AvePoint
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File:AvePointLogo.png | |
Company type | Public |
---|---|
Nasdaq: AVPT | |
Industry | Computer software[1] |
Founded | 2001 |
Headquarters | Jersey City, New Jersey, United States |
Key people | Xunkai (Kai) Gong (Executive Chairman & co-founder) Tianyi (TJ) Jiang (CEO and co-founder) |
Products | Cloud Governance
Cloud Backup For Office 365 Cloud Backup For Salesforce Cloud Backup For Dynamics 365 Cloud Insights Cloud Records Citizen Services MyHub Cloud Management Policies and Insights DocAve Governance Automation AvePoint Migration Platform Perimeter Compliance Guardian Office Connect Records |
Revenue | ![]() |
Number of employees | ~1,400 (2020) |
Website | https://www.avepoint.com/ |
AvePoint is the largest independent software vendor of SaaS solutions to migrate, manage and protect data in Microsoft 365.[3][4] AvePoint was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. The company also has offices and a strong footprint in the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Japan, Singapore, and China.
History
Early years: 2001–2014
AvePoint was founded by Xunkai (Kai) Gong and Tianyi (TJ) Jiang after they coded the first AvePoint software in a public library in Somerset, New Jersey, in 2001. Jiang described that his experience in the north tower of the World Trade Center (1973–2001) during the September 11 attacks as a key catalyst driving him to become a software entrepreneur.[5]
One of the company's key milestones was during a 2003 TechEd Microsoft conference session where SharePoint 2003 was unveiled for the first time. After receiving numerous audience questions about the company's inability to migrate their content to the new software, Jiang stood up and announced that DocAve was able to migrate to the new (at the time) platform.[6]
The company was listed in the 2013 Deloitte Fast 500 of the fastest-growing companies in the world,[7] and in Inc. magazine's 2014 "Inc. 500|5000" list of the fastest-growing companies in America.[8]
In 2013, AvePoint's DocAve 6 product was named "Best of TechEd"[9] and the company was named a finalist in three categories in the Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards: Collaboration and Content Partner of the Year, Office/SharePoint App Developer Partner of the Year, and Public Sector Partner of the Year – Public Safety/National Security.[10]
In the 2014 Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards, AvePoint was named the winner of the Public Sector Partner of the Year – Public Safety/National Security category and was a finalist in the Office and SharePoint App Developer Partner of the Year category.[11]
The company was backed by investors Goldman Sachs and Summit Partners, which acquired minority stakes in AvePoint in 2014 and 2007, respectively.[12]
SaaS conversion and channel expansion: 2014–2020
Starting in 2014, AvePoint made a major change to its technology and business models, converting its perpetual license model to a Software as a service model. After being initially challenged by the ongoing costs of the SaaS model and need to adjust partnerships and engagement models,[13] AvePoint's cloud platform would expand across 14 global data centers, with quarterly releases, 24/7 support and ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation.[14] Today AvePoint is one of the largest solution[buzzword] providers in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem,[15] supporting more than 7 million cloud users, including a quarter of the Fortune 500.[4]
In 2019, AvePoint expanded its support of Managed Service Providers and their small to medium sized customers via the channel with agreements with global distribution partners such as Ingram Micro, Synex Systems Corporation, Tech Data and others.[16] The company aims to add 40,000 managed service provider partners by 2022.[17]
In January, 2020 the company announced a $200 million Series C investment led by TPG Sixth Street Partners, with additional participation from prior investor Goldman Sachs and other unnamed investors. The round brought the total raised to $294 million to date.[18]
Initial public merger announcement and De-SPACing: November 2020 – July 2021
In November 2020, AvePoint reached a deal to go public through a merger with blank-check company Apex Technology Acquisition Corp.(APXT). The transaction valued AvePoint at $2 billion and kept AvePoint co-founders Tianyi Jiang and Kai Gong as CEO and Executive Chairman respectively. The new company will be named AvePoint and will trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol AVPT once the deal closes in the first quarter of 2021.[3]
At the time of the announcement, AvePoint disclosed that it expects to generate approximately $148 million in total revenue for the year ending December 31, 2020, which would be an increase of approximately 26% over 2019 revenue. Out of more than 200 public software companies, AvePoint is one of 5 with annual revenue around $150 million, a growth rate of about 30% and positive EBIT margin of about 20%.[19]
Life as a public company: July 2021 – Present
On July 2, AvePoint became a public company listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker AVPT. AvePoint received approximately $492 million in gross proceeds, consisting of Apex's $352 million of cash held in trust following de minimis public stockholder redemptions and $140 million from an ordinary share private investment in public equity (PIPE), excluding transaction fees. The PIPE was anchored by investors including but not limited to Federated Hermes Kaufman Small Cap Fund, Franklin Templeton, Phoenix Insurance Limited and Singapore-based global investor EDBI.[20]
Products
SaaS solutions
The AvePoint cloud is hosted on more than 14 data centers across the world in 4 different languages. Some of the SaaS solutions[buzzword] include:
- AvePoint Cloud Backup
Supports unlimited cloud-to-cloud backup for Microsoft 365, Dynamics and Salesforce.[21]
- AvePoint Cloud Governance
Automates the provisioning, management, and lifecycle for Microsoft 365 workspaces including Teams, Sites and Groups.[22]
- AvePoint Policies and Insights
Finds, prioritizes, fixes and enforces Microsoft 365 security controls.[23]
- AvePoint Cloud Records
Manages physical and electronic records in Microsoft 365.[24]
- AvePoint EduTech
Provides education management systems directly integrated with Microsoft 365 for educational institutions and commercial businesses with training and accreditation needs.[25]
- Curricula: A learning management system integrated directly with Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams that deepens collaboration and enables students to learn anytime, anywhere, on any device.
- Examena: An exam management system that uses facial recognition, AI anti-cheat systems and emergency offline mode along with other advanced technologies to ensure online exams are secure and fair. The solution[buzzword] also streamlines the exam process—from the logistics of arranging a testing venue to automated marking—for both online and physical exams.
Hosted solutions
- AvePoint FLY
It migrates from more than a dozen source environments including SharePoint, file shares, Box, Dropbox, and Microsoft 365 to target environments including Microsoft 365 Teams, Groups, Exchange, OneDrive, and SharePoint.[26]
- AvePoint's DocAve Software Platform
It is a governance and infrastructure management platform for SharePoint.[27] The platform features products with migration, integration, management, optimization, protection, and reporting capabilities for SharePoint. .[28]
- DocAve Governance Automation
First released in June 2012, It is a product for enforcing and creating governance policies for SharePoint through the enablement of service request management.[29]
- AvePoint Compliance Guardian
It Provides protection against content leaks in Microsoft 365, Dropbox, Box, and about a dozen cloud services along with any misuse, through implementation of security settings, permissions, and tagging by assigning policy access rights and permissions to content in SharePoint and file shares.[30]
- DocAve File Share Navigator
It is a SharePoint-based product for file sharing. It allows for retrieving of file share content through SharePoint without the need for migration. File Share Navigator allows file share content to be tagged, browsed, and previewed through SharePoint.[31]
- AvePoint Meetings
It is a Microsoft SharePoint application in which users can track notes, actions, and decisions made in meetings against agenda items.[32]
- AvePoint Perimeter
It is a product designed to help organizations establish governance and security policies so that they can enable workers remote access to Microsoft SharePoint content repositories from secure devices and locations.[33]
- DocAve Cloud Connect
It is a product designed to enable SharePoint Online and box.com users to synchronize, search, edit, and share all of the content stored in both repositories in one location.[34]
Microsoft and other key partners
AvePoint is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and five time Global Partner of the Year.[4] The companies work together to maintain compatibility as new Microsoft 365 functionality is developed.[35]
Additionally, AvePoint engages in original equipment manufacturer partnerships to leverage its technology through third-party software components.
References
- ^ "Channelling value through SharePoint". Channel Pro. 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
- ^ "Apex Technology Acquisition Corporation and AvePoint Announce Record Full Year 2020 Financial Results".
- ^ a b "AvePoint Strikes Deal to Go Public Via Apex Technology SPAC". Bloomberg.com. 2020-11-23. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
- ^ a b c "About". AvePoint. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
- ^ Weiner, Yitzi (2018-08-13). "5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became a CEO: With Dr Tianyi (TJ) Jiang, Co-Founder of…". Medium. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
- ^ "AvePoint's $200M Investment: How We're Scaling Our Investment In Your Success". AvePoint Blog. 2020-01-08. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
- ^ "Deloitte's 2014 Technology Fast 500" (PDF). Deloitte. 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 November 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
- ^ "Inc. 500: AvePoint". Inc. 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
- ^ "Best of TechEd 2013". Windows IT Pro. 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
- ^ "Awards". Worldwide Partner Conference 2013. 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
- ^ "Microsoft announces 2014 Partner of the Year winners and finalists". Microsoft News Center. 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
- ^ "Goldman Sachs to invest in AvePoint". Fortune. 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
- ^ "The Evolution of the Software Industry: A Journey to SaaS". AvePoint Blog. 2018-02-27. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
- ^ "8 Things You Should DEMAND From Your #Office365 SaaS Vendor". AvePoint Blog. 2018-08-22. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
- ^ Kovar, Joseph F. (2020-01-14). "AvePoint Thinks Big On Microsoft Data Management, Data Protection Play With New $200M Funding". CRN. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
- ^ "Ingram Micro recruits AvePoint to drive Microsoft adoption". Channel Asia. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
- ^ "Meet AvePoint, the Microsoft ISV targeting 40,000 new channel logos". Channel Asia. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
- ^ "AvePoint lands $200M investment to expand market for Microsoft cloud governance tools". TechCrunch. 8 January 2020. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
- ^ "AvePoint, the Largest Microsoft 365 Data Management Solutions Provider, Announces $2bn Merger". www.businesswire.com. 2020-11-23. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
- ^ "AvePoint Closes Business Combination; to Begin Trading on Nasdaq as "AVPT"".
- ^ "Cloud Backup for Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and Salesforce". AvePoint. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
- ^ "Scale, Automate, & Secure". AvePoint. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
- ^ "Policies & Insights for Microsoft 365". AvePoint. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
- ^ "Cloud Records for Microsoft 365". AvePoint. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
- ^ "AvePoint Launches EduTech To Improve Higher Education Technology". AvePoint. Retrieved 2021-07-12.
- ^ "SharePoint & Office 365 Migration". AvePoint. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
- ^ "Solution Overview: Single Site Content Repository with High Availability" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 March 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
- ^ "AvePoint Releases DocAve Governance Automation Product for SharePoint". CMSWire. 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
- ^ "AvePoint Releases DocAve Governance Automation Product for SharePoint". CMSWire. 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
- ^ "AvePoint introduces SharePoint compliance solution". Image and Data Manager. 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
- ^ "AvePoint Exposes File Share Content to SharePoint Users". CMSWire. 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
- ^ "AvePoint Releases SharePoint Meeting Organizer App". Cloud News Daily. 2013. Archived from the original on 2 June 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
- ^ "AvePoint Release Enables Remote SharePoint Access, BYOD Strategies". CMSWire. 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
- ^ "News Bites: Content for Marketing, Product Idea Tester, More". CMSWire. 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
- ^ "AvePoint Supports Office365 Beta, Manage Your SharePoint Content Anywhere". CMSWire. 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2012.