Leading business software consultants Opal Wave have reported a 35 per cent increase in turnover during the year ending 31 March 2017.

The organisation, which specialises in business planning and consolidation applications, plus the HANA platform, from global provider SAP, saw its income rise from £3.02m to a record £4.08m during the period. This performance followed a 50 per cent increase from £2.04m in 2015-16.

Highlights of Opal Wave’s performance during 2016-17 included becoming the world’s first organisation to launch a cloud-based version of the SAP Business Planning and Consolidation (BPC) system as a service.

This development brought the solution widely seen as the leading application of its type – previously only feasible for larger organisations – within the reach of even the smallest enterprises, as cloud technology removes the need for expensive hardware or specialist IT support teams.

Containing a suite of essential accounting templates, the solution delivers benefits including enhanced efficiency and effectiveness in areas such as legal and regulatory compliance. The system includes support for new tax reporting necessary for Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) compliance, as well as supporting businesses in protecting themselves from breaching the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which comes into force in May 2018.

Opal Wave launched its innovative product after concluding a unique agreement with the manufacturer and investing £500,000 in purposes such as constructing infrastructure.

New Opal Wave clients recruited during 2016-17 included Polar Capital, Global Brands Group and Babcock International Group.

These organisations have joined a roster, spanning numerous business sectors, which already included: giant bookmakers Ladbrokes; green energy company Ecotricity; US-based precision engineering Fortune 500 company Colfax Corporation, who have signed a five-year managed cloud solution contract; leading food producers Organix; and global management, engineering and development consultancy Mott MacDonald.

Opal Wave’s employee recruitment during 2016-17 saw the staffing at its offices in London, Bradford and Beirut grow from 31 to over 40. Key newcomers included account manager John Gavin, new business sales executive Joshua Baterip and inside sales executive Mujahid Ali, with four outstanding graduates also joining the company’s well-regarded and highly selective associate consultants programme.

Other Opal Wave highlights in 2016-17 included becoming the world’s first and only company to qualify as an SAP Partner Managed Cloud partner for SAP BPC. This is the highest level of partnership, which assures clients the firm is qualified in every aspect of consultancy, support and training for the cloud-delivered BPC Cloud, powered by SAP HANA and SAP BPC. This achievement underlines the global leadership shown by the UK-based Opal Wave organisation in the highly competitive SAP market.

The year also saw Opal Wave launch its new website.

Commenting on the 2016-17 performance, Simon Bell, Opal Wave sales and marketing director, said:

“We’re delighted that our blend of outstanding technical expertise, understanding of clients’ business needs and commitment to excellent customer service continues to see our company grow very rapidly.

Although we’re never complacent, we see no reason why our obviously successful formula shouldn’t continue to attract and retain outstanding clients in the future, particularly as our recent recruitment has brought some further outstanding people into the firm.

We also feel that factors such as the uncertainties surrounding Brexit will increase our market opportunities. We believe more enterprises will need to review their enterprise performance management capabilities and bring state-of-the-art automation to processes such as planning, budgeting, forecasting, consolidation and financial reporting, in which we specialise, as they seek to streamline their operations and have the most accurate possible information on which to base important decisions.

With the launch of our BPC Cloud service we have positioned ourselves to be able to help more businesses address their challenges, enabling them to reduce costs while at the same time improve decision making to deliver higher revenues and profits, as well as ensuring compliance in their business and financial reporting processes.”

Founded in 2008, Opal Wave’s services include consulting, hardware, software, hosting, support and maintenance.