Upwork Ups Enterprise Expansion
Upwork, the platform that connects freelancers with work opportunities, is now focusing on providing permanent and contract-based staffing solutions for established companies. To that end, it has acquired Babty, a workforce management software maker, and Essen, a global firm specializing in employee recruitment and compliance.
The full details of branding and services for this new enterprise unit will be announced by the end of this year, Upwork CEO Hayden Brown told technology news site TechCrunch. She noted that in recent times, large companies have been seeking diverse talent not only for freelance work but also for permanent positions.
“Current providers force clients to choose between flexibility or compliance, speed or scale, digital tools or robust enterprise solutions,” Brown said. “We’re not making that trade-off. We’re delivering it all together.”
She further added, “We’ve come to understand clearly that large companies want a solution where everything comes together. This new move is the answer to that demand.”
Following a review of over 100 companies, Upwork decided to spin off its enterprise business into a separate company. Ultimately, it chose to rely on Babty’s workforce management platform and Essen’s global compliance and employer-of-record services. The two companies have already been tested together in a pilot program.
Highlighting the promise seen in the pilot, Brown said, “In the pilot, we realized how effective their technology is and how easily it integrates with ours to create something entirely new.”
Of Upwork’s annual $750 million revenue, enterprise clients contribute about $100 million. With this move, the company aims to significantly expand that share.
