Germany’s RIB Group grew 26% in 2018, boosted by its SaaS operations, with its Microsoft partnership expected to grow its SaaS user base ten-fold in 2019.
Stuttgart, Germany-based software provider RIB Group has published its results for the year to 31 December 2018 showing revenue up over 26% on 2017, with the company planning to strengthen its investments in its Software-as-a-Service solutions. Its 2018 SaaS revenues were a highlight of the results: up 33% to €17.3m, and now comprise 13% of group revenues.
Geographically, the group still derives most of its revenues from Germany: €67.7m from total group revenues of €136.9m (almost twice as much as the rest of the EMEA region put together – though it is looking to expand elsewhere in Europe, including in the UK, plus southeast Asia), and it is forecasting 31-46% revenue growth to somewhere in the range of €180-€200m in 2019. Profit (EBITDA) was a healthy €38m for the year – a margin of nearly 28%.
Like other vendors (including UK-based Idox – see 1 April 2019 post), RIB Group is aiming to become a more global player by reducing its reliance on localised, on-premise software installations, and “re-platforming its software stack towards a true cloud“. In 2018, annual recurring revenues (SaaS/cloud and maintenance) grew 21% to €57.4m. million.
RIB Group’s 2018 annual report highlights its commitment to growing its partnership with Microsoft (explained to Extranet Evolution by MD of sales and operations Mads Bording, right, in late 2018: post). It aims to expand adoption of its iTWO and MTWO platform adoption ten-fold, from 3,000 to 30,000 end users in 2019.
The RIB/Microsoft partnership is also committed to supporting digital transformation: “RIB and Microsoft have teamed up … to jointly develop cutting-edge technologies. The topics covered include artificial intelligence, voice recognition, smart analytics.”
AI and mobility are key areas for RIB R&D investment – RIB showcased its first AI solution, McTWO at a 2018 user conference: “the first artificial intelligence assistant for the construction and real estate industries” with live features including a “chatbot, voice assistance, deep learning and machine learning”.
Update (9 April 2019) – RIB has announced the formation of a joint venture, SGTWO, with Saint-Gobain Germany, combines Saint-Gobain’s skills in innovative building solutions with RIB’s 5D BIM and AI technologies. TheJV aims to improve modular building and planning in an enhanced 5D BIM solution. The new company will be headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Update (23 April 2019) – RIB has expanded its stake in DATENGUT, a Leipzig, Germany-based provider of mobile solutions for the construction industry, from 51% to 75%, citing the “extremely positive reactions of our customers to the extended product portfolio in the Mobility segment.”
