Right Networks Eyes SMB App Connectivity With Propelware Acquisition

Small business (SMB) cloud accounting firm Right Networks has announced the acquisition of Propelware in an effort to connect its accounting technology to other areas of the enterprise.

Propelware owns Autofy, a solution that connects other customer relationship management (CRM) and eCommerce apps to small business financial management platforms like QuickBooks and QuickBooks Online. In a press release issued on Tuesday (Dec. 11), Right Networks said its acquisition of Propelware will enable it to focus on connecting its small business accounting tool to other applications used by small business owners.

“Access to data and integrations with applications within the accounting ecosystem is a core part of our strategy,” said Right Networks CEO Joel Hughes in a statement. “Propelware has built an elegant solution, specifically designed to ease integration and the flow of data between applications and QuickBooks, as well as other accounting software.”

He continued, “This solves the very real problem of keeping up with a rapidly expanding set of applications and data requirements for [SMBs] and for the accounting firms servicing those SMB clients. The capabilities of Autofy, coupled with the experienced team of people at Propelware, made this acquisition very compelling.”

In addition to enhancing Right Networks’ interconnectivity capabilities, the takeover expands the company’s offerings of small business enterprise apps. In another statement, Propelware CTO Joe Dwyer also noted that the acquisition enables Propelware to scale more quickly than it could independently.

Last year, Right Networks released a survey of SMBs’ views on cloud adoption. More than one-fifth said the cost of such technology is the largest barrier to adoption, and 53 percent said they still have security concerns about the cloud. Forty-six percent pointed to disruptions in workflows being their biggest barrier to adoption.

“It’s clear from the survey that several concerns still stand in the way of SMBs and the leap to cloud [computing] technology that can take all of them to that next level of productivity,” said Right Networks Director of Product Marketing Rachel Krug at the time.