Kimble Applications Secures Funding from Accel-KKR
Top Technology PE firm invests to support Professional Services Automation software firm’s rapid expansion in North American Market.
March 7, 2018 – Boston and London – Kimble Applications, the global leader in professional services automation (PSA), today announced it has secured investment from Accel-KKR, a leading Silicon Valley technology-focused investment firm. The investment will be used to further drive the company’s rapid expansion, including product development and marketing initiatives, in the U.S. and Canadian markets.
Kimble, a SaaS-based software built on the Salesforce platform, enables professional services firms to manage their businesses, delivering efficiency, scalability and forward visibility. Not only does it provide users real-time information to help identify underlying business issues, it is the first PSA software to integrate augmented intelligence into its analytics, allowing customers to identify patterns in performance data and recommending likely remedies.
“For nearly seven years, we have been quietly building a loyal customer base, proving that our vertical specialization leveraged with the breadth of Salesforce ISV ecosystem is a tremendous combination,” said Sean Hoban, founder and CEO of Kimble Applications. “Having a founding team of former consultants means that, compared to the competition, we have a better understanding of our customers’ business needs: balancing resource demand and supply, disciplined commercial project management, and financial predictability. We’re thrilled to have a prestigious partner like Accel-KKR to help broaden our reputation and bring our product to more organizations and new industries across the globe.”
Built on the Salesforce platform, Kimble enables customers to easily integrate CRM as well as ERP applications such as HR and finance. The streamlined process allows customers to have a coherent solution that meets all their business requirements.
“Kimble is an innovative, fast-growing leader in the PSA software space. With best-in-class feature functionality and a history of high customer satisfaction, we believe the company is poised for continued success over the next several years,” said Greg Williams, managing director at Accel-KKR. “We are looking forward to working with the team at Kimble to continue to build on its current momentum, help drive additional innovation and further expand its footprint in Europe, North America and new geographies,” added Maurice Hernandez from Accel-KKR’s London office.
The funding comes after a strong performance from Kimble in 2017, with more than 50 percent of its new product revenue now coming from U.S. and Canadian-based customers. The company was also named to Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 for Europe, Asia and the Middle East as well as on the Sunday Times Hiscox Tech Track 100< list. G2 Crowd, a leading business software review platform, has recognized Kimble as a global leader in the PSA industry while also ranking them highest for customer satisfaction.
“It’s always exciting for us to see European-based companies excel within the Salesforce ecosystem,” said Leyla Seka, executive vice president of Salesforce’s AppExchange. “Independent software vendors, like Kimble, are what bring our ecosystem to life by offering our customers access to applications that answer the needs of their businesses and allow for a personalized customer experience.”
“We are clear that Kimble is the right PSA solution for us and this investment confirms that Kimble is a vendor with a great future,” said Kimble customer Gary Rylander, managing director of global consulting at Iron Mountain Incorporated.
In addition to the investment, Greg Williams and Maurice Hernandez of Accel-KKR will be appointed to Kimble’s board in non-executive director roles. JEGI | Clarity acted as corporate finance advisors to Kimble.
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About Kimble Applications Kimble Applications helps professional service businesses by improving business performance, increasing visibility, and providing enhanced company collaboration. Kimble is dedicated to the production of unique management solutions delivered through a Software as a Service (SaaS) model. The members of the Kimble management team are recognized professional services experts, having founded, managed, and grown several successful IT and management consulting organizations. They have experienced first-hand the business problems which result from the lack of adequate software available to manage professional services. The team has harnessed the best practice and unique intellectual property gained in their careers, along with detailed design input from a range of experts from leading firms across the globe.
About Accel-KKR Accel-KKR is a technology-focused investment firm with $4.3 billion in capital commitments. The firm focuses on software and IT-enabled businesses well-positioned for topline and bottom-line growth. At the core of Accel-KKR’s investment strategy is a commitment to developing strong partnerships with the management teams of its portfolio companies and a focus on building value through significant resources available through the Accel-KKR network. Accel-KKR focuses on middle-market companies and provides a broad range of capital solutions including buyout capital, minority-growth investments, and credit alternatives. Accel- KKR also invests across a wide range of transaction types including private company recapitalizations, divisional carve-outs and going-private transactions. Accel-KKR is headquartered in Menlo Park with additional offices in Atlanta and London.