AppSense to pour funds into IPO

User virtualisation specialist plans to go public within three to four years

User virtualisation vendor AppSense is to pour its $70m (£43m) Goldman Sachs investment into its plans to go public within the next four years.

The firm specialises in products that make user-specific data available on demand when users log on to a desktop or mobile computing device.

The Warrington-based vendor announced last week that Goldman Sachs has agreed to stump up the funding in exchange for a minority stake in the firm.

Nigel Wilson, head of channel at AppSense, said the money will be used to fuel the growth of its US and European channels, and cement its position as the market leader in user virtualisation.

Wilson said: "We are the leaders in this space because we have better technologies and global reach. This investment will allow us to grow rapidly.

"The main aim is to go public in three to four years' time, because this market is only going in one direction and we will still be leading it."

The firm's channel partners will benefit from increased spending on educational and marketing resources, added Wilson, and more partner-facing personnel.

He said: "This is really good news for our channel because it endorses their decision to invest in us and train up in our technology.

"The priority for us is strengthening our partners by offering them more education and support so they can take advantage of this growing market."

Rival workspace management vendor RES Software received $6.3m (£4m) in venture capitalist funding last April.

Chris Hammans, the firm's UK regional director, said Goldmans Sachs' decision to invest in AppSense is proof of how lucrative the market is set to become.

He said: "We see that the market for solutions from RES Software and AppSense will only continue to grow as organisations look to provide on-demand technology services for greater competitiveness, efficiency and control over costs."