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An Introduction to Autonomy

Founded in 1996 and utilizing a unique combination of technologies borne out of research at Cambridge University, Autonomy has experienced a meteoric rise. The company currently has a market cap of $4 billion, is the second largest pure software company in Europe and has offices worldwide. Autonomy's position as the market leader is widely recognized by leading industry analysts including Gartner, Forrester Research, IDC and Delphi, with the latter referring to Autonomy as the fastest growing public company in the space.

See Also: Autonomy Group Overview

Autonomy's Vision

Autonomy was founded upon a vision to dramatically change the way in which we interact with information and computers, ensuring that computers map to our world, rather than the other way round.

Human-friendly or unstructured information is not naturally found in the rows and columns of a database, but in documents, presentations, videos, phone conversations, emails and IMs. We are facing an increasing deluge of unstructured information, with 80% now falling into this category and, according to Gartner, the volume of this data doubling every month. As the amount of unstructured information multiplies, the challenge for the modern enterprise is trying to understand and extract the value that lies within this vast sea of data.

"The essence of Autonomy's software lies in its ability to extract the core concepts of unstructured data. The way in which it achieves this is arguably some way ahead of any rival product."
Peter Whiting, UBS, 2007

Many companies believe that access to information is the answer to dealing with the unstoppable spread of information of all forms – if people can find information, they can process it themselves. Autonomy believes that although access to information is important, there is far greater value in forming an understanding of data and automatically processing it, freeing up people to focus on higher-value activities that computers are unable to do.

Autonomy's software powers the full spectrum of mission-critical enterprise applications including pan-enterprise search, proactive Information Risk Management, information governance, eDiscovery, consolidated archiving, call center solutions, rich media management, security applications, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Knowledge Management (KM) and BPM. Autonomy addresses the challenges of information within any vertical market or application.

Further Reference: The Evolution of Search
Further Reference: Autonomy Group Overview

Company Background

Founded in 1996, Autonomy is a financially stable company, profitable in every quarter for over six years with solid cash generation and no net debt. Autonomy has a global presence with dual headquarters in Cambridge, UK and San Francisco, USA and offices throughout the world including North America, Western Europe, Australia, Asia Pacific, Japan and China. An extensive partner network combining the expertise of local integrators and global consultancy services provides a strong route to market. Autonomy is listed on the London Stock Exchange (AU. or AU.L) and reports quarterly under the stringent standards set by International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

400+ OEM companies, with licenses to more than 500 products, and more than 400 VARs and Integrators, including leading companies such as BEA, Citrix, H-P, Novell, Oracle, Sybase and TIBCO have acknowledged the power and business potential of Autonomy's technology by embedding it at the core of their products.

Antwerp : Barcelona : Beijing : Bogota : Boston : Buenos Aires : Calgary : Cambridge : Chicago : Dallas : Darmstadt : Kuala Lumpur : London : Madrid : Mexico City : Milan : Munich : New York : Oslo : Ottawa : Paris : Pleasanton : Rome : San Francisco : Shanghai : Singapore : San Jose : Santiago : Sao Paulo : Stockholm : Sydney : Tokyo : Utrecht : Washington D.C.

Financial Strengths

Revenues up 47% to record $500m in 2008
Over $199m in cash and no net debt at year end
$78m in R&D investment (up 26% year-on-year)
Profit Before Tax $208.8m (up 84% from 2007)
20,000+ Customers
400+ VARs
400+ OEM companies with licenses to more than 500 products
Market Share Leader for High-End Pan-Enterprise Search
Solid Organic Growth

Revenue by Geographical Area

Americas 61%
Americas 61%
Boston, Calgary, Chicago, Dallas, Mexico City, New York, Ottawa, Pleasanton, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, San Jose, Washington D.C.
ROW 39%
ROW 39%
Antwerp, Barcelona, Beijing, Cambridge, Darmstadt, Kuala Lumpur, London, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Oslo, Paris, Rome, Shanghai, Singapore, Stockholm, Sydney, Tokyo, Utrecht
Further Reference: Investor Relations
Autonomy Go to previous page... Frequently Asked Questions | Introduction | Meaning-Based Computing Go to next page...
Autonomy CEO Dr Mike Lynch on Autonomy's present and future, 23rd March, 2009
A video introduction the Autonomy Group
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