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INSIGHTS > SaaS TALK > A Conversation with Silver Peak

SaaS Talk

A Conversation with Silver Peak

Eric Yeaman

Chief Financial Officer, Silver Peak

Eric Yeaman has served as Chief Financial Officer since joining Silver Peak in 2005.

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Eric Yeaman

INTERVIEWER

About Silver Peak

Silver Peak enables businesses of all sizes to realize a multiplier effect from ongoing cloud investments by delivering on a no-compromise WAN transformation strategy.

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Peter

Tell us why Silver Peak is important to businesses today and tomorrow.

Eric

In today’s hyper-competitive market, business agility and speed fuels competitive advantage. Forward-thinking businesses have figured this out and are leveraging IT to drive cloud and digital transformation initiatives to gain those advantages. Put another way, cloud applications and services represent a new paradigm in driving business efficiency, while lowering cost and overhead.

Unlike traditional network approaches, Silver Peak helps businesses shift to a businessfirst networking model where the network enables the business, rather than the business having to conform to the constraints of the network. The results: users experience always consistent, always-available application performance, ultimately turning the network itself into a business accelerant.

Peter

What will enterprise network connectivity look like in the future? What is the “next big thing”?

Eric

Much like we’re seeing with the emergence of self-driving cars, we believe that the wide area network will also be self-driving. IT leaders that deploy the Silver Peak SD-WAN edge platform can essentially tell the network what the business wants and then use automation and machine learning to make it work. A self-driving wide area network is outcome-oriented, utilizing automation, artificial intelligence and machine learning to get smarter every day.

Peter

As a SaaS CFO, how do you think SaaS companies can position themselves to attract the right kind of funding?

Eric

It comes down to the business model, being able to articulate it and prove it. Can it drive rapid growth through new customer acquisition, and then retain and expand those same customers? These are questions of critical interest to investors looking to invest in a SaaS business–through equity or debt. And being able to show this is dependent on whether you’re fundamentally delivering business value to your customers through your product and service.

Peter

Going through several successful funding rounds, what lessons have you learned that other SaaS companies can benefit from?

Eric

It’s critical to work with investors who understand the SaaS space and where you are in your business lifecycle. For example, during the TCV funding round, we had proven our model and that we were focused on growth, which aligned with our investor’s later stage growth investment profile. The same is true with the Golub Growth team, who we view as a long-term partner. Our partners understand the SaaS space and the working capital requirements for growing a business and this alignment is key to identifying the right investors.

Peter

What’s next for Silver Peak?

Eric

I believe that we have built the most robust SD-WAN technology available today. We intend to continue deepening our capabilities and realizing our vision for delivering a self-driving wide area network. From a business standpoint, we plan to accelerate our expansion into new channels–particularly in the service provider channels–as well as into new geographical markets.

Golub Growth is not responsible for the information or views communicated by representatives of other companies. This material is not indicative of the past or future performance of any Golub Growth product and should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation by Golub Growth of any particular security, strategy or investment product. Golub Growth has distributed this material for informational purposes only.