Aware, Inc. (NASDAQ:AWRE) Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

In addition to the back-end support and user experience improvements, we included new mobile application frameworks, Flutter and React Native. The AwareID platform now provides value for various use cases without compromising accessibility, an improved security and user experience and provides various levels of technical access for developers. As Bob mentioned, we also debuted a developer hub, which is generating excitement for the platform and the developer community and providing easier access to development resources for our customers. We also partnered with a reputable outside firm to harden AwareID’s SaaS infrastructure to expand the potential reach of our previously announced partnership with Software One. We expect these changes will have a positive impact on our opportunities in the U.S. commercial market in Latin America as a whole.

During Q3, we launched a formal partner program to accelerate adoption of our offerings and expand our global reach. Our partner ecosystem is built around three areas of focus to maximize the program’s potential reach. The first being transparency. Providing greater clarity and transparency around products, road map, pricing tiers and incentives for current and future partnerships are crucial to integrating our partners into the ecosystem rather than simply being a vendor. Along those lines, the second focus is education. After doing a formal survey with our partners and leveraging an outside consultant, it became clear that not all our partners had a clear understanding of everything Aware offers, which is why we opened our access to our library of product and marketing resources.

Partners are now armed with our product guides, sales decks, API guides, etcetera, which has allowed them to be better educated on our solutions and has enabled them to be more effective sales agents. The third piece of the pie, so to speak, is a co-marketing approach, which entails regular internal communications, such as attending trade shows together, assisting with marketing collateral and costs and helping with signage. We have done several webinars with our partners over the last few months on relevant topics to continue to showcase Aware’s thought leadership in the industry. A great example of the evolution of our partner ecosystem is our relationship with Uqoud. Recently, we sat at the same booth with them at the largest Middle Eastern Technology Conference, Gitex.

Since announcing the partnership in March this year, Uqoud has been instrumental in expanding Knomi’s footprint in the Middle East. And they have grown from a system integrator to a product company as well. The launch of our partner ecosystem now allows Uqoud to leverage both their local market knowledge and presence and Aware’s marketing resources to broaden the reach of all our solutions in the region. With an ever-improving product portfolio and formal partner ecosystem, we believe that we are well positioned to capitalize on the high-quality opportunities flowing through our pipeline. We are continuing to see strong demand on the government side in North America and Europe and are working to close multiple deals with the U.S. federal government.

The confidence the U.S. government has in our fraud protection is translating into promising leads with prominent government agencies in Canada, the United Kingdom, Lat Am and the Middle East. Moreover, by leveraging these robust government relationships, we can accelerate our breakthrough into the U.S. commercial market. We’ve seen a recent uptick in interest on the commercial side for Aware and have gained a lot of traction in the gaming space as well. Latin America remains our strongest and most competitive market, especially Brazil, where we have multiple encouraging competitive opportunities. We are also deep in the selling process with several deals in Mexico, Chile and other Latin American countries. Despite the geopolitical turmoil in the Middle East, we remain optimistic about the demand and opportunities in Egypt, UAE and Jordan.

Previously, we were very bullish on our prospects in Israel and Iraq. However, considering recent events, we have consulted an outside source to gain a better understanding of how it will affect the market. As we look forward, my team’s initiatives for Q4 and 2024 will evolve around securing AwareID as a leader in our target markets as well as solidifying its market fit, building upon and generating additional momentum amongst our government customers, driving incremental revenue from the commercial side and closing out our pipeline. Now I would like to turn the call back to Bob for more color on our key business drivers. Bob?