Partners
The Main Software 50 is an initiative of Main Capital Partners
On November 7th, for the eight consecutive year, the festive award ceremony of the Main Software 50 took place in the Harbour Club in Amsterdam. With a record number of subscriptions this year’s edition was more competitive than ever, and companies that achieved a top 50 position can be proud of their achievements. The Main Software 50, the renowned ranking of the 50 most successful Dutch software companies, is intended to increase visibility of the Dutch software sector for the larger public and reward software companies for their success. This years’ participants outperform last year’s cohort on almost all relevant KPIs, indicating the growing success of the sector at large. Subsequently the interest in the event from the media, business and investors was once again substantial.
Total revenue
Median revenue growth
SaaS revenue
International revenue
Partner revenue
Total number of employees
Revenue per FTE
| Ranking | Naam | Sector | Winnaar | Score | Oprichting | Plaats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uptrends | Web Performance Monitoring | Overall #1 | 100 | 2007 | Alphen aan de Rijn |
| 2 | Workstreampeople | Anywhere365 | Dialogue Management Software | Overall #2 | 98,3 | 2011 | Rotterdam |
| 3 | FIQAS Software | Financial & Accounting Software | Overall #3 | 97,0 | 1989 | Aalsmeer |
| 4 | Icecat | E-Commerce Software | 96,8 | 2009 | Nieuwegein | |
| 5 | Inergy Analytical Solutions | Business Intelligence (BI) | 96,4 | 1999 | Woerden | |
| 6 | RVC Medical IT | Healthcare Software | 96,2 | 1991 | Amersfoort | |
| 7 | Recruitee | Human Resource Management (HRM) | Highest Growth | 96,1 | 2015 | Amsterdam |
| 8 | Enovation | Healthcare Software | 93,4 | 1983 | Capelle aan den IJssel | |
| 9 | SDB Groep | Healthcare Software | 93,3 | 1976 | Den Haag | |
| 10 | 4PS | Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) | 92,6 | 2000 | Ede | |
| 11 | Nmbrs | Human Resource Management (HRM) | 91,9 | 2003 | Amsterdam | |
| 12 | Adver-Online | Human Resource Management (HRM) | 91,2 | 2002 | Heemstede | |
| 13 | Concapps | Mobile Applications | 91,2 | 2012 | s-Hertogenbosch | |
| 14 | AdChieve | Marketing Automation | 91,2 | 2014 | s-Hertogenbosch | |
| 15 | Sana Commerce | E-Commerce Software | 90,9 | 2008 | Rotterdam | |
| 16 | Copernica | Marketing Automation | 90,5 | 2001 | Amsterdam | |
| 17 | Cow Hills Retail | Omnichannel Retail Software | 88,6 | 2006 | Maarn | |
| 18 | OBI4wan | Customer Relations Management (CRM) | 87,9 | 2011 | Zaandam | |
| 19 | FRISS | Governance Risk & Compliance (GRC) | 87,7 | 2006 | Utrecht | |
| 20 | Sqills Group | Business Process Management (BPM) | 87,2 | 2007 | Enschede | |
| 21 | Optimizers | Supply Chain Management (SCM) | 87,1 | 2006 | Nijkerk | |
| 22 | Mavim | Business Process Management (BPM) | 86,6 | 1990 | Noordwijk | |
| 23 | ExpertCollege | E-learning | 86,5 | 2003 | Amstelveen | |
| 24 | FleetGO Group | Fleet Management | 86,4 | 2010 | Hattem | |
| 25 | MendriX | Supply Chain Management (SCM) | 86,1 | 2003 | Maarssen | |
| 26 | Blue Billywig | Video Management Software (VMS) | 85,4 | 2006 | Hilversum | |
| 27 | Onguard | Order to Cash Software | 85,4 | 1993 | Amsterdam | |
| 28 | GOconnectIT | Geographic Information System (GIS) | 85,3 | 2001 | Nieuwegein | |
| 29 | Valk Solutions | Omnichannel Retail Software | 84,6 | 1989 | Montfoort | |
| 30 | Visionplanner | Financial & Accounting Software | 84,6 | 1996 | Veenendaal | |
| 31 | Speakap | Employee Communications Platform | Cloud Champion | 84,4 | 2011 | Amsterdam |
| 32 | Avinty | Healthcare Software | 84,3 | 2016 | Oldenzaal | |
| 33 | Vendit | Omnichannel Retail Software | 83,6 | 1986 | Rotterdam | |
| 34 | Validata Group | Governance Risk & Compliance (GRC) | 82,9 | 2009 | Amsterdam | |
| 35 | The Competence Group | E-learning | 82,8 | 2002 | IJsselstein | |
| 36 | Way2Connect | Business Process Management (BPM) | 82,7 | 2005 | Etten-Leur | |
| 37 | Yellow Star Solutions | Supply Chain Management (SCM) | 82,3 | 2009 | Barendrecht | |
| 38 | AxyWare | Financial & Accounting Software | 82,2 | 2011 | Utrecht | |
| 39 | Ternair-2bMore | Marketing Automation | 80,6 | 2006 | IJsselstein | |
| 40 | 12Build | Project Management Software | 80,1 | 2007 | Nijverdal | |
| 41 | Codelogic | Dialogue Management Software | 80,0 | 2007 | Beverwijk | |
| 42 | Anago | Business Intelligence (BI) | 79,8 | 1999 | s-Hertogenbosch | |
| 43 | AllSolutions | Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) | 79,3 | 1987 | Woerden | |
| 44 | Horeko | Software solutions for hospitality | 79,2 | 2009 | Amersfoort | |
| 45 | Foleon | Content Management | 78,8 | 2013 | Amsterdam | |
| 46 | Advisie | Financial & Accounting Software | 78,3 | 1983 | Eemnes | |
| 47 | Appical | Human Resource Management (HRM) | 77,5 | 2012 | Amsterdam | |
| 48 | Snakeware | E-Commerce Software | 77,2 | 1995 | Sneek | |
| 49 | Hoteliers | E-Commerce Software | 76,6 | 2005 | Amsterdam | |
| 50 | Prime Vision | Optical Character Recognition (OCR) | 76,4 | 2003 | Delft |
Total revenue grew from EUR 314m in 2017 to EUR 386m in 2018 at a growth rate of 23% to EUR 396m. Recurring revenue of the participating companies grew slightly faster, and represented 68% of total revenue in 2018. Of the participating companies a stunning 64% grew by more than 20% on a yearly basis. 58% of companies expects year-on-year growth of more than 20% for the next two years.
Total 2018 FTE count amounted to 3.187, representing a 17% increase relative to last year. Interestingly, productivity grew by 5% over the course of the year to EUR 121 per FTE. This productivity figure is considerably higher than that of the participating companies of last year’s edition.
Dutch software companies prove to be strongly capable to consistently do business abroad; on average 26% of total revenue is generated from outside of The Netherlands. This international contribution is marginally higher than the 22% of last year. Moreover, at least a third of all companies generates more than 25% of total sales from abroad.
The large majority of participating software companies prove to be able to grow in a profitable way. 66% of the companies has realized a an EBITDA margin of over 10%. This figure is slightly higher than last year indicating the scalability of enterprise software companies. 24% of all companies was even able to realize an EBITDA margin of more than 20%.
Software companies continue to invest heavily in software development to stay innovative in the competitive environment. A stunning 90% of participants invests more than 10% of their annual revenue back into R&D.
Unsurprisingly the top 50 Dutch software companies appear to be interesting acquisition targets for both strategic and financial investors. Out of the 50 finalists of last year’s edition, 6 companies were acquired within 12 months after publication of the list. In addition to sell-side M&A, a substantial number of companies in the Main Software 50 ranking choose to take strategic growth steps through acquiring other companies. At least 10 finalists (top 50) of this year’s edition promoted their growth rates through selective add-on acquisitions.
The Main Software 50 is an initiative of Main Capital Partners