Onside acquires Assura to expand agriculture software

Onside has acquired Assura, bringing together two Christchurch-founded software businesses serving agriculture.

The deal adds Assura's configurable workflow software to Onside's platform, which is used for contractor management, biosecurity, health and safety, and quality assurance. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The combined business will support more than 60,000 users across six countries: New Zealand, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Mexico and Fiji. The transaction also adds Assura's team and its enterprise customer relationships.

The acquisition expands Onside's offering as agricultural businesses face growing pressure to manage compliance and risk across dispersed, increasingly complex operations. Its aim is to give customers a single view of operational data across the agricultural ecosystem.

Assura's software manages workflows across health and safety, risk, compliance, contractor processes, irrigation and broader business tasks. It complements Onside's existing focus on worker safety, biosecurity risks and market access requirements for agricultural producers and processors.

Onside has grown quickly over the past year, with annual recurring revenue rising 114%, according to the company, as it expands internationally.

Its platform is used across 25,000 properties in Asia-Pacific, North America and the United Kingdom, with more than 8 million property check-ins recorded, according to company figures. Founded in Christchurch in 2015, Onside employs 60 people across Christchurch and Melbourne in product, engineering, revenue and operations roles.

Customers named by the company include Cobb Vantress, Hendrix Genetics and ANZCO Foods. The acquisition is intended to broaden Onside's reach from producers and service providers to larger multi-site enterprises and processors.

The transaction comes as Onside begins a capital raising process to support further expansion, investment in staff and technology, and growth in overseas markets. It also brings Assura Chief Executive Officer Hamish Howard into Onside's leadership team.

Ryan Higgs, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Onside, said the acquisition reflects customer demand for more integrated systems.

"Agribusinesses shouldn't need five different systems to know what's happening across their own operations," Higgs said.

"Together with Assura, we can give them one view - from who's coming through the farm gate to the compliance work that keeps them in market.

"Customers have been asking for a more integrated way to run their operations, and Assura lets us move faster on that."

Howard said the two companies were aligned in both product and market focus.

"We've built Assura around solving operational problems in a way that reflects how customers need to work. Joining Onside gives us the opportunity to build on that foundation and deliver more value to agriculture customers at a larger scale," said Hamish Howard, Chief Executive Officer of Assura.

"The businesses are complementary, the teams know the sector well, and there is a shared commitment to building software that is purpose-built for agriculture."