A family-run software company 600 miles north of Silicon Valley said Wednesday it snagged a “substantial” investment from private-equity firm Accel-KKR.
The investment will help the Salem, Oregon-based Saber Consulting improve its products, broaden its customer base, and expand into new markets, said Ben Bisconti, a managing director with Accel-KKR. The amount of the investment was not disclosed.
Founded in 1997 by brothers Nitin and Karan Khanna, Saber sells software systems that help state and local governments manage internal systems and processes such as the evaluation of construction bids. The systems also allow them to offer online services from filing tax forms to applying for driver's licenses.
Saber’s systems encompass government functions such as voter registration, election management, and forms processing, as well as data collection and analysis for utilities, healthcare, and educational organizations.
“Their existing portfolio products have applications in all 50 states,” Mr. Bisconti said, noting the company currently sells to local governments in just 13 states. “We’ve worked with them on developing a growth plan.”
Fragmented Market
While bigger companies like Accenture offer some competition for Saber, the market for public-sector software systems is very fragmented, said Mr. Bisconti.
Accenture“There are a lot of smaller companies that provide the type of software and solutions Saber does,” he said. “From our perspective, they’re getting to the scale where they can deliver very large and very complex IT solutions to the state.”
Accel-KKR’s experience investing in technology companies that focus on public sector customers makes the relationship a good fit for the two companies, said Saber CEO Nitin Khanna, a former senior manager at Oracle.
Oracle“We have found in Accel-KKR a number of key attributes that we felt were essential in a financial partner—experience in the public-sector IT space, a proven track record of partnering closely with family-owned businesses, and an unparalleled network of business relationships.”