Axway Acquires Syncplicity

Axway, a catalyst for transformation, announced the all-cash acquisition of Syncplicity LLC, in enterprise file sync and share (EFSS) solution that provides users with the experience and tools for secure collaboration.

With the acquisition of Syncplicity, Axway will be able to further enhance the Axway AMPLIFY platform to transform the way modern enterprises collaborate and innovate across digital ecosystems and further heighten engagement with customers, employees and partners.

Syncplicity, located in the heart of Silicon Valley, was founded in 2007 and was owned by global investment firm Skyview Capital, LLC. More than 25,000 businesses and individuals across a variety of verticals rely on Syncplicity’s enterprise-grade file sync and share solutions to get more business value from their data within applications, databases or files, whether stored on-premise or in private or public clouds.

“As businesses continue to collaborate using cloud-based tools, it’s imperative that file exchanges and synchronization between individuals is a secure and seamless experience,” said Jean-Marc Lazzari, CEO, Axway. “Together, Axway and Syncplicity will create a one stop shop for digital shared services.”

“Syncplicity’s EFSS expertise and product excellence will complement Axway MFT solutions perfectly by encouraging and supporting greater collaboration among employees, partners and customers,” said Jonathan Huberman, CEO, Syncplicity. “The Syncplicity team is proud to join Axway to create the best possible outcomes for our customers.”

The details of the transaction are not made public.

Comments

That's the third time that Syncplicity is acquired - such event is very rare in the storage industry each time without financial details:

♦ First by EMC in May 2012

♦ Then by Skyview Capital in July 2015

♦ And now by Axway

Start-up born in 2007, Syncplicity, based in Santa Clara CA, got $2.55 million in financial funding, $0.25 million in 2007 and $2.35 million in 2008. In online storage and file synchronization with 25,000 customers, it competes with big names including Box, Citrix, Dropbox, Google and Microsoft.

This huge competition probably explains why EMC decided to sell the company as it couldn't be a leader in this business, and EMC wants to be a leader in everything in storage.

We suppose Skyview Capital, private investment firm, acquired Syncplicity at a smaller price than EMC, and with just one goal, to resell it at a higher price.

Jonathan Huberman, CEO of Syncplicity, is currently president of portfolio operations for Skyview Capital, and also president and CEO of Newnet. More than that, he is a well known storage veteran being between 2006 and 2008 CEO of Iomega, acquired by EMC for $213 million, and then becoming more than three years EMC's president, consumer and small business products division with poor results.

Axway never was in storage but, with secure collaboration and file sharing, it can complement its digital workplace without borders with 11,000 customers in 100 countries.

Currently Syncplicity has three offerings:

♦ personal edition with 10GB for free or 100GB at $60/year

♦ business edition at $60 per year for a minimum of 3 users, 300GB +5GB/user storage

♦ enterprise edition for a minimum of 25 users with cloud, on-promise or hybrid storage

Syncplicity, with 80 employees, will strengthen the Axway AMPLIFY platform, empowering organizations with an integration foundation that unleashes data securely while opening the door to heightened ecosystem engagement and opportunities for innovation and growth. Also, the Syncplicity API fosters sharing across developer communities with the ability for them to embed EFSS services within their apps and processes.

During fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, Axway recorded revenue of €301 million, up 4% Y/Y, with net profit of €31.5 million, 41% of sales being in USA and 31% in France, cash and cash equivalents amounting to €51.7 million. The company employed 1,930 people (607 in France and 1,323 in other countries).