After Temenos acquisition, Avoka pushes hard on the growth button

Last December, banking software provider Temenos bought Avoka, a platform that accelerates customer acquisition and onboarding for financial firms. Temenos has broad core banking functionality, including tools to help with marketing and sales. But, its front office wasn't complete. "Temenos is known as a leader in the new generation of modern core banking systems," Don Bergal, Avoka's chief marketing officer, told Tearsheet, speaking from Temenos' 2019 global sales meeting in Madrid.  "They didn't have an extensive product line around origination and customer acquisition." The Avoka acquisition gives Temenos functionality it didn't have, converting prospects into customers for banks. Today, Temenos rolled out a new product dubbed Infinity that integrates Avoka's onboarding platform into its front office suite. It can be delivered via APIs and isn't dependent on customers using Temenos' core banking product. Temenos has built a brand for itself in Europe and Asia, but has relatively little penetration in the U.S. market. The Avoka acquisition fills a niche for the Temenos product catalog but it's also a strategic move. Temenos has decoupled its front office suite from its core banking, a tactic it thinks will pay off longer term for the company. "Avoka is the camel nose in the tent for Temenos," said Bergal. "If you get in the front office, there may be core banking business down the road." Early feedback on the combined entity has been positive, according to Bergal. When the announcement of the Avoka acquisition was made, Temenos general managers called key customer accounts to tell them of the news. Customers familiar with the fast-growing Temenos brand understand the tie-up  can mean strength and longevity for Avoka longer term. With Avoka out in front, the combined entity is set on growth in the US market for 2019.  In a geography where three players have a strong grip on the market, Bergal sounds optimistic the 275 person Avoka team can expand Temenos marketshare. "The thing that is essential to the whole message of this acquisition is that Avoka isn't meant to work solely with Temenos core banking," he said. "We want clients that work with Jack Henry, FIS, and Fiserv."