美国IPO市场回暖 企业科技公司受宠

    如果在Tableau Software上周五上市前，你根本没听过这家公司，一点也不奇怪。这家总部位于西雅图的公司为技术和非技术部门的人员提供可视化分析软件，但它的名称还远没到家喻户晓的地步。该公司IPO募资约2.54亿美元，首日收盘价略高于每股50美元，较31美元的IPO价格涨了60%多。这对于一家数据可视化软件公司已经很不错了。

    Tableau赶上了企业科技领域最热的趋势——大数据这个词都有些被用滥了。这家公司能让用户运用图形界面（想象一下，那些色彩鲜艳的互动图表）来查询和呈现大数据组。“我们刚完成了为期两周的路演，发现对于数据、分析以及数据改变生活的力量，市场有巨大的兴趣，”Tableau联合创始人兼CEO克里斯蒂安•夏博表示。

    Tableau很幸运地获得了“DATA”（数据）作为股票代码，但它只是最近和即将进行的数家企业科技和大数据IPO中的一宗。另外一家软件公司Marketo也于上周五上市交易，首日大涨了78%。（Marketo销售的云软件面向的客户，你可能想不到，是市场营销部门。）当然，企业科技公司的IPO风潮实际上去年就开始了。虽然以消费者为中心的Facebook股价可能较一年前的IPO价格跌了30%，像Splunk、Workday和Palo Alto Networks等不怎么炫的公司股价表现要好得多。

    那么，谁会是下一家呢？随便举几家，比如，文件存储网站Box、移动设备管理公司Good Technology和安全软件公司FireEye。需要再次提到的是，尽管最近几宗企业软件IPO备受瞩目，但最受期待的IPO可能还是微博网站Twitter的上市，目前（有些人给出的）估值高达100亿美元。

    与Twitter不同，Tableau需要上市以提高其“认知度和可信度”。这家公司当前的客户包括沃尔玛（Wal-Mart）、eBay等重量级公司，也有地区性医院和政府机构。“这不是从一个客户转向另外一个客户，而是提升所有的客户，”夏博说，“我们的产品可以为任何需要使用电子表格的用户使用”。当然，要让任何一位使用电子表格的人考虑使用其产品（而不是越来越多的竞争性软件），Tableau还有很长的路要走。但在纽约证券交易所（New York Stock Exchange）的舞台上闪亮登场是个助力。（财富中文网）

    If you hadn't heard of Tableau Software before its glamorous debut on the public market last Friday, you're not alone. The Seattle-based company makes visual analytics tools for technical and non-technical employees alike but is far from a household name. And yet, it raised around $254 million in its initial public offering and closed its first day of trading at just over $50 per share, up more than 60% from its IPO price of $31. Not bad for a data visualization tool.

    Tableau (DATA) has tapped into one of the hottest trends in enterprise technology -- the overused buzzword that is big data. The company allows users to query and present large data sets using a graphical interface (think bright and colorful interactive charts). "We just finished a two-week roadshow and found that there's tremendous interest in data and analytics and the power that data can bring to improving lives," says Christian Chabot, co-founder and CEO of Tableau.

    Tableau was lucky enough to get the ticker symbol "DATA," but it's just one in a line of several recent and upcoming enterprise tech and big data IPOs. Another software company, Marketo (MKTO), also made its public market debut last Friday and saw its share price rise 78% on its first day of trading. (Marketo sells cloud-based software for, you guessed it, marketing departments.) Of course, the march of enterprise tech IPOs actually started last year. And while consumer-focused Facebook's (FB) stock may be down 30% from its IPO price one year ago, less sexy companies like Splunk (SPLK), Workday (WDAY) and Palo Alto Networks (PANW) have fared better.

    So who's next? There's file storage site Box, mobile device management player Good Technology and security software maker FireEye, to name a few. Then again, despite the recent high-profile IPOs of a handful of enterprise software companies, probably the most anticipated public offering is that of microblogging site Twitter, currently valued (by some estimates) at a whopping $10 billion.

    Unlike Twitter, Tableau needed to go public to help build "awareness and credibility." The company's current customer list includes heavyweights like Wal-Mart (WMT) and eBay (EBAY) plus regional hospitals and government agencies. "It's not so much about pivoting from one customer to another as it is about increasing all customers," says Chabot. "Our products can be used by anyone who needs to use a spreadsheet." Of course, Tableau has a long way to go before anyone who needs to use a spreadsheet actually considers using its product (and not a growing list of competitors' software). But a glamorous debut on the New York Stock Exchange stage could help.