This week sees the conclusion of the European Sustainable Development Week (SEDD). Since 2014, this special week has highlighted the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Objectives and encouraged every one of us to contribute to a shared vision which commits to “putting an end to poverty, saving the planet and building a peaceful world”.
The UN’s 17 sustainable goals have been adopted and form part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. More precisely, the Agenda lists 169 targets to be achieved by this date. The period between 2020 and 2030 has been named the ‘Decade of Action’. Indeed, though significant progress has been achieved, urgent action is still required on all fronts.
In the context of this worldwide effort, staff at Sidetrade have taken collective action, linking their more local sustainable initiatives to those on a worldwide scale by means of a challenge organised in partnership with the NGO Tree Nation.
Daily eco-friendly actions literally become… a forest in Madagascar!
On the 18th September, the opening day of the European Sustainable Development Week, we set a challenge on B-Side, a communication platform which enables us to share useful information with our people, such as press reviews, information about our competitors, highlights of our working life, job offers, or new product launches…. The challenge invites Sidetraders to share all their small or larger-scale daily actions which contribute to the protection of the planet.
For each ‘like’ received, Sidetrade offers a tree to the employee who thus becomes a ‘planter’ and so is contributing to Tree Nation’s reforestation project in the north-west of Madagascar.
In two weeks ‘Sidetraders’ have greatly increased their own sustainable development initiatives, contributing to Madagascar’s reforestation by indirectly making possible the planting of 556 trees. For the individual who contributes, each tree is a special and unusual gift. Also, each tree is a victory for the deforested areas of Madagascar, contributing to a more resilient environment, and is a pledge of our commitment to a better future for us all.
The challenge we set up has quickly won a lot of support from our teams. Some have chosen to replace their light-bulbs at home with LEDs, others to buy local or organic products, yet others to go by bike to the office or the gym, or to give up using plastic bags… Ideas have been flowing, so our initial aim of planting 500 trees has quickly been achieved.
Actions we can all take
For our group of ‘planters’ the challenge has often become an opportunity to consider – or reconsider – the Sustainable Development Objectives and to forge a link between these, their own initiatives, the company’s actions as regards CSR, as well as the more global issues of sustainable development.
For many of our people, the protection of the planet has become a concrete reality in their daily lives, both at the office and at home. This initiative will add to the many positive links which already exist between Sidetraders.
As well as the positive energy and huge dynamism created by the challenge, it has also shown that involvement in the protection of the environment is within everyone’s reach, especially when action is taken and shared with enthusiasm.
As one of the participants neatly put it: “The challenge has shown that many of us are involved in taking action to help the environment, and that each action counts”. These efforts could inspire more still to follow.
From the suggestions made by participants, let’s pick out a few here. Sidetrade could partner with an NGO to protect biodiversity or with local fruit and vegetable growers. It could launch a clean-up of the local environment, or set up workshops to teach about recycling…
We are a technology business. We are also a responsible and committed business which is convinced that the well-being of our staff and the protection of the environment are the keys to our future, both individually and collectively.
The result of the challenge Sidetrade set up with Tree Nation provides both clear recognition and proof of our commitment, but also an incentive to go even further. The strength and influence of our company are great advantages in helping to boost CSR initiatives. We must seize this opportunity as we go forward.
Delphine Vantours, Chief People Officer at Sidetrade
Olivier Novasque, founder, and CEO of Sidetrade, had this to say:
Even in the midst of a deep-seated health crisis, in a quarter which tends to be slower than the rest of the year, we managed to achieve double-digit growth. More than ever, in this period of unprecedented uncertainty, Sidetrade has shown the resilience of its SaaS growth model. Our Artificial Intelligence offerings are tailored for today’s global businesses. This is a vast market with untapped potential, and we intend to take the lead.”
Continued double-digit growth. Q3 revenue up 14%
| SIDETRADE (millions of euros) |
T2020 Q3 | 2019 Q3 | VARIATION (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 7,3 | 6.4 | + 14% |
Following up on two excellent quarters, Sidetrade continues with outstanding double-digit growth in Q3, a period which in fact tends to be the slowest in the year. 2020 Q3 revenue was €7.3m, up 14% against the same period last year.
Key events
The period saw several prestigious new clients come on board, including Azets (international auditing and accounting) for their Northern European operations; K2 Partnering Solutions (recruitment of technology consultants) for their British and US operations; and a promising pilot project for Vinci Construction in France.
One of the most exciting events in the quarter was confirmation that the American group Tech Data would be rolling out Sidetrade technology for all their business in the US, as well as in 26 European countries. This is no small feat, to say the least, considering that Tech Data is a multinational leader in the distribution of IT products and services, with revenue of 36.78 billion USD and ranked 88th on the Fortune 500. The go-ahead stems from the successful 2019 pilot phase in the US, France and Switzerland. On an annual basis, this new client represents an additional B2B transaction flow of around $45b to be managed in the Sidetrade cloud, making Tech Data one of Sidetrade’s biggest accounts.
In other news, Midcap Partners, a broker and investment bank specialized in small and midcaps, initiated coverage of Sidetrade on 9 October 2020, considerably boosting Sidetrade’s visibility to European and North American investors. You can read the report by Midcap Partners on the Investors page of the Sidetrade website.
Sidetrade confirms their perspective of double-digit growth in FY2020.
In the current climate, it seems that most businesses have finally agreed that the old way of doing things is just not going to cut it anymore. But where do you begin to build an innovation strategy or a culture of innovation? And how can tech help business recovery in a post-covid world? Sidetrade might have the answer.
Sidetrade uses Artificial Intelligence to empower sales, and finance teams to grow sales and accelerate cash. Sidetrade also identifies untapped business opportunities on the customer journey with Aimie, its Artificial Intelligence platform.
Mark Sheldon was appointed group CTO of Sidetrade in July 2019, after the British AI start-up he co-founded, BrightTarget, was sold to Sidetrade. After a consultancy and in-house career in the software and digital transformation space, he now oversees Sidetrade’s global R&D strategy, leads a team of data engineers and data scientists, and oversees the company’s annual Coding Academy for college and university leavers.
Mark also recently opened the company’s newest Tech Hub in the centre of Birmingham, backed by strong investment for new jobs in R&D and community engagement. Mark is also sharing his story and offering his advice for would-be and current entrepreneurs and those looking help grow tech in the West Midlands at the Birmingham Tech Week event.
In today’s episode of Tech Talks Daily, Mark shared his insights around how to anticipate technological evolutions in AI. He discusses how to stay at the forefront of innovation, hiring, and keeping tech talent. Finally, Mark also shares the global R&D recruitment drive at Sidetrade and how listeners can get involved.
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Sidetrade announces expanded coverage of their stock through a support contract with Midcap Partners, a broker and investment bank specialized in small and midcaps. Established in Paris and London, Midcap Partners have the international footprint to strengthen Sidetrade’s visibility, especially with French and British investors.
Charles-Henri Berbain, managing partner and founder of Midcap Partners, had this to say about the deal:
We are delighted to raise Sidetrade’s profile with European, British, and North American investors. Sidetrade is one of the rare SaaS players listed on the Paris Stock Exchange. It has solid growth potential on a booming world market. We have every confidence in the ability of Sidetrade management to go out and conquer.”
The research report, “Sidetrade – Here is the cash” is downloadable at https://www.sidetrade.com/company/investors/. Midcap Partners will publish research notes on Sidetrade, according to the firm’s latest news, and will hold regular meetings with targeted investors.
Sidetrade stock is also covered by the Gilbert Dupont brokerage firm (part of the Société Générale group), who initiated coverage of Sidetrade in July 2009.
* All reports on Sidetrade prepared by analysts represent the opinions of those analysts and not necessarily those of Sidetrade. The information in such reports does not constitute an offer to sell or subscribe, or a solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe to any security in France, Europe, the United States, or any other country.