Business model of Asana

Customer Segments

Asana’s products are targeted primarily at businesses of all sizes – including start-up companies, local businesses and non-profits – where teams are required to work collaboratively on projects and are often inundated with emails and meeting requests. The Asana platform is designed to streamline this process and enable to team members to work together more efficiently. In 2015 the Company announced that more than 140,000 companies were using Asana software and that a further 10,000 companies were being registered each month.

Initially, Asana was utilised by smaller companies or teams within larger organisations; however its expansion has seen it acquire high-profile clients largely within the technology industry – including Airbnb, Uber, Dropbox and Pinterest. The Company also includes banking group Santander and US space agency NASA among its customers.

Secondary customers of the platform are those that use the service to track personal projects, as well as independent contractors and consultants, as well as university students. These users, however, are less likely to opt for a paid-for premium package.

Value Propositions

The most significant value proposition offered by Asana is that its product streamlines and simplifies the workflow between team members, allowing workers to more efficiently use their time and increase team productivity.

This is supplemented by its accessibility, both through web browser and mobile apps, allowing team members to track tasks at all times. That the platform offers a basic no-cost plan is also attractive to users that work independently or on one-off projects.

Channels

Asana is available in-browser and is compatible with the latest versions of the four leading internet browsers: Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari for Mac, and Internet Explorer. The platform can also be accessed via Google Play and Apple iOS apps. Using a company email account automatically connects a user to other users within the same organisation.

Customer Relationships

The Asana platform is largely self-service, with users afforded the necessary guidance and tools once they have been registered. The Company, however, does provide online troubleshooting guides, tutorials and FAQs, as well as contact forms for more complex queries.

Where organisations require a tailored service Asana is able to discuss options directly with customers to find the product that best fits their needs.

Key Activities

Asana develops and maintains a software-as-a-service product that enables its users to track and manage collaborative projects and tasks in one place, removing the need for email.

The platform includes an inbox, a calendar, project and task-specific conversations, due dates and times, and file management tools. In 2013 Asana launched its Organisations service, which allows companies to employ the Asana platform across the entire organisation.

Key Partners

Asana’s key partners are its other technology companies. In 2012 it released its application programming interface to third-party developers. It has since established partnerships with a number of firms that have integrated their own productivity functionality into the Asana platform.

These products include prominent names such as Evernote, Dropbox, Slack, Github and Google Drive. In 2013 Asana entered a partnership with Harvest, which provides time-tracking solutions, in order to allow its users to track how much time is being spent on individual projects and tasks.

Key Resources

The reliability and utility of Asana’s technology is paramount to its success as a productivity tool. This means that its server space, software and developers are its key resources. The Company’s personnel more broadly are a key resource, as are its financial backers.

Cost Structure

Asana’s main costs come in the form of technology maintenance and development, sales and marketing. Technology costs include renting server space and maintaining the reliability of the platform.

In addition the Company incurs typical operating costs relating to personnel and office space, including its headquarters in San Francisco, California and satellite offices in New York, New York and Dublin, Ireland.

Revenue Streams

While a basic version of the Asana platform can be accessed free of charge, to access its full suite of features users must sign up for a premium package. Prices for this offering are around $8.33 per user per month. For larger or more complex teams, Asana deals directly with customers to identify the best solution. Prices estimates for this service are not disclosed on the Company’s website; however, bespoke services like this are likely to be more costly.

While Asana does not publish its financial statements, it has claimed in the press that its annual recurring revenue runs into the tens of millions of dollars. In 2015 it announced that it had expanded its revenue by 230% over the past year.