ELMO Cloud HR & Payroll - October 2020

Digital innovation in cloud HR and payroll IN ASSOCIATION WITH

ELMO SOFTWARE LIMITED

DIGITAL REPORT 2020

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Digital Innovation in Cloud HR and Payroll

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ELMO CLOUD HR & PAYROLL

James Haslam, CFO at ELMO Cloud HR & Payroll discusses resilience, growth and expansion during the COVID-19 pandemic

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dopting cloud-based software solutions in recent years has become an everyday strategy for companies around the world.

The benefits of sourcing external technologies include increased automation, reliability, flexibility, scalability, cost-reduction and efficiency. These 04

benefits dwarf the inefficiencies of manual process or expensive on-premise infrastructure. The case for digital transformation to the cloud as a solution for business challenges is clear.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses at every stage of their digital transformation journey have become increasingly reliant on cloud-based technology solutions to manage operations, remain in close contact with employees, suppliers, and clients, and minimise operating costs.

Australia-based ELMO Software is emblematic of a Human Capital Management (HCM) solutions provider that has taken the pandemic’s pressures in its stride, offering seamless service to its clients throughout. An increase in engagement and reliance on the platform through the recent period indicate the tailwinds in the broader adoption of

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ELMO CLOUD HR & PAYROLL

“ Our convergent solution offers a wide product suite to streamline our clients’ HR and payroll processes, but what really sets it apart is the truly remote nature of the products” — James Haslam, Chief Financial Officer, ELMO Cloud HR & Payroll 06

HCM software as businesses seek to accelerate their digital transformation strategies to manage a larger remote workforce. This dynamic is also playing out in the UK market where ELMO is eyeing expansion plans.

James Haslam, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), says the pandemic has been a remarkable indicator of both the benefits and reliability of ELMO’s convergent hire-to-retire suite of people management solutions. “Our convergent solution offers a wide product suite to streamline our clients’ HR and payroll processes, but what really sets it apart is the truly remote nature of the products,” he explains, noting that HCM solutions have now become mission-critical to organisations during lockdown.

“COVID-19 is a really good case study in terms of the criticality of having an HCM solution in your toolkit which can be implemented, supported and accessed remotely. If you think about it, things like financials and CRM have had cloud-based solutions for a while.”

Cloud-based HCM, meanwhile, is later in the adoption curve, Haslam explains.

“One of our biggest competitors is manual process, and one of the biggest

ELMO Corporate Video CLICK TO WATCH

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07 benefits of companies shifting to the

cloud-based HCM solution is a critical

cloud comes down to what’s been hap-

component for a company’s toolkit.”

pening this year,” adds Haslam. “You’ve

Regarding changes in prospec-

got companies that are now working

tive customer purchasing decisions,

remotely on a mass scale; 500+ people

Haslam and ELMO have noticed some

working remotely is a huge challenge

key trends. “In terms of changes in

for the management of performance

purchasing decisions, we’ve observed

cycles, payroll, recruitment, onboarding

a change in the procurement cycle

and training of people.”

through the pandemic with companies

This reality has been made plain by

generally working to identify what the

trends in customer behaviour during

pandemic will do to their results, and

the lockdown, with platform engage-

as a result, we have seen procure-

ment rising considerably. “We’ve

ment being deferred, creating pent up

seen an increase in platform reli-

demand, as company executives look

ance, underscoring the thesis that a

to conserve cash,” he says. “However, www.e l mo so f t wa re . com . a u

Tapping into the global scale, flexibility, and reliability of AWS cloud

AWS provides the platform to securely host our customers’ valuable data, which they can access from anywhere, on any device, at any time.

The reliability of the AWS platform is a key component to not only to ELMO’s success but also our customers’.

James Haslam Chief Financial Officer ELMO Cloud HR & Payroll

As more businesses around the world turn to cloud-based software solutions, companies like ELMO are well-placed to tap into new and exciting opportunities for growth. Their secret to success lies with AWS cloud, which provides a solid foundation to cope with unpredictable spikes in traffic; as well as the ability to innovate fast and expand into new markets with confidence.

Why software vendors choose AWS cloud To deliver innovative, next-generation software, you need the scale, power and agility that AWS cloud delivers.

That’s why AWS is one of the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platforms – and has been for over 13 years. AWS services are trusted by more than a million active customers and tens of thousands of AWS Partner Network (APN) Partners around the world to power infrastructure, boost agility and reduce costs.

With AWS cloud, you have the ability to lower costs while increasing performance. You can right-size your servers, tap into lower-cost storage tiers, optimise licensing costs and leverage AWS’s unique pricing models. Plus, with AWS server elasticity, you only pay for what you use, and can scale up and down as needed.

Achieve agility and significant performance gains Quickly spin up AWS resources as you need them, deploying hundreds or even thousands of servers in minutes. This means you can very quickly develop and roll out new applications to market, and you can experiment and innovate faster.

AWS cloud supports global growth ambitions by giving you access to a global network of data centres. For software companies eyeing global reach, it means that the data residency dilemma is solved without issue – you can easily deliver on global customers’ local regulatory requirements by leveraging AWS’s global footprint.

The infinite scalability of AWS cloud is also proving crucial in the quest to respond to continually evolving workloads, enabling companies like ELMO to easily cope with growth at scale.

Ready to get started?

Learn more about why software vendors choose AWS

Click here to learn more

ELMO CLOUD HR & PAYROLL

10 pleasingly, we’ve been able to con-

companies have an increased level of

tinue to win business throughout, and

digital adoption.”

it’s now a case of monitoring the key

How does ELMO continue to provide

indicators for when the procurement

a seamless service to their clients?

cycle will kick back in as businesses

Haslam explains “a key to operating

return to the office. It’s great to hear

in the cloud-based environment is

that they’re starting to do that.

the relationship that we have with key

“We’re expecting that some of the

partners. One of the most significant

fallout from companies returning to

is Amazon Web Services (AWS). AWS

their offices and going through their

provides the platform to host our cus-

key learnings will be recognising the

tomers’ data which can be accessed by

criticality of having a cloud-based

our customers anytime and anywhere.

HCM system in place to support them

The reliability of AWS’ platform is a key

in case of future mass remote working.

component not only to ELMO’s suc-

The management of people is simpler if

cess but to our customers as well”.

Not only has ELMO been able to continue securing new business

in both the Australia/New Zealand (ANZ) and UK market.

and supporting its broad cus-

“We look at M&A in terms of ‘three

tomer base, but it also launched a

pillars’,” says Haslam. “The acquisition

new module during the COVID-19

of companies with an attractive cus-

Pandemic – ELMO Connect. It has

tomer base, which enables cross-sell

also continued with its mergers

of additional modules, complementary

and acquisitions (M&A) strategy to

technology and more recently the geo-

identify potential acquisition targets

graphic expansion to the UK.”

E X E C U T I V E P R O FILE :

James Haslam 11

Title: Chief Financial Officer Industry: Business software solutions Mr James Haslam is the CFO of ELMO and joined the company in February 2019.

James is a Chartered Accountant with over 19 years of experience in accounting and finance roles. As CFO, James is responsible for all aspects of the accounting and finance function, from ensuring efficient, controlled and timely recording and reporting systems, to budgeting, forecasting and cash flow analysis. Before joining ELMO James founded Financial Agility Consulting, a consultancy ptactice providing senior executive management support through mergers, acquisitions, capital raisings and IPO’s. Prior to Financial Agility Consulting, James worked for both KPMG and Deloitte providing professional services advice, predominantly in respect of mergers, acquisitions and IPO’s. James holds a Bachelor of Science in engineering and Business from the University of Warwick in the UK and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. www.e l mo so f t wa re . com . a u

ELMO CLOUD HR & PAYROLL

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“ One of our biggest competitors is manual process, and one of the biggest benefits of companies shifting to the cloud comes down to what’s been happening this year” — James Haslam, Chief Financial Officer, ELMO Cloud HR & Payroll

The customer acquisition M&A strategy is focused on leveraging the newly acquired entity’s existing customers to drive market footprint and penetration, as well as increased sales. “The customers we acquire along with the technology are important to us, not only because it widens the product offering but because the acquisitions enable the cross-sell of additional modules into a new sticky customer base,” says Haslam. “By bringing new technologies into the suite, such as remuneration, survey tools and video content, we expand our solution, enhancing the ELMO value proposition providing additional opportunities to cross-sell into a growing customer base. That’s evidenced when you look at our results.

“In our FY20 results, we released a statistic that, of our incremental increase in organic annual recurring revenue, 39% came from existing companies and the remaining 61% came from new customers. That means customers are adding more modules to their solution.” This two-pronged revenue growth from existing customers is also predicated on ELMO’s commitment to continued investment in research and development (R&D). Haslam explains, www.e l mo so f t wa re . com . a u

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ELMO SOFTWARE LIMITED

C OM P A N Y F A C T S

ELMO Cloud HR & Payroll’s convergent solution delivers 15 modules under five key pillars: Pay Payroll Self-Service Rostering / Time & Attendance Engage

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HR Core Survey Connect Hire Recruitment Onboarding Retain Performance Management Rewards & Recognition Remuneration Succession Management Develop Learning Management Course Builder Course Library Video Library

“We believe the ability to cross-sell additional modules to customers is related to the investment in the platform and individual modules. This investment yields a better customer and user experience which helps support their decision making in expanding their usage into additional HCM areas.”

The company’s eye for growth has recently expanded to international markets, with ELMO targeting entry to the UK market. “We’ve recently raised an additional AU$ 73m on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) to complement the fundraising we undertook in September 2019, and this recent raise was to secure capital to expand our offering into the UK market,” explains Haslam.

“A core component of that expansion is the M&A strategy. We see making an acquisition in the market as a route that de-risks market entry when compared to simply taking office space, hiring a team, and trying to sell a product that’s not yet well-known in the market. Acquiring a company with a customer base and brand within that market enables us to adopt a land and expand strategy through leveraging an www.e l mo so f t wa re . com . a u

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ELMO SOFTWARE LIMITED

established footprint and to cross-sell our existing suite of modules.”

Haslam adds that the UK market represents an interesting business opportunity for ELMO as it has similar dynamics to the ANZ region and the company’s success within it. The UK’s cloud-based HR and payroll service providers are similarly still predominantly manual and fragmented, meaning there is considerable opportunity for ELMO, with its hire to retire convergent solution to step in and pro16

vide the full spectrum of HCM products from a single provider. The simplicity

“ We see making an acquisition in the market as a route that de-risks market entry when compared to simply taking office space, hiring a team, and trying to sell a product that’s not yet well-known in the market” — James Haslam, Chief Financial Officer, ELMO Cloud HR & Payroll

of its service offering is bolstered further by the time-to-market the firm is demonstrably capable of delivering.

In addition to the M&A strategy, ELMO has been active in developing the organic side of the business, with the majority of the 25% FY20 revenue growth being generated organically.

“We’ve actually launched a module during the pandemic: ELMO Connect,” says Haslam. “In the mid-market space, connectivity is critical. We accelerated the development and release of the module, to bring it to market quickly

2002

Year founded

$50mn+ Revenue in AU dollars

384

Number of employees

in response to customer feedback.

ambitious company that has leveraged

ELMO Connect allows customers

its digital maturity, market expertise

to easily communicate and collabo-

and agility to turn the COVID-19 crisis

rate remotely with employees and

into opportunity. Haslam highlights

leverages the ability to launch Zoom

the growth mindset, centricity of per-

meetings from within the platform.

formance, collaborative ethos and a

We’ve offered ELMO Connect to cus-

commitment to feedback at all levels

tomers free for six months because

as the key drivers of the company’s

we could see it’s something they

winning culture, and in such trying

needed during this difficult period of

times their customers have benefitted

mass remote working.”

from services whose necessity has

None of this would be possible with-

never been clearer.

out ELMO’s dedicated staff known as ‘ELMOnians’, the beating heart of an www.e l mo so f t wa re . com . a u

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ELMO SOFTWARE LIMITED LEVEL 27 580 GEORGE STREET SYDNEY NSW AUSTRALIA 2000 T +61 (2) 8305 4600

www.elmosoftware.com.au

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