Business model of IRESS

Customer Segments

IRESS provides a range of software services and solutions to clients across the financial services and banking industries. This includes small independent firms, multinational financial and banking corporations and institutions, and various individual financial, wealth management, and banking professionals.

IRESS names a number of its clients on its website, including various high-profile companies. The Company lists companies such as iSelect, HoodSweeney, Centrepoint Alliance, MultiForte Financial Services, UniSuper, and WLM Financial on its website among its customers.

IRESS is based in Australia. The combined Australia and New Zealand market comprises the Companies principal market and largest revenue generator. The Company also serves a significant client base in the UK, where the Company also maintains an operational presence. IRESS serves a broader international client base, with additional customers across Asia, Canada, South Africa.

Value Propositions

IRESS provides value to its customers in the following ways:

• Its reputation and industry standing, with the Company an established name within the financial technology sector, particularly in Australia and New Zealand and the UK, where it has a positive track record;
• Its range of products and solutions, with the Company offering its clients a broad portfolio of solutions – including broking, investment management, and financial planning software products – that cover a range of fields within the financial services sector and serve a broad range of financial institutions and professionals;
• Its accessibility, with the Company providing its customers access to its software solutions and technology platforms through its website, allowing clients to utilise the Company’s various tools independently and at any time;
• Its international reach, with the Company serving a broad range of international clients, particularly in Australia and New Zealand, as well as across Asia, South Africa, and Canada; and
• Its industry expertise and experience, with the Company employing specialist technical personnel in the fields of financial services and technology, as well as a team of experienced industry executives.

Channels

IRESS operates a website at www.iress.com, through which the Company provides information on its products and solutions, target customers, and corporate activities. While the Company details its various solutions on its website, it does not operate an online sales channel, only providing contact details for potential clients to register an interest.

The Company does, however allow clients to access its IRESS Trader, IRESS Investor, and Wealth Management OSC platforms via the Company’s homepage, through which clients can manage their financial operations independently. IRESS additionally offers tools through its mobile applications for iOS and Android devices.

IRESS makes its sales primarily through a direct sales force, which is organised both by product and service line and geographic region. These sales personnel operate out of the Company’s international network of offices in Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, and Africa, including in Auckland, Melbourne, Singapore, London, Johannesburg, and Toronto. The Company additionally appears to utilise the services of various independent agents.

Customer Relationships

IRESS does not sell its products and solutions to clients on a self-service basis. Its online platforms and mobile apps, however, allow customers to access a range of software tools on a self-service basis through the Company’s website.

IRESS makes its sales primarily through its in-house direct sales force, the members of which consult directly with clients prior to making sales in order to ensure that they are offered the most appropriate solutions for their needs. The Company provides services and solutions under service agreements and contracts agreed on an individual basis.

IRESS offers ongoing after-sale support to its clients, who are able to access personalised technical assistance form dedicated support personnel over the phone, via email, or through an online contact form. The Company also provides a range of resources to clients through its website, including industry insights and research, training materials, and blogs. It also provides information on its upcoming events, affording clients the opportunity to interact with the Company in person.

IRESS additionally operates several social media accounts – including with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube – through which it is able to provide corporate updates and interact with clients.

Key Activities

IRESS an Australia-based provider of information, trading, compliance, order management, portfolio and wealth management, and enterprise lending systems and related tools. The Company serves a range of corporate, commercial, and individual professional clients across the banking and financial services industries. IRESS organises its operations into eight operating segments, arranged by product line and geographic region.

The Company’s offerings are organised into three categories: Financial Market Services, including the provision of information, trading, compliance, order management, portfolio systems and related tools; Wealth Management Services, including the provision of financial planning systems and related tools to wealth management clients; and Enterprise Lending, including the provision of enterprise mortgage origination software and associated consulting services. IRESS serves an international client base across Australia, New Zealand, the UK, South Africa, Canada, and other markets in Asia.

Key Partners

IRESS works in close conjunction with a range of partner companies and organisations, ensuring that it is able to provide effective solutions to its clients. These partners can be organised broadly into the following categories:

• Supplier and Vendor Partners, comprising suppliers of services, tools, equipment, and technologies that support the development and distribution of the Company’s various products and solutions;
• Financial Partners, comprising a range of financial institutions and firms – including multinational institutions and smaller firms – with which the Company work on various financial solutions;
• Technology Partners, comprising technology companies and systems integrators with which the Company partners on the development and implementation of financial software solutions; and
• Strategic and Alliance Partners, comprising a range of companies across multiple sectors with which the Company works closely on a range of joint projects.

IRESS has launched a number of partnerships in recent years. This includes a partnership with Sentry Group to develop technology solutions, a partnership with LV= to deliver an integrated advice and wealth management solution, and a partnership with Standard Life to launch an integration hub in the UK.

Key Resources

IRESS’s key resources are its technologies and intellectual properties, its software platforms and solutions, its sales and distribution network, its IT and communications infrastructure, its network of partners, and its personnel.

IRESS utilises a range of proprietary technologies in the development and implementation of its solutions. Searches of records published by the US Patent and Trademark Office and by IP Australia identified no patent applications filed in the name of IRESS.

IRESS also owns and or leases a number of physical properties around the world, primarily as part of its office network spanning Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Canada, South Africa, and Asia.

Cost Structure

IRESS incurs costs in relation to the development of its technologies and solutions, the development and maintenance of its online platforms, the maintenance of its IT and communications infrastructure, the procurement of professional services, the implementation of marketing campaigns, the management of its partnerships, the operation of its sales and administrative offices, and the retention of its personnel.

In 2015 IRESS recorded customer data fees in totalling AUD 29.19 million, communication and other technology expenses totalling AUD 17.60 million, and employee benefit expenses totalling AUD 185.06 million.

Revenue Streams

IRESS generates revenue through the provision of financial software solutions to a range of corporate, institutional, and individual clients. The Company devices its revenue primarily under service contracts agree on a case-by-case basis.

In 2015 IRESS generated operating revenue for the year in the amount of AUD 361.5 million, up on the AUD 329.0 million recorded by the Company in 2014.