Ultimate Software Strengths, Domain Expertise, and Key Differentiators
What UKG – combining Ultimate Software and Kronos - aims is to excel in its core areas from Core HR, payroll, and HR Service Delivery in midmarket to workforce management for companies of all sizes, while placing equal emphasis on its global expansion plans.
This is the mission statement of the new company: UKG will connect employees to their work and their colleagues, develop strong leaders and teams, provide insights that promote better business outcomes, and help organizations develop people-centered HR programs and effective operations—demonstrating that, when companies focus on caring for their people, they will see more engaged employees that yield positive long-term results.
Our take is that the emphasis should be on the G, which could become a significant force in buying, integrating and scaling out many best-of-breed and suite products to form an expanded network of HCM, payroll, workforce management, talent acquisition and perhaps non-HR applications for the global audience.
Ultimate Software Recent Developments
Since the merger of Ultimate Software and Kronos in April 2020, their entire portfolio (HCM/WFM/HRSD/Employee Feedback & Sentiment Analysis) have been working in unison defining solutions to aid organizations in these sweeping challenges that they are facing, largely due to the global pandemic. The main focus of these solutions have been centered around the employee: identifying their needs, locating them, and understanding what they need in order to feel safe as well as gain a sense of belonging. While undergoing merger activities, Kronos and Ultimate exceeded their customers expectations, not allowing the merger to distract them from their ultimate goal: - Kronos and Ultimate each developed external thought-leadership resource hubs that provides customers, HR professionals, and business leaders with tools to lead through times of uncertainty. It is updated regularly with webcasts, whitepapers, blog posts, and other assets to aid companies of all sizes and industries navigate COVID-19 and the impact it has on employees and business. - In terms of technology solutions, they delivered numerous enhancements to help our customers manage and navigate through these challenges—even via philanthropic efforts, their internal employees responded in non-technical ways. - In their Perception solution, several new survey templates were launched, tackling issues affecting employees at various stages: --- At-Risk/Crisis Survey - helps organizations better understand how employees are feeling and how the organization can help employees manage during a crisis by checking in on some common issues and challenges --- Equity at Work Survey, The Diversity and Inclusion Experience Survey - measures how diverse and inclusive an organization’s culture is. Employees provide feedback about their environment, their behaviors, the resources available to them, and their interactions with other employees. They also express their attitudes and their opinions about inclusion. The feedback they provide enables organizations to decide if they should conduct a more in-depth exploration of what drives inclusion at Company X, and the ways in which they can add value to the experience --- Return to Office Readiness Survey - Provides insight into employee readiness. Important topics covered are practical safety concerns, as well as emotions and attitudes around the transition. Just knowing these key pieces of information can help empower change management efforts to facilitate a smooth transition - In the workforce management arena, being such high-touch, high-interaction solutions, they responded quickly, enabling organizations to foster a safe work environment--the first to release contact-tracing tools, purely from a workforce management approach. Customers have been able to trace potential threats to other to workers when an employee is diagnosed (or having symptoms) of COVID-19. Upon its release, the contact-tracing tool was downloaded by 600 customers looking combat the spread of the virus. - In addition to contact tracing, their HR service delivery (HRSD) solutions have also been ripe for customers to take advantage of. From the rollout of workflows to help facilitate CDC guidelines (e.g., 14-day quarantines from work, etc.) to the AI-enabled document classification, our customers are realizing the power of HRSD as a help-meet as they undergo this shift.
Ultimate Software Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) Activities
Almost five months after Kronos and Ultimate Software merged to create a $3 billion HCM application powerhouse, the combined company has a new name: UKG as in Ultimate Kronos Group with Our Purpose is People as its tagline.
The new company will bring together the best of each company’s award-winning solutions – Ultimate’s UltiPro HCM and Employee Experience products with Workforce Dimensions from Kronos, Kronos Workforce Ready, and other solutions from Kronos – with an unwavering commitment to delighting customers and exceeding their expectations. Upon closing, the combined company will have revenues of approximately $3 billion, more than 12,000 employees worldwide, and an enterprise value of $22 billion, with further plans for growth including the addition of 3,000 employees over the next three years.
In October 2019, Kronos acquired Optimum Solutions Inc, expanding its reach and client base to over 600 organizations. Kronos will continue to support all acquired customers through a dedicated Optimum team.
In mid-July 2018, Ultimate Software acquired the Paris-based HR service delivery provider PeopleDoc for about $300 million in cash and stock.
Ultimate Software Customers in ARTW Customer Database
Leveraging a rigorous data-centric research methodology, APPS RUN THE WORLD asks the simple question: Who’s buying Ultimate Software applications and why? And we provide the answers – supported by decades of research – to our clients around the world. Our Customer database has over 100 data fields that detail company usage of Ultimate Software and other enterprise apps by function, customer size, industry, location, implementation status, partner involvement, Line of Business Key Stakeholders and IT decision makers contact details. List of Verified UltiPro Compensation Management, UltiPro Core HR and Payroll, UltiPro Talent Acquisition, UltiPro Talent Management, UltiPro Time Management, Kronos SaaShr, Kronos Workforce Central, Kronos Workforce Ready, customers.
Ultimate Software Overview
Ownership: - Private
Number of Employees: 5600
Functional Markets: Human Capital Management,
Key Verticals: Aerospace and Defense, Automotive, Banking and Financial Services, Communication, Construction, Real Estate, Consumer Packaged Goods, Distribution, K12, Higher Education, Federal Government, State and Local Government, Public Safety, Healthcare, Life Insurance, P&C Insurance, Specialty Insurance, Leisure and Recreation, Hospitality, Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Media, Faith Based Nonprofit, Youth and Elderly Care Nonprofit, Special Cause Nonprofit, Oil and Gas, Professional Services, Retail, Transportation, Utilities,
Ultimate Software Key Enterprise and Cloud Applications
UltiPro Compensation Management, UltiPro Core HR and Payroll, UltiPro Talent Acquisition, UltiPro Talent Management, UltiPro Time Management, Kronos SaaShr, Kronos Workforce Central, Kronos Workforce Ready,
Ultimate Software Revenues, $M:
| Type/Year | 2018 | 2019 | YoY Growth, % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Revenues, $M | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe |
| Enterprise Applications Revenues, $M | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe |
| Cloud Applications Revenues, $M | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe |
* Enterprise Applications Revenues = License + Support & Maintenance + SaaS
** All revenue figures are estimates based on public records, Cloud and Non-Cloud business models in Apps Run The World's vendor database, and annual survey results including vendor feedback.
Ultimate Software Revenue Breakdown By Type, $M:
| Type | License | Services | Hardware | Support & Maintenance | SaaS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % of Total Revenues | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe |
| Revenues, $M | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe |
Ultimate Software Enterprise Applications Revenues By Functional Markets, $M:
Ultimate Software Enterprise Applications Revenues By Verticals, $M:
Ultimate Software Revenues By Region, $M
| Region | % of Total Revenues | 2019 Total Revenues, $M | 2019 Enterprise Applications Revenues, $M | 2019 Cloud Applications Revenues, $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Americas | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe |
| EMEA | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe |
| APAC | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe |
| Total | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe |
Ultimate Software Direct vs Indirect sales
| Region | Direct Sales | Indirect Sales | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type % | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe |
| Revenues, $M | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe |
Ultimate Software Customers - Breakdown by Geo, Size, Vertical and Product
List of Verified Ultimate Software Customers
No. of Ultimate Software Customers: 6600
No. of Ultimate Software Enterprise Applications Customers: 6600
No. of Ultimate Software Cloud Customers: 6600
No. of Ultimate Software Cloud Subscribers: 51000000
Ultimate provides solutions to more than 6,600 companies worldwide, with ~51 million people records in the cloud, including the customers and people records Ultimate added with the PeopleDoc acquisition. Ultimate's customers represent a wide variety of industries, including manufacturing, food services, sports, technology, finance, insurance, retail, real estate, transportation, communications, healthcare, and other services.
Recent customer wins included Pekin Insurance, Miami Dolphins, Earls Kitchen + Bar, Phoenix Suns, Pharmaca, Islands Restaurants, Mid-Atlantic Health Care, Zumba Fitness Inc, Armacell, Amy’s Kitchen, West Fraser Mills, AmeriPride Services, Aramark, Legal Sea Foods, Dycom Industries, Shake Shack, Amy’s Kitchen, Care Core National, Soulcycle, Morgans Hotel Group, and many others.
Some of Ultimate Software live customers are: Adobe Systems, Bloomin’ Brands, Chicago Cubs, Cineplex, Concord Hospitality, Culligan International, First American, Lincoln Financial, Major League Baseball, Nikon, Pep Boys, P.F. Chang’s, Safelite, Sony Online Entertainment, SUBWAY, Texas Roadhouse, Trek Bicycles, Volvo, and Yamaha Corporation of America.
Kronos, having successfully transitioned to a pure software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider, again delivered exceptional growth in the Kronos Cloud and ended the year with very strong subscription growth in the fourth quarter. For fiscal 2019 (end Sept 30), Kronos stated it crossed $1 billion of annual recurring revenue, and over $1.43B overall.
Kronos strengthened its position as a software provider in workforce management with all-time highs for product bookings in most key vertical segments and geographic regions while the company deepened industry expertise worldwide. Subscription revenue was up 30%, fueled by Workforce Dimensions adoption and an all-time best year for human capital management (HCM) deals.
Kronos had another record year overall for $1 million+ wins, with new fourth-quarter customer deals including: one of the world’s largest online retailers; a major package shipping and deliver company serving the U.S. and Canada; a public school district in the U.S. serving more than 40,000 students; and one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the U.S. Building on the continued success of its global partner infrastructure network, Kronos announced a new cloud collaboration relationship with Oracle HCM.
Furthermore, Kronos and NGA Human Resources formed a strategic global alliance to simplify the delivery of workforce management, HR, and payroll services to organizations with complex global workforces.
Ultimate Software Market Opportunities, M&A and Geo Expansions
UKG is expected to invest heavily in its new branding push in order to raise the awareness of the umbrella group that unites a plethora of HR, payroll and workforce management applications purposely built for people and verticals. In addition, prior to the merger UKG already had 400+ customers on both platforms using combined solutions across HCM and workforce management; UKG is expected to double-down on these joint-opportunities, adding value with new offerings stemming from their combined synergies.
Ultimate Software Risks and Challenges
Over the next few months, UKG will be busy harnessing its two main operations in Lowell, MA, and Weston, FL, in order to build the momentum needed to rally behind the unifying brand, not a trivial task as most of its 12,000+ employees are scattered all over the world as they continue to work remotely amid the pandemic.
Ultimate Software Ecosystem, Partners, Resellers and SI
Historically, Ultimate Software primarily sells direct, but initiatives to expand its consulting and advisory partner ecosystem has resulted in approx. 20% growth in certified advisory partners YoY since 2016. Similarly, Kronos has direct sales teams across North America, yet also in the UK, Europe, Australia, China, and India. In order to extend its reach across these markets, and emerging markets such as South East Asia, Middle East, and Africa, Kronos has been very focused on building out its channel ecosystem. Going forward as UKG, the strategy is a strong combination of direct sales and emphasizing the growth of the advisory partner ecosystem extended across all products within the UKG portfolio.
Ultimate Software Cloud Infrastructure Insights
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- Ultimate Software Public Cloud and Infrastructure (IaaS)
- Ultimate Software Platform (PaaS)
- Ultimate Software Application Delivery
- Ultimate Software Private Cloud and Data Centers
Research Methodology
Data used in research reports are derived from publicly available documents, continuous surveys of applications vendors, customers, resellers, Independent Software Vendors, systems integrators and other verifiable sources.
Vendor shares and market forecast results are based on a combination of existing databases as well as demand side and supply side research conducted throughout the year with validation from vendors, customers, channel partners and documentations such as earnings releases and 10Q and 10K filings, vertical industry studies, regional and country-level statistics from public and private institutions(i.e. colleges, universities, government agencies and trade associations).
For additional information on our methodologies, here's the link:
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