Upland Software, Inc. (UPLD)

Upland Software provides a family of cloud-based enterprise software applications that help organizations drive digital transformation across business functions. The company has built its portfolio under the Upland brand through a series of acquisitions and integrations, completing 31 acquisitions in the 11 years ending December 31, 2022. Total revenue was $317.3 million in 2022, up 5% from $302.0 million in 2021. Subscription and support revenue was $297.9 million, up 4%.

Its applications are organized by business function. Marketing applications cover mobile messaging, mobile app marketing, Voice of the Customer, email marketing and call center productivity. Sales applications support opportunity and account management, proposals and references, and digital content collaboration. Contact center products cover customer self-service, sentiment capture, agent performance management and guided workflows. Knowledge management, project management (portfolio optimization and capacity planning), IT (investment prioritization and spend insight), operations (supply chain collaboration, factory management, document and vendor management, and business communications), and human resources and legal (document, contract and HR workflow automation) round out the offering. Revenue comes from subscription and support (94% of 2022 revenue), perpetual licenses (2%) and professional services (4%), which cover implementation, integration, configuration and training.

Upland has more than 10,000 customers, and none accounts for more than 10% of revenue. They range from large global corporations and government agencies to small and medium-sized businesses, across industries such as financial services, consulting, technology, manufacturing, media, telecommunications, government, non-profit, healthcare, life sciences, retail and hospitality. About 90% of 2022 recurring revenue came from major accounts, defined as customers with annual recurring revenue of $25,000 or more. The company sells mainly through a direct inside and field sales force, plus an indirect channel of distributors and value-added resellers, using a land-and-expand strategy. Subscriptions are typically sold per seat or on a minimum contracted volume basis, with terms of one to three years prepaid annually. Net dollar retention was 95% at year-end 2022. Agreements are signed and renewed disproportionately in the fourth quarter.

The applications use a multi-tenant architecture, delivered through a web browser and hosted on third-party cloud providers, with Upland designing and operating the infrastructure architecture. Upland applies its UplandOne operating platform to acquired companies, including a customer success program, R&D (with a Center of Excellence in India announced in 2022), professional services and global support. It competes with larger SaaS suites, point-solution vendors, legacy on-premise systems and manual tools such as spreadsheets and email. It relies on trademark, copyright, trade secret and patent protection. At December 31, 2022, it had 1,006 full-time employees, mostly in the United States, Australia, Canada, India, Ireland and the United Kingdom, with a remote-friendly work model.