Oil sector fuels growth for software company

This South East England and Houston, Texas, based software company had established a sound foundation after a successful management buy out four years ago. With over 100 installations worldwide and half of the Fortune Top 20 on their client list, business should have been good; but the company always seemed to struggle to match the previous years revenue and profit, and moving the business forward just wasn't happening.

What we did

An initial 2-day offsite with the board established that the company was financially sound, with an excellent customer base and a reputation for delivering a good product and service. But it lacked a clear strategy, didn't know how to grow, and lacked marketing and sales capability. There was however a clear desire to ‘go for growth' and a challenging target of 40% growth per annum over the next 3 years was adopted.

Working with the teams in the UK and Houston we established an achievable growth strategy and brought a new focus and professionalism to the marketing and sales functions. Improved sales management and forecasting tools were implemented and a more sales orientated culture established.

In parallel we worked with the board to achieve significant improvements in four different areas, marketing, sales effectiveness, operational profitability and board effectiveness. The support from Azure was a blend of advice, mentoring, and direct, hands-on responsibility for specific projects.

Achievements to date

In the first full financial year after establishing the new regime the company will grow its revenue by around 50% and profitability will grow by about 200%. A strategy that will deliver the targeted 40% growth per annum over the next 3 years is in place and working.

According to the Managing Director - "Azure really gave us three things - expertise in marketing and sales, a vision and clarity of purpose that we didn't have before, and a discipline that made us focus on our strategic objectives as well as the day-to-day business. This has had a major impact on the success of the company and they continue to provide pro-active advice, support and mentoring to support our ambitious growth plans"

Call 0207 100 1233 or contact paul.chapman@azurepartners.co.uk