by Jim Lundy
DocuSign, one of the Silicon Valley Unicorns with a $3 billion valuation, has allegedly filed its S-1 document with the SEC. We were made aware of this several weeks ago and today TechCrunch confirmed that it had also heard the news.
Why Secret Filing
There is a new SEC rule that allows a firm to file its S-1 IPO documents but keep them confidential until 15 days before its roadshow. To us, if DocuSign filed its S-1 several weeks ago, that would mean a roadshow in Q2, in advance of its annual Momentum conference in May.
DTM is one of the easiest digital on-ramps to a fully digital organization.
The DTM Revolution: The Race to Automate Content
DocuSign is one of the leaders in Digital Transaction Management (DTM)—which is all about taking paper transactions and making them digital. The early days of DTM focused on e-Signatures, which are now one of DocuSign’s core features.
Today, while many enterprises are still getting started with DTM, others have had success and are now looking to automate their content processes even more. DocuSign’s IPO is a signal of the demand for DTM and the fact that it is one of the easiest digital on-ramps to a fully digital organization.
DocuSign Follows DropBox and Box
In other content markets, such as cloud content management, Box IPO’d in 2015 and DropBox is expected to IPO month (i.e., it is expected on March 23rd, 2018). For DocuSign, this is a win and the money it gets from the public market will allow it to continue its global expansion and buy other content-related applications, such as Workflow and Content Automation (WCA) providers.
Some of the firms that could be on the potential shopping list could be eOriginal, HelloSign, Intelledox, Nintex, PandaDoc, and ThinkSmart.
An IPO Win: DTM Is an OnRamp to Digital
Overall, this IPO will be a win for the DTM market and a win for CEO Dan Springer and Chairman Keith Krach. Both have executed successful IPOs in the past, and their combined experience is part of the reason for DocuSign’s current position. It also solidifies Digital Transaction Management as a critical on-ramp to becoming a fully digital enterprise.
In today’s IPO market, there have been far fewer firms that have been able to reach this point; this move by DocuSign marks a turning point in the DTM market. The next phase will be all about consolidation. Developing.