Technology Round-Up – September 8, 2014

Posted by Ardent Partners Analyst Team on September 8th, 2014
Stored in Articles, Procure-to-Pay, Solution Providers, Technology

Basware Announces Mastercard Partnership, Reaches 80 Million Transactions Per Year

Basware, the world’s largest e-invoicing network, has joined forces with MasterCard, one of the world’s largest payment networks, to create Basware Pay, a solution that connects buyers and sellers together on one payment network. The solution leverages the Basware Commerce Network as well as MasterCard’s Virtual Account Numbers to deliver a secure, fast, and virtual payment solution for buyers and suppliers, alike. Basware Pay currently lacks a supply chain finance element, but as Hany Fam, President of MasterCard Enterprise Partnerships said, “We are not bank specific; we have built the interface to Basware so any bank or other players could plug into the network and be able to fund, underwrite or factor transactions down to the individual transaction.” The announcement from Basware and MasterCard comes at the same time that the Basware Commerce Network has exceeded 80 million annual transactions either sent or received, solidifying it as the world’s largest e-invoicing and procure-to-pay (P2P) network.

Hubwoo Announces Earnings for 1H 2014

Hubwoo, a leading provider of spend management and business process collaboration solutions, recently announced its financial earnings for the first half of 2014. Greg Mark, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Hubwoo, announced that the company’s EBIT (Earnings before Interest and Taxes) rose 26%. Hubwoo’s 34% increase in operating cashflow contributed to its ability to reduce its financial debt from 2.1 million Euros at the end of 2013 to 1.2 million Euros at the end of the first half of 2014. Mark went on to say that “Net new sales remains our primary focus in 2014 as we work to reverse this recent trend in revenue decline. Additionally, investment remains strong in our own intellectual property, especially around the automation of Source-to-Settle business processes.” In February, Hubwoo announced that it was partnering with GEP to create a joint Source-to-Pay solution that would leverage cloud, mobile, and touch-screen technologies.

Kofax Purchases eSignature firm

Kofax (NASDAQ: KFX, LSE: KFX) announced September 2 that they acquired Softpro GmbH, a German company that provides electronic signature software and services, including fraud detection and signature verification. Kofax acquired Softpro, which was a private company, for a reported $34.7 million. Kofax will keep company founder Heinz Reschke on as CEO and principal shareholder Peter Reschke, the head of sales, will also stay with the company. The acquisition complements Kofax’s current smart process application offerings, adding a new dimension in electronic signature capabilities.

PointGuard Ventures Leads New Financing Round for Lavante

In August, PointGuard Ventures, along with SAP Ventures and ATA Ventures, announced that it is investing $3.5 million in Lavante, Inc., a leading supplier information management and profit recovery solutions provider based in San Jose, California. Joe Flynn, Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Lavante, said that “We are very excited to have PointGuard Ventures join our group of Investors. The additional funding will enable us to continue building great products and attract great customers.”

PointGuard’s funding will be a shot in the arm for Lavante, which can use the capital to invest in new products that the company has been developing. Such products and enhancements include its on-demand supplier management tools, including supplier information management, as well as expanding the Lavante Supplier Network. This additional financing will also allow Lavante to continue its momentum in the market and acquire additional customers, which their investors have clearly banked on. As Krish Panu, Managing Director of PointGuard Ventures put it, “Lavante has created a very powerful solution for efficient management of any company’s suppliers with significant cost and time saving benefits to all parties.”

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