Cloud Startup Workday Quietly Files IPO Papers

Cloud-based HR and financial management startup, Workday – which was founded by the founder and former chief strategist of PeopleSoft, David Duffield and Aneel Bhusri – has quietly filed its S-1 paper to go public, according to published reports.

Reports state that a new law allows the Pleasanton, Calif.-based firm to keep its financials under wraps until 21 days before its investor road show. Analysts are projecting the IPO to be the “largest market debut” since Facebook’s (News - Alert) bungled IPO this spring.

Citing two unnamed sources, reports said Workday filed its S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act, a recently enacted law that eases some of the regulations surrounding the IPO process.

Workday, which is a subscription-based service that offers software for day-to-day business needs, such as accounting, touts customers such as Flextronics, Chiquita Brands and Time Warner (News - Alert). The enterprise software firm recently announced seven new customers from across industries: Essilor of America, Inc.; Exelis Inc.; GameStop Corp.; Medtronic Inc.; The Standard; Toyota Financial Services; and Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

Workday offers an HCM solution that includes features such as built-in actionable analytics, mobility, manager and employee self-service, which are adaptable to meet users’ needs.

Earlier this year, IT research firm Forrester (News - Alert) praised Workday for offering a solid cloud-based platform for medium to large-scale enterprises.

“Workday’s configuration flexibility, integration platform, and usability make it a good choice for both medium-size companies seeking simplicity in cost of ownership and large multinationals interested in HR process transformation,” noted, Forrester VP and principal analyst, Paul Hamerman in the January 2012 report, “The Forrester Wave: Human Resource Management Systems, Q1 2012.”

Although the current IPO market is weak overall, corporate software companies – which mostly have more stable, subscription-based business models – remain in demand, Reuters (News - Alert) said.

Facebook saw its May 18 IPO delayed by 30 minutes because of a “technical glitch” and confirmations of opening orders were delayed by two hours. Some orders were just plain lost, according to media reports. In fact, total losses among market makers could reach as much as $450 million.

Last month, New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) CEO, Duncan Niederauer claimed that the Facebook IPO hurt market confidence. In a recent testimony before Congress, Niederauer joined with 10 other heads of exchanges and investment firms to push for increasing trading increments of emerging growth companies and increase liquidity.

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