] 08/1/2013 10:05

Anyone found any other listed Big Data companys they could share with me.
Pity these boys below are private.

There is no doubt that 2012 was a big year for big data. A Google search or a cursory glance at the Twitter hashtag of #bigdata underscores how pervasive it has become; it is digital's DNA and it matters a great deal.

According to Gartner Research, this is only the beginning. It reports that it drove $96 billion of global IT spending in 2012, a figure that will rise to £74 billion in 2013, up to an extraordinary $232 billion by 2016.

The definition of big data is a wide one. It is not just the closed data possessed by corporations and governments, it is the information that is openly buzzed across social media channels, how that social media is analysed... it exists everywhere.

It may also change the way cities interact with their communities and it is likely to transform the manner of business so radically that today's IT spend models will need to be rethought or they will be retired.

Earlier this year I was at the Open-Data Cities conference held in Brighton and organised by entrepreneur Greg Hadfield, one of the first Fleet Street journalists to cross over to the internet and now one of open-data's biggest supporters.

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Hadfield understands big data and is passionate about bringing together everybody in ensuring this data is available to everybody. At the excellent conference, speakers from the public sector, the private sector and the 'future sector' laid out alternative visions.

Their ideas were perhaps best defined by Bill Thompson of the BBC when he compared open-data cities building to the construction of Venice. "At some stage we will build glorious palaces but at the moment we are just hammering logs into the swamp," he said.

While it is easy to see big data as being similar to a new Gold Rush, an Oil Stampede and an almost infinite capacity for change, it is sometimes better to look for present-day companies that are engendering change now, and not sometime in the ill-defined future.

One such company is London-based telephony analytics provider IOVOX that has built a voice platform that gives real-time visibility into all aspects of telephone traffic. The start-up is using data to turn a traditional voice business into one that can scale up as a big data concern.

It works with companies such as News International, BT in the UK and Yellow Pages across Europe to better track the ROI for converting different types of advertising to telephone sales. The company has offices in the UK, France and Australia and this quarter secured an undisclosed funding sum from Octopus Investments.

"Data is one of the most undervalued assets of the modern business environment. The world is overflowing with information, but one common problem pervades and that is the ability to syphon out the useful data from the noise," said Ryan Gallagher, CEO and Founder of IOVOX.

The company, for example, works with News International to create a dedicated telephone number to insert into traditional print advertising and to give away free advertising space to clients who, in return, pay a commission on each call generated.

Earlier this month it also launched its 'voice as a service' platform that allows entrepreneurs and small companies to create voice applications, tools and offline advertising. More impressively, IOVOX will be also using the Octopus investment to create its own telephone exchanges.

"The fact that a mobile carrier has no useful, unified tool for usage on data, calls, location and financial details to work out who I am and what I want as a customer is a huge opportunity wasted, but we are not going to let it slip through our fingers," concludes IOVOX's Gallagher.

It is certainly true that traditional telephony has never utilised the huge amount of data that goes through it networks and IOVOX's take is an interesting one at a time when big data is transforming traditional companies.

Once upon a time, there was another company that finally harnessed data and the power of the internet. They were called Google and nobody really predicted at the time what the company would become. IOVOX may well be one worth watching.

[412069] 07/1/2013 20:25

Sorry I'm on my iPhone cant post a lot.....Yum , the numbers and good ones at that will come in the end, work work and more work = money profit ect, the contract figures will come out eventually and I hope they win another ten before we find out. This could snowball with other country's jumping in for what spa can offer.

[412069] 07/1/2013 20:16

Evening all, i can't believe we are still bobbing around the 4.5p mark. The last few contracts are with government departments who at the end of the day have more to spend ie it's not there money to spends than say Unilever or Tescos who would I expect to screw un down to the last penny. You have to ask SPA must have something special here.

[yump] 07/1/2013 15:19

Just looking through last 4 years of companies house reports, but its a bit tricky.

It appears that the business that's of interest hasn't really had a settled period in which to deliver growth. That may be simply because of economic uncertainty, big data market developments added to changing ownerships of its parent companies.

What isn't exactly clear yet, is whether the business is now properly in the hands of people who are more intested in growing a business than growing corporate dealings with other people's money.

The prospectus from Avisen mentioned the objective of growing size, so that more investors could be attracted and also so that the business had more financial clout and security, which of course would be required to land larger contracts.

That makes sense. I just hope I don't see an unrelated acquisition appearing.

[412069] 07/1/2013 15:02

I think we could finish a touch higher here lads.

[ged5] 07/1/2013 14:54

More good news today but alas still no numbers.
Chart beginning to look good.
Looks like there's a big buy in the system. Offer 4.95p Bid 4.625p. A few sells being absorbed.

[yump] 07/1/2013 11:44

I can't find any.

Been trying to find the results for 1Spatial when it was on its own, to see how revenue and costs grew from startup. May have to get a Companies House report.

[leyton2] 07/1/2013 11:30

Any broker numbers around?

[yump] 07/1/2013 11:13

Been looking over figures from last half and 1Spatial before t/over, but its not easy to get a grip on what sort of profits are likely because of exceptionals.

Think it will take the next results to see how costs move in relation to revenue increases.

However if you take just the 1Spatial business with 5mln revenue in first half, it seems very likely that revenue is going to show a biggish jump given the last 3 contracts have all happened recently.

Obviously the point to look forward to is when the ebitda figures aren't bashed by exceptionals, so 'clean' pbt arrives. But the ebitda figures look promising, given that 10mln (simple double first half) from the 1Spatial business would give 1.4mln ebitda.

For 2013, knock out 0.7mln of overheads, plus no losses from the sold AV Netherlands business and add in a revenue jump.

Quite how promising will depend imo on what happens to cost of sales and admin. costs when revenues increase. I've tried to get a handle on that, but not getting very far.

[here and there] 07/1/2013 08:12

very good news, another bottom line affecting contract.

[412069] 07/1/2013 08:08

No stock about for any large buys lads. should be fun this year here.

[yump] 07/1/2013 07:59

Be interesting to see what share price does I was hoping for a drift back, given that there are probably still shares being offloaded by old Avisen shareholders. Could easily get a markup, but no buying with such a lightly traded share.

[argy2] 07/1/2013 07:50

You shouldn't have any trouble buying.

[yump] 07/1/2013 07:45

I was planning to buy a few more having got some in Autumn, but the share price could escape if they keep getting contracts at this rate. Perhaps its under the radar enough for the share price not to go bonkers.

[iroquoi] 07/1/2013 07:39

Another win and "positive impact on results". Story looking good here and big high profile events coming in brazil....

[412069] 06/1/2013 14:21

Thanks for all the info Yump. If SPA is good enough for an American Gov Dept then it's good enough for everyone.

[yump] 06/1/2013 12:46

Just 'dotting' this for the weekend before the mineral stocks takeover tommorrow and crowd out the bb, in case there's any pi's sitting at home who have never heard of it.

I know it takes me ages finding small companies trawling through all the reccommendations for discovering gold type stocks.

DYOR of course. Its actually very interesting even if you're not investing.
(If you're a bit geeky I guess) ;-)

[yump] 05/1/2013 13:08

Its also apparent that there is a dire skills shortage in this area, so an investment in a specialist IT analytics training business could be a good move. Not sure if any are floated though.

Perhaps with SPA's experience, the acquisition of a small IT training business is a possibility, that can then specialise in the area.

[yump] 05/1/2013 12:59

Thought this was useful. It shows Geospatial as reaching a plateau in 5-10 years, which is later than many other big data analytics. That gives plenty of scope for long term share gain, if the business really gets going.

Not forgetting, this business already exists, its not some blue sky tech.



Looks like the main area for disillusionment is social media, which is not surprising, as marketing folk are desperate to find the next great idea for profitable targeting, which naturally leads to hype, a scramble to implement and then often mediocre results when return on investment is finally assessed.

The more sober area of government, utilities etc. using geospatial big data seems a bit more grounded to me, as the motive is more to do with organisation, control, supply etc. than directly with profit motive.

[yump] 04/1/2013 18:25

My main concern, having read through the thread and that of Avisen, is whether the management are up to the job of growing the business.

The 1Spatial business clearly was run well before t/over and there is a logic behind the need for access to greater funds and the contact base that Avisen previously would have developed.

Maybe the Avisen management just struggled with a business that had no great USP, no obvious area to grow in and hit by recession.

They've certainly got something to get their teeth into now.

It appears from what I can see that 2012 was the year that a significant number of large companies and organisations started pilot trials with big data.

However, I haven't been able to track down other big data specialists to see who is providing those trials.

[yump] 04/1/2013 11:47

Not sure there'll be a flood of investors atm, as that needs some trading volume, even if it turns out to be the next big thing.

I'm not at all sure that TW profit figure will come to pass, giving a low p/e around 10. I reckon it might be on a p/e around 15-20 when year end results come in. That's good value if its about to move into sustainable growth.

Re: acquisitions, I'm hoping they are on the lookout for companies about to grow, who need to be part of a larger business and therefore won't cost over the odds.

It appears that they bought good profits from 1Spatial, quite cheaply anyway.

[412069] 04/1/2013 11:02

Cheers Yump. Hargreave Hales done there research here and have loads of shares.