Sunnyvale, CA Ñ February 27, 2003 Ñ Elance Inc. today announced that it has acquired CascadeWorks Inc., consolidating Elance's position as a provider of services procurement and management (SPM) solutions. With this acquisition, the company's customers now include ABN AMRO NA, Charles Schwab & Co., FedEx, Motorola and Texas Instruments.
Elance said its SPM solutions manage service-related expenditures. The provider cited recently published research by Elance and the Center for Advanced Purchasing Studies showing that more than one-third of corporate purchasing budgets are spent on services, averaging almost one billion dollars annually in the typical Global 2000 corporation. Additionally, a recent Forrester Research survey of 152 chief financial officers (ÒCFO Omnibus Study,Ó December 2002) found the CFOs believe that improvements in services procurement and management could save their companies nearly 10 percent in annual services expenditures Ñ a savings of almost $100 million in the typical Global 2000 enterprise.
"We're extremely excited about becoming part of Elance and about our position in the market," said Todd Greene, co-founder of CascadeWorks and incoming vice president of product management for Elance Inc. "The combination of Elance and CascadeWorks creates a company with a strong list of customers, understanding of the needs of Global 2000 enterprises, and capabilities and resources to address the growing need for SPM solutions."
Elance said it would continue to support the current generation of both Elance 3 and CascadeWorks Clarity. Future releases of Elance's software will leverage and incorporate the strengths of both companies' products.
The acquisition was completed as an all-stock purchase transaction on February 25, 2003. Current CascadeWorks employees, including certain key executives, have become employees of Elance Inc. CascadeWorks' lead investor, Chip Linehan of New Enterprise Associates, has joined Elance's board of directors. Ray Lane remains chairman of the board of Elance Inc. Elance will also continue to grow its Elance Online services marketplace.
