Endace Share Discussion Threads

[edwardt] 06/3/2012 17:08

- so what you are saying, it is cheaper and superior than Riverbed's product suite?

[knackers] 06/3/2012 14:42

This software replaces Cace Pilot, Ed. That was more or less the standard analytics fit for probe deployments. Given the EndaceVision entry price point I can see many clients seamlessly moving from one to the other. Certainly sticks finger in Riverbed's eye ;o)

[edwardt] 06/3/2012 08:54

all good but obviously some news of contract wins would make it the real deal!

[knackers] 06/3/2012 08:29

Hugely significant RNS this morning. The Endace solution has really come of age with the packet indexing, application awareness and visualization tools provided by EndaceVision. Great stuff. Am sure there'll be plenty more exciting news to come...

[knackers] 05/3/2012 11:58

No stock about to meet those early buys this AM...
Promising activity even though small fry trades.

[broadwood] 05/3/2012 07:22

Hopefully this should be good for a few pence.

MIDAS: Chemicals used for new oil and gas drilling techniques to boost profits 30% at Elementis
By Simon Watkins

Last updated at 11:57 PM on 3rd March 2012

Elementis will never be a household name.

The chemicals group makes highly specialised products used in a bewildering range of sectors, from oil drilling to industrial paints to cosmetics, and it does so very profitably.

The latest results from the company, which because of its international scope issues its figures in US dollars, showed sales up seven per cent on the previous year at £444million.

Niche market: The chemicals group makes highly specialised products used in a bewildering range of sectors, from oil drilling to industrial paints to cosmetics, and it does so very profitably
Operating profits were up 30 per cent at $137million and profit margins were improved as a result of raising prices and cutting costs, particularly energy bills.

The group's earnings per share were 27.2 cents (17p) and the shares stand at 165p, just under ten times these earnings.

Elementis has gained from improved performance across both of its main divisions. The biggest of these is specialty products, which accounts for about 58 per cent of group sales.

It produces additives that have an effect on the way liquids behave, such how well they flow, whether they spatter or whether they form a level surface. These have a huge range of applications, paint being the most obvious.

The group also owns the world's only hectorite mine, in California. Hectorite is a white clay that is used in many of these specialty products.

These are particularly useful to the cosmetics industry, where the company helps manufacturers perfect the look and feel of their products and how they can be stored.

Elementis's own descriptions for what its products can do for cosmetics include the phrase 'thermostable viscosity control'. More prosaically, it says they help give a 'silky skin feel'.

A world away from cosmetics, the company's chemicals are also used in the oil and gas industry, where they form part of the fluid used to cool and seal drills in bore holes. Elementis has benefited from rapid growth in new types of drilling, most notably for natural gas deposits in shale beds.

These unconventional drilling methods helped to boost sales to the oil industry by 34 per cent last year and helped the division's profits rise by 20 per cent in dollar terms.

Crucially, this is likely to be a continuing source of strong sales growth for the group.

The company's other main division makes chromium-based chemicals that are used in a wide variety of applications, from making alloys to tanning leather and preserving timber.

The division accounts for 37 per cent of group turnover and its profits were up 57 per cent last year, largely resulting from improved cost controls and efficiencies.

The third and smallest divisions, which accounts for less than four per cent of operating profit, makes surfactants, which are additives that assist in the mixing or blending of liquids. Underlying profits in this division were up strongly last year, though they remain a small part of the group total.

On top of its strong performance at an operational level, Elementis also enjoyed a one-off gain of £22million last year after the European Commission backed down on a claim that the company had engaged in price-fixing and repaid a fine.

The upshot of this is that the group had almost £17million in the bank at the end of 2011.

Chief executive David Dutro told shareholders last week the company would look for 'bolt-on acquisitions'.

Midas verdict: Elementis has enjoyed an excellent 2011, demonstrating strong growth in sales but even stronger growth in profits. The outlook is positive, particularly if it can continue the growth seen in its sales to the oil and gas sector as it expands into more unconventional methods of drilling.

At the same time, management has shown its ability to raise profit margins. The cash pile may provide opportunities for growth through acquisition, but failing that the group could decide to return some of the cash to shareholders.

At 1761⁄4p a share, the group is conservatively valued against current earnings. Buy.

[knackers] 02/3/2012 12:58

"We are losing money, we are losing data, we are losing ideas," he added. "Together we must find a way to stop the bleeding."

[knackers] 01/3/2012 18:29

Application and network performance monitoring. Where [I think] 'some' of the future may be for Endace.

[knackers] 29/2/2012 19:35

So many market forces now working in Endace's favour...notwithstanding the escalating threat landscape here's one more: Bandwidth!

[knackers] 29/2/2012 19:15

Hmmm I wouldn't disagree, but then PIs are pretty thin on the ground here ;o)

More interested in the story they're crafting, and when they're going to get stuck into the US market. They've got to move through their DM (direct mktg) gears - am less concerned about IR. They've got to get 'out there' but the US is one heck of a mkt to break into and a carefully laid plan is an obvious pre-req...as will be (IMHO) the need to recruit "friends" to give them a leg-up. If Endace had 100 field operatives in the US (they currently have about 30) I'm not sure that would be enough to open the top end of the enterprise mkt - which is where now focusing efforts with Vision.

aka "Lower your sights...but raise your game" (ABC)

[edwardt] 29/2/2012 17:15

yeah but you have to have amazing faith to hold given the news blackout. I will hold but admit they could do with a better investor relations team!

[knackers] 29/2/2012 16:56

Blackrock I think I'm right in saying have a smattering of funds/bits and pieces that are involved in EDA so doubt they'll be completely out any time soon. Various motivations for shifting position of coure (mandates, rules, personalities etc), but obviously a good sign that they're able to bail a meaningful chunk at such prices - certainly with min downward pressure.

Getting warm now, and will be slap bang in the middle of the usual end of year/contract rush. No great surprise at the silence, am sure they've got fingers in plenty of pies just now.

[edwardt] 28/2/2012 18:03

won't be long before blackrock have sold their position if this is them again!

[knackers] 28/2/2012 11:45

Big t/o in stock this morning (340k)

[knackers] 26/2/2012 17:14

I gather Gartner research director Jonah Kowall @jkowall (Twitter handle) is currently reviewing the NPM vendor landscape, I'd be very interested by his take on Endace and indeed EndaceVision, hopefully they're included in his analysis. Will report back anything I hear...

[knackers] 25/2/2012 14:54

Slightly modified branding for EndaceVision by the looks. Sort of old fashioned B&W TV screen static background. Very cool and steely:

[knackers] 25/2/2012 14:38

I gather CME Group suffered a mini 'flash crash' event - a tech 'glitch' they called it (beautiful) recently on their falgship ultra fast electronic oil trading platform. If not an Endace customer I bet they wish they were!

You've simply GOT to capture and record everything for playback/forensics to reduce your MTTR by any order of magnitude. If your business success is reliant on the performance and resilience of your network and the apps that run on it, why wouldn't you want/need Endace - upfront!? I can see a compliance agenda worth driving here ;o)

[knackers] 23/2/2012 17:32

The Betfair threat detection and analysis solution product set now includes Endace, Qualys, Tripwire, Splunk, Deepsight, Messagelabs.

[knackers] 23/2/2012 12:28

Copy from AppStore below. We're clearly v close to an announcement, just wonder if there's an outstanding launch dependency. Sounds impressive and a pretty major enhancement to the service offering - a new kind of mobile network analysis tool..?

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

- See everything with EndaceVision™
- Learn about EndaceVision™

Can you see what's really happening on your network?

Large organizations today have very little visibility into what's really happening on theirs. EndaceVision is a new kind of network visibility solution that shows you exactly what's going on:

Download the EndaceVision mobile app by selecting the relevant link below and view the images through the mobile app to see what's really happening...

[knackers] 22/2/2012 18:11

Good find Mike, and to see Endace getting a wee mentioned ahead of the usual suspects (NetScout/Narus etc)!

Really interesting here are these new Govt powers to insist that ISP/Telcos install this equipment, but am fairly sure that's been the case in the US for sometime. Clearly there's alot of concern about the anonymity the web provides folk with unscrupulous agendas...to say the least. Confidence in the web IMO will only come through transparency - and responsible management of such systems (not dis-similar to CCTV monitoring/security cameras)...

[mikepompeyfan] 22/2/2012 16:52

Over the past few days, I've posted on some of the implications of Bill C-30, including the mandatory disclosure of subscriber information, the "voluntary" warrantless disclosure of e-mails and web surfing habits, and the stunning lack of detail on a wide range of issues including costs and surveillance capabilities.

While the bill includes some detail on surveillance capability requirements, perhaps the most dangerous provision is Section 14, which gives the government a stunning array of powers:

to order an Internet Service Provider (ISP) or telecom provider to install surveillance capabilities "in a manner and within a time" specified by the government to order an ISP or telecom provider to install additional equipment to allow for more simultaneous interceptions than is otherwise specified in the law (the government sets a maximum and then can simply ignore its own guidelines)
to order an ISP or telecom provider to comply with additional confidentiality requirements not otherwise specified in the law
to order an ISP or telecom provider to meet additional operational requirements not otherwise specified in the law
Given these powers, Section 14 essentially gives the government the power to override the limits and guidelines it establishes in the bill (it must pay the provider an amount the government decides is reasonable for doing so). If that wasn't enough, Section 14(4) goes even further. It provides the Minister may provide the telecommunications service provider with any equipment or other thing that the Minister considers the service provider needs to comply with an order made under this section.

What does this mean? In short, it gives the government the power to decide what specific surveillance equipment must be installed on private ISP and telecom networks by allowing it to simply take over the ISP or telecom network and install its own equipment. This is no small thing: it literally means that law enforcement has the power to ultimately determine not only surveillance capabilities but the surveillance equipment itself.

As Privacy International revealed late last year, there is a massive global surveillance industry that specializes in selling invasive surveillance technologies directly to governments and law enforcement.

Companies like Gamma Group offer "turnkey lawful interception projects," that includes SMS interception, speech identifying tools, and data retention, while Innova offers "solutions for the interception of any kind of protocols and IP-based communication, such as web browsing, e-mail and web-mails, social networks, peer to peer communication, chat and videochat."

Endace offers the "power to see all for Government" and Hacking Team provides a suite of tools for governmental interception. Last year, Wikileaks published a powerpoint presentation from Glimmerglass that shows how law enforcement can link email addresses, online chat, and social media activity to generate detailed profiles of individuals (pages 10-12).

There are dozens of these companies operating around the world, servicing steady demand from the Middle East and Asia. If Bill C-30 becomes law, the Canadian government will be positioned to require private ISPs to install these kinds of technologies directly within their networks.


Follow Michael Geist on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mgeist

[knackers] 22/2/2012 13:28

Interesting on APM from last Sept.

"Gartner estimates that, since September 2010, approximately 70% of the new deployments of end-user experience-monitoring capabilities among Global 2000 enterprises have been built on appliances (both real and virtual) that CAPTURE PACKETS, typically from switched port analyser (SPAN) ports, and analyse their HTTP content for data regarding availability, keyboard-to-eyeball response time and user-defined transaction completion rates.

Ease of implementation and maintenance, combined with the fact that such appliances capture real (as opposed to proxy) end-user experience, have been the main factors driving the popularity of this approach..."

[knackers] 20/2/2012 15:27

New product marketing and product management teams being recruited in Silicon Valley

EndaceVision related? Clear ambitions for cranking the handle in the under exploited US market this next FY.

[knackers] 20/2/2012 10:29

New Inst investors onboard... I see BlackRock Small Cos have sold a hefty chunk of their holding - down another 270k - booking a handsome profit in the process.

[knackers] 20/2/2012 08:09

Imagine there'd still be an enterprise licence for this system/software Mike ;o) Baffling but looks to me to be a clever way of getting this s/w out to more end users in the field. Quite a few enterprise software vendors are now 'powering up' their tech in this way so not unusual for the iPad/iPhone App to be gratis; also as it's an indiv purchase be difficult to productise, and you don't want the barrier to take-up. Intriguing indeed!

Re EndaceVision: let's keep our eyes peeled

I see the domain endacevision.com has been transferred to endace.com and am increasingly seeing this snapshot company profile for forthcoming events and the like:

Endace provides organizations with trusted, real-time visibility into their critical networks. Our solutions are globally deployed by government agencies, investment banks and Fortune 500 companies to protect reputations and unlock investment value in network infrastructure. EndaceVision is used to help identify and resolve a wide range of service impacting network and security related issues on some of the fastest and most complex networks in existence today.