Private SaaS Companies Rising Up To The Public Cloud, Median Growth Of 53 Percent Survey Reveals

Amazon Web Services has become the dominant supplier to SaaS applications providers 9th annual survey reports benchmarks and operating strategies of best-in-class SaaS companies

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KeyCorp

Oct 24, 2018, 09:30 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc. (KBCM), the corporate and investment banking unit of KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY), today released results from its Technology Group's 9^th annual Private SaaS Company Survey (formerly known as the Pacific Crest Securities Private SaaS Company Survey), the yardstick by which the cloud software industry measures financial and operating performance of its best-in-class private companies.

This year's edition of the survey reveals continued strong growth for Software-as-as-Service (SaaS) applications last year, with a 53 percent median year-on-year growth in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR). While most of these companies do not yet generate free cash flow, the results show that they are becoming increasingly sophisticated at managing their operations to achieve strong unit level economics and reliable services.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) continues its dominance as the primary back-end computing choice for privately held SaaS companies, with 64 percent of the survey group choosing AWS. This percentage has steadily grown each year and has nearly doubled since 2014 (35 percent). Meanwhile, SaaS companies have decreased their reliance on self-managed servers, from 52 percent four years ago to 13 percent in 2018. While other public cloud providers such as Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud have also increased in popularity, AWS has continued to consolidate its substantial lead, with 74 percent market share based on data from the survey.

"SaaS and cloud computing remain among the most vibrant sectors of the economy, as virtually every industry is being transformed by innovations enabled by software," said David Spitz, managing director of KBCM's Technology Group and primary author of the survey. "Nonetheless, there are sharp differences in the financial and operating performance among the thousands of SaaS companies vying for customers and investor dollars. Our analysis provides the tools and data needed to assess where they stand, and what they can do to improve their operations, economics and capital efficiency."

Responses for the survey, the longest running and most extensive of its kind, were solicited from senior executives at nearly 400 private SaaS companies. Other key highlights from the 2018 survey include:

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) – The median CAC ratio among respondents, which measures the cost to acquire $1 of new annual subscription, is $1.11 for all new bookings; however, it is substantially higher for new customer bookings ($1.32) than for upsells ($0.72) or expansions ($0.38). Larger companies generally do a much better job taking advantage of this cost differential through "land and expand" strategies.
Sales and Marketing Efficiency at Scale – While, as expected, companies spending more on sales and marketing tend to grow faster, survey results clearly indicate diminishing returns, particularly above a ratio of 80 percent sales and marketing spend to revenue. Nonetheless, a few elite companies in the survey group defy the trend and effectively invest above these levels to achieve hypergrowth.
Churn and Net Retention – The median gross dollar churn, which measures business lost from customers during the year (before factoring in expansion from the base) is just over 13 percent. But this is offset with expansions and upsells, and the median net dollar retention is 102 percent, or negative 2 percent churn. Elite companies surveyed registered net dollar retention over 120 percent.
Capital Consumption – Capital efficiency of SaaS companies varies significantly. The median company has consumed $1.5 million for each $1 million of committed ARR. The most efficient companies, however, turn cash flow positive and are able to bring their cumulative capital consumption ratios below 1.0x.

David Skok, investor at Matrix Partners, author of the SaaS-focused blog forentrepreneurs.com and active supporter of the survey for the past seven years, added: "It's impressive to see how SaaS businesses have grown up and are now becoming some of the most important companies driving our economy. Anyone running a SaaS business knows that there are a handful of metrics that drive dramatic changes in the performance of the business. It's extremely helpful to have benchmarks for these to know where you stand. I continue to hear from entrepreneurs how highly they value the data they get from this survey, and how it helps them to make informed decisions in their own businesses."

The KBCM Private SaaS Company Survey establishes operational and financial benchmarking data for executives and investors in SaaS companies, from go-to-market selling strategies, customer retention rates and customer acquisition costs, to operational management, growth and margin structures. Full survey results are available online.

About the KBCM Technology Group Private SaaS Company Survey
The KBCM Technology Group Private SaaS Company Survey was first developed by Pacific Crest Securities in 2011 to provide benchmark performance metrics for SaaS companies. Pacific Crest was acquired by KBCM in 2014 and rebranded as KBCM Technology Group, combining the technology specialist approach of Pacific Crest with the expanded capabilities and broader resources of KBCM and its parent, KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY). Approximately 400 senior executives from SaaS companies around the world participated anonymously and confidentially in the 2018 survey. Responses were submitted online between June and July 2018. KBCM cannot verify accuracy of responses. Observations and commentary contained herein relate solely to the survey results and cannot necessarily be applied elsewhere. For more information about the KBCM Technology Group, please visit us online.

About KeyBanc Capital Markets
KeyBanc Capital Markets is a leading corporate and investment bank providing capital markets and advisory solutions to dynamic companies capitalizing on opportunities in changing industries. Our deep industry expertise, broad capabilities and unique ideas are seamlessly delivered to companies across the Consumer & Retail, Diversified Industries, Healthcare, Industrial, Oil & Gas, Real Estate, Utilities, Power & Renewables, and Technology verticals. With over 800 professionals across a national platform, KeyBanc Capital Markets has more than $30 billion of capital committed to clients and an award-winning Equity Research team that provides coverage on over 700 publicly-traded companies. KeyBanc Capital Markets is a trade name under which corporate and investment banking products and services of KeyCorp and its subsidiaries, KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC ("KBCMI"), and KeyBank National Association ("KeyBank N.A."), are marketed. Securities products and services are offered by KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc. and its licensed securities representatives, who may also be employees of KeyBank N.A. Banking products and services are offered by KeyBank N.A.

About KeyCorp
KeyCorp's roots trace back 190 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $138.8 billion at September 30, 2018. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of over 1,100 branches and more than 1,500 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank is Member FDIC.

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