UBS

Background

Unique Business Systems (UBS) joined the Asset Management vertical at Omegro in July 2020. UBS provides rental operations management software for AV, construction, and medical equipment rentals to manage sales, labour planning, repairs, and reporting. Their real-time equipment tracking, integrated labour planning and scheduling, dashboards, and maintenance and repair solution are used by companies in over 30 countries. UBS is headquartered in Santa Monica, CA and has an offshore facility in Bangalore, India.

UBS was founded in 1984 by Pradeep Batra and Stan Sugimoto who worked together at a large oil company through the 80s. During their free time, Batra and Sugimoto started to write software for video rental stores for the IBM PC that was released in 1981. They saw early success in the video rental market with their product, but as the market began to change, they moved to the equipment rental space for AV and construction. UBS has been faced with significant market changes and has adapted to each new market by understanding customer needs and translating them to specific software benefits.

The relationship between UBS and Omegro developed over several years. UBS leadership regularly met with leaders from the wider group to discuss the rental software market and share best practices for building successful software businesses. Over time, those conversations evolved into discussions about the future of UBS. When Batra was ready to exit, UBS decided that Omegro would be the best home for the company to continue their legacy with the ability to run autonomously.

The decision to join Omegro

The UBS leaders, who shared ownership equally, were ready to explore a new chapter for the business. The key differentiator for UBS was that Omegro has never sold a company that has been acquired. This gave Batra and Sugimoto piece of mind to proceed with Volaris as the new home for their company.

Post-acquisition success

UBS has demonstrated its ability to adapt and reinvent itself in response to changing market demands, including significant disruption within the entertainment industry (pandemic). Following the acquisition, UBS worked with Omegro to strengthen its business structure and resilience. The backing of a larger organisation such as Omegro also provides reassurance to UBS’s clients and employees.

“I think the best part of the acquisition is that Omegro has reviewed all of our practices and moved them to an environment where we’re much more well positioned for growth.” - Donogh Roche, General Manager, UBS

The standards and best practices of Omegro include benchmarking guidelines for all companies in the group. These metrics are used to help promote collaboration and best practice sharing among all companies, regardless of vertical within Omegro.

“When you’re a small company, a lot of times metrics are the last thing you do because they take a lot of time and you don’t have the time. Now we’re in the environment where we all have these metrics that allow us to see more clearly what we should be doing”. - Donogh Roche, General Manager, UBS

Additionally, the UBS staff have benefited from professional development opportunities within the company. “Our team can move up in their careers with the company without having to physically move to a new company.” - Donogh Roche, General Manager, UBS

A prime example is when UBS noticed a decline in business at the low end of the market. After discussions with other Omegro leaders, they realised that the focus should be on the higher end of the market. Roche then worked with his team to discuss a new approach to that market and how to reorganise their strategy for this new audience. Aligning these goals will help UBS be more efficient in their industry and position them for success in the future.