Anaplan makes APAC debut with Cloud EPM acquisition
By Digital News Asia March 22, 2013
- Cloud EPM acquisition marks APAC debut
- To meet rising regional demand for alternative solutions to enterprise planning and modeling
ANAPLAN, a provider of cloud-based modeling and planning solutions for finance and operations, launched in Asia Pacific with the acquisition of Cloud EPM, the company’s leading Asian reseller.
“Our customers in Asia Pacific are echoing what we have heard in the United States and Europe—these companies are hungry for an alternative to the status quo of enterprise planning and modeling. We are redefining this market on a global scale,” said Anaplan chief executive officer Fred Laluyaux.
In line with its Asia Pacific expansion, the company has also appointed Samir Neji (pic), chief executive officer of Cloud EPM and a seasoned veteran in enterprise performance management, to run its Asia Pacific operations, beginning with establishing a regional headquarters in Singapore, the company said in a statement.
“I have known Samir for years, and I am thrilled that he has agreed to lead our Asia Pacific operations. His leadership, integrity, deep domain experience, and focus on customer success fit extremely well with Anaplan’s core values and culture,” said Laluyaux.
Commenting on the development, Neji expressed excitement with bringing Anaplan’s platform to the region.
“Asian companies are feeling the pain of their old and tired planning software: Missed deadlines, failed promises, complex coding. Going back to Excel should not be the answer," he said.
"By contrast, building models on the cloud-based Anaplan platform is incredibly easy and fast. From proof-of-concept to go-live, we are talking weeks with Anaplan instead of months with traditional on-premise solutions,” he claimed.
With offices in North America, the United Kingdom, France, Sweden, and now Singapore, Anaplan continues its rapid international expansion to meet growing market demand for its enterprise planning and modeling platform.
Furthering its commitment to the Asia Pacific region, Anaplan is currently in discussions with the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) on potential plans to build data centers in Singapore.
Doing so would support IDA’s goals to accelerate adoption of cloud-based technologies and economic leadership in Asia and enable Anaplan to better service its growing worldwide customer base, the company said.
Asia Pacific firms such as Air Asia, Expedia, Amcor, Super Retail Group and 2Degrees have joined the list of Anaplan global customers, which also includes McAfee, Pandora, Kimberly-Clark Eastern Europe and HealthTrust.
In the last 12 months, Anaplan has seen demand for its innovative cloud software increase rapidly, the company claimed, adding that in 2012, it grew its global customer base by 500% and revenues by 800%.
In March, the company closed a Series C venture capital funding round of US$30 million led by Meritech Capital Partners and also funded by Granite Ventures and Shasta Ventures.
Anaplan is a cloud-based, in-memory modeling and planning platform for finance, sales, and operations that enables business users to intuitively and dynamically test and operationalize their plans, manage complex multi-dimensional models, collaborate across functions and regions, and share insights and content via the built-in community.
The company and its partners have introduced a series of packages for finance, marketing, operations, human resources, as well as a complete sales performance management applications suite, which includes quota, territory and commissions management, real-time quote, and price optimization.
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