Making it Work
Aspera’s history in the sector dates back to when managing manufacturing was paper-based almost in its entirety
Aspera Solutions, a Dublin-based software and services provider, is aiming to triple in size through a mix of organic growth and acquisitions.
Based in Grange Castle, the firm was founded by Lonan Byrne in 1987. The company has 35 staff and had revenue of €5 million last year. Aspera specialises in providing enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions to the manufacturing sector.
“The long and short of it is that we work with manufacturing businesses and put in software to help them streamline their processes and make more money,” Fergus Doyle, chief executive of Aspera Solutions, told the Business Post.
“It’s software that sits on top of these industrial businesses to bring all their systems and departments together that enables them to make better decisions.”
Aspera’s history in the sector dates back to when managing manufacturing was paper-based almost in its entirety, with companies struggling to adapt to new tools.
Company Details
Founded by: Lonan Byrne in 1987
Staff: 35
Revenue: €5 million
“Back in the mid-1980s, technologisation was only starting to come in. For large businesses, the challenge was providing software to join services like accounts functions. At the time it was mostly written specifically for each company department before ERP systems came in that allowed them to talk to each other,” Doyle said.
“The business has grown one customer at a time. It’s been organic growth for the most part but we have made a few strategic acquisitions. We’ve created added-value services, which allow us to offer a lot more to customers. That means that half our revenues are recurring, which is unusual in our sector.”
Doyle joined the business in 2022 after a meeting with Byrne, which led to the latter asking Doyle to take charge of the company.
“After several cups of coffee, we felt there was an opportunity at a global scale. I came in to develop the strategic plan for that and to execute it.”
Enterprise Ireland has supported Aspera for decades and Doyle said the agency’s impact is still felt today.
“Over the years, engaging with them on what stage we’re at and how they can help has been really useful. They’re actually quite tremendous in the creative ways they find to support the business,” Doyle said.
“They help us to source skills or develop them, be it through training or growth programmes. Each year we meet them to work out how they can help out. It’s ongoing support in an unassuming but consistent way.”
With organic revenue growth of around 10 per cent expected in 2025, Aspera is ready to take the next step with its international development.
“There’s an organic piece to our business, that 5 to 10 per cent annually. We’ve also identified a huge area for growth within technology implementation. We’re going to work with our customers to manage the changes they have to deal with. There’s also the compounding issue of data management, so we have invested in technology to address that problem and bring that service to customers,” Doyle said.
“We hope to treble our business in the next five years. We’re on a path for strategic acquisition, in Europe and North America, to enable that.”
This Making it Work article was produced in partnership with Enterprise Ireland
