Could Urbanise be a stock to watch in 2020?

If you're looking to invest in sexy tech stocks like flying autonomous cars or robots that can be injected into your bloodstream, Urbanise is not for you.

But Urbanise [ASX:UBN] is a dichotomy.

On one hand its cloud-based Software as a Service targets the rather "dry" area of real estate strata management and the facilities management that feeds off the back of that space.

But it is interesting too, as over the last two years it’s:

• Undergone a substantial overhaul to its burn rate

• Reduced employee numbers by almost half

• Is a leader in its space thanks to its cloud-based SaaS model

• Has an impressive product enhancement and development program

• Enjoys a network effect as tradespeople have to sign on to stay with Strata Manager who adopts Urbanise

But probably the most interesting aspect of the business stems from the fact that the Strata Scheme concept was created in Sydney, Australia, and is now used in numerous countries in one form or another.

Today countries that have currently adopted the Australian system (or a similar variant) of ownership include Canada (Alberta, British Columbia), Fiji, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.

When Saurabh Jain took over as CEO in January 2019, Urbanise was operating in the middle east, South Africa and Australia, where the company today generates around 65% of revenue.

The geographic spread was initially due to the company's focus on Internet of  Things sensors for the construction industry, a niche which has since been sold off.

However, in the middle east, it has continued to develop its SaaS strata and facilities business as its services tag nicely onto the end of construction booms like the one in Dubai and now Australia.

Urbanise CEO, Saurabh Jain told InsideMarket they have 40 developers who put out 20 new features every fortnight.

"We have a huge amount of AI and automation built into the platform but we are always working on reducing strata manager keystrokes and automating their processes," he told me.

"Because we are cloud-based we can offer a huge reference set of data so if someone takes a photo of a broken window and sends it in, the system will recognise what it is, what needs to be done and who needs to be booked to fix it, all in one neat job bundle."

I caught up with Saurabh Jain recently.

Let me know what you think.

I do not own shares in Urbanise at the time of publishing this post. I also do not accept any payment from the companies I cover. More on disclosure at end of the post. Disruptive technology stocks should be considered very speculative, high-risk, and extremely volatile. There are significant risks inherent in developing new technologies that are not discussed here. You should always seek professional advice before considering any share purchase or sale. Please read our full disclaimer.