Published on the 31/07/2015 | Written by Donovan Jackson
From tech-led to sales-led, NZ software company takes on data integration giants…
Seeking growth for its business and data integration applications, Auckland-headquartered software company JAVLN is seeking to transition from a historically ‘technically-led’ to a sales-led business.
CEO Dale Smith said the company is good at what it does, but was less proficient at telling the market about it – but is now ready to take on the world’s top business application and data integration software providers.
Previously known as Javelin Software, JAVLN provides software applications for government, financial services, insurance and the logistics industries. It acquired InSoft around a year ago, a vendor which specialises in core insurance and loan management, and has rolled those products into its portfolio.
Personnel changes are afoot, too, said Smith, as techies are unlikely to change their nature overnight or even at all, and the company has appointed a business development manager. Smith himself joined as CEO a year ago and is driving the change the company seeks.
He said the company’s broad product offerings are designed for organisations which see value in bespoke software rather than ‘vanilla’ applications. “All our applications are written to address problems that exist in those industries [that JAVLN services]. Particularly in insurance, a lot of the technology being used today is old; it is hard to get information out of it, there is no customer centric view and there is no mobile story. That’s what our software addresses; it is mobile, cloud and customer centric.”
He drew attention to the company’s Data Integration application – essentially, middleware – and said it competes favourably with the likes of Oracle’s Fusion, IBM’s WebSphere and MuleSoft. “Data integration is a problem that never goes away. Our solution is powerful and delivered at a price point which can’t be matched by other vendors. And our technical people are right here in New Zealand, so clients can, and regularly do, speak with the people who actually write the code.”
Is name recognition an issue in winning business? “Yes, that’s why we’re stepping up [marketing efforts]. We get the job done and that, together with price point, is absolutely a part of the value proposition.”
Smith said JAVLN estimates its ANZ addressable market at US$550 million. “A significant portion of that is data integration. We don’t play at the bottom end of town, but target companies in the $20 million-plus turnover bracket.”
