The Whispir Limited (ASX: WSP) share price is on course to end the week on a high.
This morning the software-as-a-service communications workflow platform provider's shares have raced 9% higher to $1.68.
Why is the Whispir share price racing higher?
Investors have been buying the company's shares today after it released its first quarter update.
According to the release, Whispir has started FY 2020 strongly, with quarterly Annualised Recurring Revenue (ARR) of $34.5 million. This was a 10% increase since the end of June and puts Whispir slightly ahead of its prospectus forecast.
Customer cash receipts came in 9% higher than the prior corresponding period at $7.7 million. Key drivers of this were new customer acquisitions and growth in platform use by existing customers across all regions.
One slight negative, though, was that these cash receipts were down 6% on the June quarter. Management put this down to strong collections in fourth quarter of FY 2019.
Strong demand and Amazon partnership.
The release explains that demand for Whispir's communications workflow software continues to grow. This has been supported by targeted market expansion in North America and Asia.
During the quarter Whispir increased its footprint in North America through strategic partner collaborations with Amazon Web Services and Nexmo.
It was also awarded AWS Partner Network Advanced Technology Partner certification. Which means Whispir now has access to AWS market development funding and the option to work with the AWS Partner Team on integrated marketing campaigns.
AWS Partner certification is only available to companies that meet architectural best practice for reliable and secure cloud systems and generate a defined minimum revenue level through AWS.
Outlook.
Management is confident that the continued acquisition of new customers and the increasing utilisation of the platform will continue. It also expects the launch of the Whispir Store to enhance this. In addition to this, it expects its sales momentum to increase with channel relationships strengthening.
Whispir CEO Jeromy Wells said: "While channel partnerships are an integral part of our go-to-market strategy, we are increasingly investing in our digital direct sales capabilities to cost-effectively acquire new customers and increase use of the platform by our existing customers."
"Longer term, we believe the SMB market offers significant opportunities for our industry-leading technology, and we have successfully launched the first stage of our Marketplace strategy to remove friction and manual interaction from our sales process. Whispir's strong performance over the first quarter, with growth across key metrics, sees us on track to meet FY20 Prospectus forecast," Wells concluded.
Also climbing higher in the tech sector have been the shares of Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS) and Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA). They are up 7% and 2%, respectively, in late morning trade.
