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INSIGHTS > SaaS TALK > A Conversation with Host Analytics, Inc.

SaaS Talk

A Conversation with Host Analytics, Inc.

Ian Charles

Chief Financial Officer, Host Analytics, Inc. (now Planful)

Ian Charles served as Chief Financial Officer at Host Analytics until it was sold to Vector Capital in early 2019.

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Ian Charles

INTERVIEWER

About Host Analytics, Inc. (now Planful)

Host Analytics (now known as Planful) is the first and only Enterprise SaaS company to offer a complete suite of enterprise performance management applications built from the ground up as cloud-based applications.

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Peter

Hi Ian. Thanks so much for joining us today. I’m looking forward to chatting about your experience at Host Analytics. To start, tell us about being a venture-backed technology business in 2017. Have you noticed any changes in consumer buying trends and behaviors?

Ian

Hi Peter, thanks for having me. Heading into the second half of 2017, we see customers requiring a higher degree of diligence in the financial stability of any vendor partnership they enter into. However, we also continue to see customers voting with their wallet and not turning to solution providers simply because of price. There is a growing focus on not only finding a solution to current business problems, but also a solution that scales with those issues that arise in the future. This has become an added requirement for a vendor.

Peter

There has been volatility in valuations in recent years; how has that impacted/affected
your experience?

Ian

The recent volatility has shaken out some of the weaker players. This has resulted in additional pressure to perform in secondary metrics that include net revenue retention, LTV, growth efficiency index, etc. It’s no longer about top line growth, it’s about the true underlying long term value of that growth and the profitable sustainability.

Peter

How are you thinking about new services, and increasing adoption and/or entry into
new markets?

Ian

We are constantly advancing our thoughts and progress towards new features and products that are mission critical to the finance function within Enterprise Performance Management. Our efforts include expanding go-to-market partnerships with companies like Workiva and Sage in addition to the expansion of channel partnerships with Deloitte, Accenture and RSM.

Peter

If you were talking to a group of medium and small software company CEOs, name
two things you’d say they should focus on.

Ian

One. Hire the best people who can execute, execute, execute. Two. Don’t think about the current quarter---let your team handle that. Think about where you want to be next year.

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