Big data firm warns of Q1 bookings slippage as it tries to rebuild
Cirata, formerly WANdisco, said its first-quarter bookings were $0.7 (£0.6m), compared to $2.1 (£1.7) in Q1 last year.
The firm, which last week announced a full-year operational loss of $36.5m/£28.9m to the end of December, said 15 contracts were signed in the quarter, nine of which were new or growth contracts. Last year’s Q1 bookings included a large renewal, it said.
The firm said deal slippage remained significant in its Q1 performance. Some orders from Q4 were signed in early 2024, and some deals targeted for Q1 are now expected to conclude in Q2.
It said it had completed changes to its sales organisation during the quarter, and establishing greater sales cycle predictability remained a priority. It expected bookings to be weighted to the second half of 2024, with reconfirmed its guidance for full-year bookings in the region of $13-15m (£10-12m).
It had made new releases of its software, with its DevOps application lifecycle management software accounting for 51% of bookings.
Chief executive Stephen Kelly said, “I want to provide a balanced scorecard and honest perspective on the progress of Cirata. We were disappointed by the actual Q1 bookings and again experienced deal slippage relating to the complex nature of enterprise sales, protracted procurement processes and the ongoing ramping of our new sales team. However, I am pleased with the increasing level of sales activity in the quarter, following the complete reboot of the GTM organization.
“The cadence of customer interaction has ramped significantly, and we are seeing improved commercial re-engagement as evidenced by the range of logos we have contracted with in Q1. Signing our first new contract in DevOps for some years as well as securing new and returning logos in DI has been encouraging and energizing for our team. Innovation in both LDM and DevOps continues and provides differentiated and superior technology offerings for our customers.
“As I said before, the recovery of Cirata, is likely to be non-linear but no-one should underestimate the focus we are placing on sharpening and improving our pipeline visibility and predictability. With the sales team now fully set, and with partner and customer interactions building, we remain focused on delivering against the guidance range and phasing we have set out for the year as a whole.”
