Expands C-Suite to Capitalize on Growth Opportunities
Applause, the world leader in testing and digital quality, today announced that 2021 was another record-breaking year for growth and expansion, as the company surpassed $150 million in annualized recurring revenue. As part of Applause’s strategy to continuously enhance the value of its platform, the company also delivered two new offerings designed to accelerate development velocity and release frequency: Applause In-Sprint Testing, which allows testing earlier and faster with smaller chunks of code, and Applause Codeless Automation, which enables the creation of test scripts without writing a single line of code. Applause exited the year with a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 61.7, which is double the average for B2B software and SaaS brands, according to customer experience management firm Relently.
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This strong performance reinforces that Applause is the premier partner companies can turn to for authentic, real-world feedback on the quality of their digital experiences – the most important touchpoint for a brand today, as most of their customers will leave based on only one bad digital interaction. Applause’s disruptive approach to testing and quality harnesses the power of the company’s enterprise-class platform and leverages a vetted community of more than one million digital experts worldwide.
Applause’s distributed community can test and assess from the perspective of a brand’s targeted customers – in every possible condition, including country, local language and device configuration, as well as through the lens of demographic and psychographic data points. No other company can provide such a rich trove of mission-critical, actionable insight and learning, to ensure that a brand’s digital assets perform to their customers’ expectations.
“I could not be prouder of the Applause team and what they achieved in 2021. I also want to thank our customers – who continue to partner with us year after year, and trust us to enable their digital quality, a critical aspect of business today. Our industry-leading NPS shows how we continue to deliver for those brands – helping them build better software and release it faster, with confidence,” said Chris Malone, Applause’s Chief Executive Officer. “I also could not be prouder of our 2021 results, which demonstrate that our differentiated approach to testing and digital quality is unequaled. Our innovative model surpasses traditional testing methods – like lab-grown and offshoring – which fail to keep pace with the requirements of digital-focused brands. Truly, Applause alone can deliver with the speed, scale and flexibility that brands expect today – and in 2022, we look forward to exceeding customer expectations again.”
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To take advantage of the testing and digital quality market acceleration and growth opportunities, Applause expanded its C-Suite through the addition and promotion of the following executives:
- Christopher Jolie, CFO. The company named Christopher Jolie as its new Chief Financial Officer, a role formerly held by its CEO, Chris Malone. As CFO, Chris is focused on delivering business oversight, financial planning and analysis, and process improvement to drive improved business performance and profitability across Applause. Prior to Applause, Chris spent 17 years at NTT DATA Services, where he held several high-profile financial roles.
- Tom Bonos, COO and CRO. The company expanded Tom Bonos’ responsibilities as Chief Revenue Officer to also include the role of Chief Operating Officer. As CRO, Tom is responsible for the vision and execution of Applause’s global worldwide Sales strategy. In his expanded role as COO, Tom will also be responsible for the Customer Operations team, unifying the company’s sales and delivery strategies to drive more value and further customer success. Prior to Applause, Tom held senior sales leadership positions at ServiceSource and Oracle.
- Luke Damian, CGO. The company promoted Luke Damian to Chief Growth Officer, responsible for the Go-To-Market (GTM) organization. Formerly Applause’s SVP of GTM Strategy, in this new capacity Luke is responsible for all facets of GTM execution – including Strategy, Marketing, Product, Solutions Consulting and Sales Enablement, Operations & Intelligence – with an eye towards growth and acceleration. Prior to Applause, Luke held national sales and business development leadership positions at Oracle and EMC.
- Brad Batchelder, CPO. The company promoted Brad Batchelder to Chief People Officer. Formerly Applause’s SVP of HR, Brad is responsible for the company’s employee experience – driving talent strategies, culture and employee programming, and overall people strategy. He is also responsible for the company’s human resources, philanthropy and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) functions, in addition to being the driver of Applause’s award-winning culture. Prior to Applause, Brad held recruiting and talent acquisition roles at Monster and Enterprise Search.
Applause works with the top brands in virtually every industry vertical today, and has particular depth and expertise in use cases where brands are reacting to the rapid pace of change in digital interactions with their customers, including: Media & Telecommunications, Retail, Financial Services, Healthcare, Travel & Hospitality and Software & Technology. In all instances, Applause brings a wealth of knowledge and experience with the business drivers that shape digital interactions with customers, and insight on how to best test digital assets and experiences to deliver actionable results.
This value has been acknowledged through the series of global industry awards Applause won in 2021, including the Stevie People’s Choice Award for Favorite Company, Germany’s CX1 Award for CX Enabler, a gold ranking for Best DevOps Solution along with two bronze honors in the International Business Awards, and a silver ranking for Most Innovative Enterprise Product at the 2021 Best in Biz International Awards.
Applause also continued to win cultural accolades and employee honors, having received the following awards in 2021: “Best Workplaces” from Inc. Magazine, “Top Places to Work” from The Boston Globe, “Best Places to Work” from Boston Business Journal and “100 Best Places to Work in the Nation” from Built In.