Pci-pal Share Discussion Threads

[zipstuck] 27/6/2024 07:33

Takeover candidate now.

[hastings] 27/6/2024 07:25

Been on my watch list and currently in the process of firming up a call with management. The news this morning would appear to pave the way for a clear runway!

[adamb1978] 27/6/2024 07:19

That's good news!I wasn't that bothered about the US given the UK victory but nice to have it sorted

[this_is_me] 27/6/2024 07:16

It looks like we have thrown them a few crumbs to put an end to the problem, probably to do with costs.

[simon gordon] 27/6/2024 07:05

PCIP - 27/6/24:

Settlement of UK and US Patent Litigation

PCI-PAL PLC (AIM: PCIP), the global cloud provider of secure payment solutions for business communications, is pleased to announce that it has reached a confidential settlement with its competitor, Sycurio. The settlement resolves the patent litigation it has been involved in since September 2021 and brings an end to all legal proceedings, which includes both the UK and US.

The resolution follows PCI Pal's resounding victory in the High Court of England & Wales, and subsequent decision by the Court of Appeal, finding that Sycurio's UK patent is invalid and not infringed by PCI Pal.

Commenting on the news, James Barham, Chief Executive Officer of PCI Pal, said:

"For over two and a half years the business has been battling the unwelcome distraction of this patent litigation brought by a competitor. Following our resounding victory in the UK, it's excellent news that we have now fully resolved the remaining legal proceedings.

"During the last three years we have continued to execute against our core strategy, to lead the market in cloud services and grow the strongest global partner eco-system in our space. This continued progress is testament to both our team, who have showed exceptional commitment, and also our investors who have supported us throughout.

"Today the Company is in a strong position with an expanding customer and partner base, innovative and proven IP, good cash reserves, and a profitable growth strategy. This will allow us to continue the momentum in the business and capitalise on the long term opportunities ahead of us. It is an exciting time for PCI Pal."

[simon gordon] 26/6/2024 15:03

Log,

Yes!

[loglorry1] 26/6/2024 14:53

I've just paid a tax bill with HMRC for my company and I used a voice recognition IVR system which gave me the option of voice or keypad and it all worked rather well.

Did I use PCIP tech?

[simon gordon] 26/6/2024 14:46

Log,

As you can see with the DWP tender PCIP handles the credit card payment in IVR:



There are 9,000 agents who take live human to human payments.

[loglorry1] 26/6/2024 14:38

Daft question Simon but when I ring up HRMC (both business and personal accounts) I get a very advanced voice recognition IVR system that seems to do everything including taking payments. I assume this is not PCIP in the background so what are they spending the £1m/pa on?

[adamb1978] 26/6/2024 14:21

Yes, annecdotally the US seems to be going well given the capital raising to hire more bodies there and the marketing and product hires out there. I'm anticipating good news in the upcoming announcement.

[simon gordon] 26/6/2024 13:10

Adam,

PCIP has got some giant partners in America.

If HMRC is worth £1m per annum and DWP £2m in the UK, what are the equivalent Federal Agencies worth?

Landing some of them would be game-changing and it's good to see that PCIP is hooked into what looks to be the premier outfit to reach such customers.

[adamb1978] 26/6/2024 13:05

Thanks for posting Simon. Impressed how well you follow sector news!

[simon gordon] 26/6/2024 12:46

IGP up 10% this morning on news of their partnership with Carahsoft.

Carahsoft did $13bn in revenue in 2022.

They are a gateway to the public sector in America.

"Intercede, the leading cybersecurity software company specialising in digital identities, today announces a partnership with Carahsoft Technology Corp to Make Digital Identity Cybersecurity Solutions available to the Public Sector in the US.

Under the agreement, Carahsoft will serve as Intercede's Master Government Aggregator®, making Intercede's products available to the Public Sector through Carahsoft's reseller partners and NASA Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) V, Information Technology Enterprise Solutions - Software 2 (ITES-SW2) and OMNIA Partners contracts.

Through this partnership, Intercede will provide its MyID Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and MyID Password Security Management (PSM) solutions to the Public Sector. "

-

Maybe one day PCIP will land some big public sector contracts through Carahsoft:

PCI Complaint and Secure Payment Solutions for the Public Sector

PCI Pal provides government agencies and public sector bodies with flexible, secure payment solutions that help ensure PCI compliance and deliver a compelling customer experience across any business communication channel.



=====

Carahsoft - 17/823:

Carahsoft Makes the 2023 Inc. 5000 List for the 16th Consecutive Year

Company Ranks Among America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies

RESTON, Va. — August 17, 2023 —Carahsoft Technology Corp., The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider®, today announced that it has been named to Inc. magazine’s annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. Carahsoft ranked #4,731, marking the company’s 16th year appearing on the list. The highly-respected ranking provides a data-driven look at the most successful companies within the economy’s most dynamic segment—its independent, entrepreneurial businesses.

“Carahsoft’s longevity in the Government IT industry has been made possible through the combined efforts of our resellers, vendor partners and team members,” said Craig P. Abod, Carahsoft President. “Our history of ranking on the Inc. 5000 list reflects our innovative collaboration and extraordinary persistence to utilize our capabilities, scale and network in support of our customers in the Public Sector. We are committed to continuing our proven track record of efficiency and reliability.”

“Running a business has only gotten harder since the end of the pandemic,” said Scott Omelianuk, Editor-In-Chief at Inc. “To make the Inc. 5000—with the fast growth it requires to be listed—is truly an accomplishment. Inc. is thrilled to honor the companies that are building our future.”

Companies featured on the 2023 Inc. 5000 list are ranked according to percentage revenue growth from 2019 to 2022. During this period, Carahsoft booked almost $13 billion in revenue in 2022 and achieved a three-year growth rate of 84 percent.

For complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, location and other criteria, go to www.inc.com/inc5000. The top 500 companies will be featured in the September issue of Inc. magazine, available on newsstands beginning Tuesday, August 23.

About Carahsoft

Carahsoft Technology Corp. is The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider, supporting Public Sector organizations across Federal, State and Local Government agencies and Education and Healthcare markets. As the Master Government Aggregator® for our vendor partners, we deliver solutions for Cybersecurity, MultiCloud, DevSecOps, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Open Source, Customer Experience and more. Working with resellers, systems integrators and consultants, our sales and marketing teams provide industry leading IT products, services and training through hundreds of contract vehicles.

[simon gordon] 24/6/2024 18:45

Hey Adam,

TU should be in July

The quicker it appears the more bullish the news.

Could be news soon on the new CFO.

DWP is the biggie, contract due to start in September.

[adamb1978] 24/6/2024 12:52

Thanks. Thats good. Must be due a TU soon

[simon gordon] 24/6/2024 12:41

PCIP one of the co-sponsors of this big Genesys shindig in London last week. Genesys certainly spared no expense:

Xperience UKI 2024

Immerse yourself in Xperience UKI 2024 with a snapshot of what we had in store from London at The Brewery.

[simon gordon] 19/6/2024 15:46

Techzine - 13/6/24:

Zoom is more than a video conferencing tool and is eager to show that to the world

...Zoom likes to leave selling its services to channel and implementation partners. These include service providers, distributors, resellers, hardware suppliers, telcos, and local vendors.

According to the company, more than half of the top 100 deals in fiscal year 2024 (which ran from February 2023 to January 2024) involved such partners. That same fiscal year, the company accredited some 4,000 new partners in the EMEA region, and 8,000 worldwide through its Zoom Up partner program.

The company heavily relies on this extensive partner network for local markets and specific business cases. “A while back, Zoom had two markets—the U.S. home market and the rest of the world,” said EMEA head Frederik Maris. “Now, partners have a bigger voice. They know their local market well and often engage directly with our regional team leads.”...

...In addition to Workplace, Zoom offers tools for Business Services, including Workforce Engagement for tracking and managing customer service departments, tools for audience communication before, during and after events and Contact Center for CX management. Zoom has particularly high hopes for the latter...

...With all these promising solutions under its belt, the task for Zoom is now to maintain, or preferably increase, its growth. Zoom says it has 3,880 customers who generated more than 100,000 dollars in revenue over the past 12 months and 270 customers who generated more than a million dollars during that same period. Contact Center, important to Zoom, saw 129 percent customer growth last year...

[simon gordon] 19/6/2024 13:54

Good little film on the state of the UK stock market and what can be done to re-energise it:

FT - 19/6/24:

Britain's market reboot focuses on start-ups and pensions | FT Film

A declining stock market and restrictive pension system rules have made the UK a less attractive place for new businesses to find the funding they need. The FT looks at what is being done to improve the City's competitiveness as an international capital market.

[simon gordon] 18/6/2024 07:58

The conclusion of the Canalys report on the SaaS partnership eco-system underscores how much PCIP are on this with a CEO utterly focused on partners and having a workforce who are fully aligned with this strategy:

SaaS vendors must invest in diverse ecosystems to reach efficient growth

For scalable and efficient growth, SaaS platforms must diversify their partner networks and invest in ecosystems of hyper-specialized partners. This shift necessitates a company-wide commitment and strategic investments in infrastructure, automation, and partnerships that amplify impact. It requires surrounding the customer with trusted experts, partners, and procurement platforms. And it requires strong executive support with a mindset shift in how SaaS products are marketed, bought, and serviced.

As the SaaS cloud application market continues to grow past the US$300 billion mark next year, both the competitive importance and overall revenue contribution of partners are poised to become even more significant. With technology advancing at an unprecedented rate, vendors must collaborate with a broad array of partners who can help customers navigate and leverage these rapid changes. The era of isolated growth strategies is transitioning to an era of ecosystem-driven expansion, and vendors that embrace the shift will lead the future of SaaS.

[simon gordon] 16/6/2024 11:03

Steve Kiernan - 15/6/24:

Top SaaS companies are announcing partner-led growth strategies.

Here are just some of the trends and industry examples covered in major Canalys, “SaaS businesses are unlocking growth through diversified partner ecosystems”. The full report is available for download:



•Salesforce announced a focus on “partner-led sales” to drive margin expansion.

•Cisco unveiled the “Age of the Partner”.

•ServiceNow announced plans to add 250,000 new partners and significantly increase partner revenue in just one year (2024).

•Workday plans to double partner capacity by fiscal 2026.

One of the most significant trends in technology partnerships is growth in cloud marketplaces, with Canalys forecasting cloud marketplaces to exceed US$45 billion by 2025. SaaS companies have had significant business growth in marketplace sales.

•CrowdStrike exceeded US$1billion of software sales through AWS Marketplace in 2023.

•Nerdio boosted leads by more than 100% in Azure Marketplace.

•HubSpot App Marketplace has expanded quickly, now hosting over 1,000 apps.

•Workday announced a new AI Marketplace aimed at facilitating the adoption of AI and ML solutions by its customers.

SaaS vendors are also embracing reseller and distribution partners for their extended reach.

•Atlassian derived over 40% of revenue from channel partners’ sales efforts in 2023 and plans to put more investment in international resellers in regions that require local language support.

•Sprinklr doubled the number of reseller partners over the previous fiscal.

•Autodesk drove approximately 65% of indirect channel sales through its 1,500 distributors and resellers in fiscal 2023.

[simon gordon] 15/6/2024 20:49

Eckoh - 10/6/24:

Will AI replace contact centers? It’s a firm No – and here’s why

[simon gordon] 15/6/2024 11:09

This is part of the transcript from the Investor Meet Call from Feb' 24, it discusses operational gearing and the TAM and growth prospects:

CEO
William from Tim K there's a question there about which is really about operational gearing of the business and the costs to date tracking you know increasing in line with with revenues and asking about you know when's the timing of that going to change and you're going to move into more sort of profitability um I thought you might like to talk about the ratios we've been looking at William from a you know GNA perspective to revenue um yes so um

CFO
James and I have kind of an Unwritten rule um we've always said from the from day one that uh you know however fast the revenue is growing and the amount of Revenue we getting in we always want something to drop through to the bottom line to make sure that our shareholders reward and can see us heading back towards profitability cash generation uh and that's been shown in that eidr graph I showed earlier um moving on to these current times

So currently we're looking at uh we're trying to keep a ratio of around 2 to one um um it's quite hard to keep to that but you know so if revenue is growing at let's say 20% um James and I plan around keeping our cost base growing at 10% so 10 you know effectively 10% of the revenue will drop through to the bottom line and I think that's a particularly sort of valid um ratio for us at at the time of um at the current time of our investment and our Pro and our profile having said that it could be you the ratios that's that's the opening um Target it could be yeah 12 to 20% it all depends on the timings of new sales deployments and everything coming through and one good thing about this business we have high visibility of Revenue we can see it coming so we can control those costs especially bearing in mind that 75% of our cost base are people related.

CEO
I mean just to add to that by the way just on one of William's slides earlier you know our headcount has gone from fy21 71 people 103 in fy22 114 in FY 23 and 121 in FY 24 where we are now so you can see there was a real acceleration in headcount from you know 2020 through to 202 uh 20 23 so across that three-year period we really did invest you know adding 50 or 60 people and the vast majority of our cost bases people now a lot of that went into functions such as engineering and product um and now in terms of next year and the year after what are the things top of my list in terms of what we should be investing in uh for growth going forward it's not engineering and product really it's more the goto Market effort so it's it's more support for our partner ecosystem it's marketing product marketing um these areas but that doesn't mean anywhere near the kind of people investment that we've done over the last three years so that's going to continue to run at a that sort of slowed Pace that we're seeing from FY 23 to 24 so hopefully that helps sort of substantiate what what Williams just said.

CEO
I think the next one's for me William which is an addressable Market question um where is it uh what do you feel the marketplace for your services offers in terms of ultimate maximum turnover for your business I'm assuming there are only so many contact centers um in operation um yeah that's uh that's quite right so when we look at our addressable Market um if we look at the addressable market for our Focus areas today that would be um effectively the North America Europe and AZ although we're not really pushing hard into Mainland Europe it's mainly UK at the moment but if we if we took a look at that you've got about um I think there's about uh I'm looking at some data over here let's have a look uh about about four million agent positions something like that three three and a half four million agent positions across the those regions we predict that there's an addressable Market there of around 350 million pounds and the way that we get to that is we look at our average ARR per license that we can sell and we apply that to the amount of seats that are taking payments so there is data around the amount of agents that we think are taking payments so we think it's something like three and a half million agents across that um that addressable Market that are doing that now I think you have to incorporate into the 350 um you know revenues that we've already got that our competitors have got so you probably want to chop that by about another 100 million uh to give the kind of addressable Market that you're running at um so if you said 250 million as a perhaps a serviceable addressable Market is probably um an appropriate way to look at it um and then you know where do we think we can get get to.

I'm very focused on growth in this business you know we've got to profitability so we don't want to move back from that but we want to keep growing the business at you know 20 - 30% plus if we can do that then you can roll that forward over the next five years to see where we think we're going to be able to get to from you know 20 million um this year without me going into too many more specifics or setting any forecast for myself.

-----

ChatGPT version of the above with grammatical polishing, makes it easier to read:

CEO

William, there's a question from Tim K about the operational gearing of the business. He wants to know about the alignment of costs with revenues and when we can expect a shift towards increased profitability. I thought you might want to discuss the ratios we've been examining, particularly the GNA perspective relative to revenue.

CFO

James and I have an unwritten rule. Since day one, we've aimed to ensure that as our revenue grows, a portion of it contributes to the bottom line, rewarding our shareholders and moving us towards profitability and cash generation. This approach is reflected in the EIDR graph I showed earlier.

Currently, we're maintaining a ratio of approximately 2 to 1. For example, if our revenue grows by 20%, we aim to keep our cost base growth at 10%, ensuring that 10% of the revenue contributes to the bottom line. This ratio is particularly relevant given our current investment profile. However, these ratios can vary, potentially ranging from 12% to 20%, depending on the timing of new sales and deployments. One advantage of our business is the high visibility of revenue, allowing us to control costs effectively, especially considering that 75% of our cost base is related to personnel.

CEO

To add to what William said, as shown in one of William's slides earlier, our headcount has increased from 71 people in FY21 to 103 in FY22, 114 in FY23, and 121 in FY24. This significant growth in headcount, particularly from 2020 to 2023, reflects our investment in expanding our team by 50 to 60 people. Most of these additions were in engineering and product functions. Moving forward, our focus will shift towards market efforts, such as supporting our partner ecosystem and enhancing marketing and product marketing. This shift means we'll see slower personnel growth compared to the past three years, aligning with the slowed pace observed from FY23 to FY24. This should substantiate what William just mentioned.

CEO

I think the next question is for me, William, regarding our addressable market. The question asks about the ultimate maximum turnover for our business, given the limited number of contact centers in operation.

That's a great point. When we assess our addressable market, we focus on North America, Europe, and Australia/New Zealand, with a primary emphasis on the UK within Europe. Based on our data, there are approximately four million agent positions across these regions. We estimate an addressable market of around £350 million. This figure is derived by applying our average ARR per license to the number of agents processing payments. Our data suggests about three and a half million agents fall into this category.

However, we must consider the existing revenues captured by us and our competitors, so we might adjust this figure down by about £100 million, resulting in a serviceable addressable market of around £250 million.

Looking ahead, I am very focused on growth. Having achieved profitability, our goal is to continue expanding the business by 20-30% plus, annually. If we maintain this growth rate, we can project significant increases over the next five years, starting from £20 million this year, without setting specific forecasts at this point.

[adamb1978] 15/6/2024 10:38

Really depends on what you assume on opex Simon. Over the last 4 years, their opex has grown at roughly half the rate of turnover - last 4 years turnover cagr of 52% vs 27% for opex. I'd say that thats a fair assumption going forward, or perhaps opex growth might be closer to 60%/70% of turnover growth given more hires in the US?

I think your opex assumption above htough looks skinny.

re US listing, I was more thinking of a dual listing. TIG have done similarly, MXCT another one from a couple years ago. Might just drag the valuation up a bit