July 16, 2004
IQNavigator Follows Global Ambition
By Julie Dunn
IQNavigator, a 5-year-old Denver company that specializes in services procurement and spending-management software, recently jumped the pond in the first stage of an ambitious international growth plan.
The company, which opened a London sales and implementation office at the end of April, has plans to open a Netherlands office in The Hague in September and a Malaysian location by the end of the year
"The benefits that we provide here in North America are just as applicable around the world," said John F. Martin, the company's senior vice president for strategy and technology. "Our next stage of growth is driven by international expansion, both within our customer base and by selling directly to international corporations."
Shell Oil Co. began using IQNavigator software in the United Kingdom this week.
"These global companies want to use a platform worldwide, and IQNavigator is stepping up to the plate to support that," said Christa Degnan, an analyst at Boston research firm Aberdeen Group Inc., who called IQNavigator a top-tier player in this small market.
"For IQNavigator to continue to push the envelope and stay out ahead in enterprise resource planning, they really need to establish that international beachhead," she said. "They are ahead of their competitors."
Martin said discussions are underway to open offices in South Africa and Saudi Arabia.
IQNavigator's contract-labor management software is available in English and French, but the company is in the process of translating it into Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, German and Dutch.
A private company in the Denver Tech Center with about 30 clients worldwide, IQNavigator declined to disclose revenues, but Martin said that "sales doubled in 2003, and we expect them to grow just as fast in 2004."
"Our revenue growth proved our business model and gave us the momentum to launch globally," Martin said. "This is all customer-driven."
IQNavigator employs about 80 people locally and said it increased its Denver staff by 12 people in the past month.
According to the American Staffing Association, there were 2.3 million temporary and contract employees working on any given day in the first quarter of 2004, up 9.1 percent from the same period in 2003.
