Steelwedge Software Has the Right Technology at the Right Time

By Nicole Zaro Stahl, Hacienda Network Staff Writer

In challenging economic times, when "business as usual" is replaced by "doing more with less," companies that can help others improve operations find the marketplace very receptive to their expertise.

Hacienda tenant Steelwedge Software, a leading provider of SaaS (software-as-a-service) Sales and Operations Planning solutions, is a perfect example. Asked how the business is doing, CEO and founder Glen Margolis replies that after a slow start earlier this year, "we are having the best quarter in our history."

Margolis attributes the strong surge in growth to having the right technology at the right time. "Our software does something, sales and operations planning, or S&OP, that businesses really need, because it translates into bottom-line savings. We help large manufacturing companies, like HP, Juniper Networks, and Sara Lee, improve the efficiency of their operations by at least 25 percent. Our cloud-based solution is much more economical, more efficient, and gives them better visibility into the future."

Many of these gains stem from the streamlined SaaS delivery model, which dramatically reduces the need for hardware, programming, and maintenance which software-on-premises products require. Instead of customization, at Steelwedge the focus is on configuration, Margolis explains. "Customers don't have to make a capital investment or build up their IT support team. Instead, we have a hosting center in Fremont, with hundreds of servers, and we do all the back-end configuration. We can deploy our software in a fraction of the time required for traditional on-site installations. From day one our clients turn on the switch and have access to our sophisticated integration tools."

In early October, Steelwedge announced an enhanced new product release for its cloud-based Sales Planning & Performance Management solution, adding configurable dashboards, best-practice-based workflow capabilities, and expanded scalability. The new release is the result of Steelwedge's intense product development investment over the past three years. "We set up an R&D center in India, and now we are coming out of this recession with leading-edge technology that is right for the times," Margolis points out.

A growing reputation is also fueling demand for the company's products. In November Steelwedge was named to Software Magazine's annual list of the top 500 software companies, for the third year in a row. In addition, analysts have started covering the S&OP space, Margolis reports. "We're number one as a vendor in this area, and that recognition has generated new business leads for us."

Margolis founded Steelwedge Software in December 2000, bootstrapping the company until obtaining $20 million in capital starting in early 2002. He stepped aside from his current role for a few years, but in 2006 he stepped back in as CEO to lead a restructuring, quickly cutting costs and doubling revenue by re-focusing the company on its roots and migrating to the SaaS model. Today Steelwedge is profitable, cash-flow positive, growing, and hiring. New business wins include contracts from General Electric, British Petroleum, Applied Materials, Hospira, and Intuit.

"We've been through ups and downs and survived, while many competitors did not." Margolis reflects. "We have made a lot of internal changes and are now focused on rapid, sustainable growth. Our objective is to expand our leadership role in the area of cloud-based S&OP, and we are seeing traction." For more information, visit www.Steelwedge.com.

Photo: Steelwedge Software CEO Glen Margolis reports the company is having its best quarter ever.

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