Synchronoss riding the iPhone rocket

Late last week, I attended the closing of Nasdaq. It was the one-year anniversary of the IPO of a fast-growing software company, Synchronoss Technologies (NASDAQ: SNCR).

Interestingly enough, the IPO was not so pretty. The markets were in the midst of a major slump and Synchronoss was only able to get $8 per share on its debut. Then the stock quickly dropped to $6.76.

But since then, things have been stellar. Now, the stock trades at $36.50.

So what's going on?

Synchronoss is the mastermind of Stephen Waldis. He got his start at AT&T (NYSE: T) and then eventually helped to create a telecom consulting firm.

He realized that major communications companies would start deploying new services. Why not build a platform to help with all this?

That was the genesis of Synchronoss, which Waldis founded in 2001.

Of course, it was not an ideal time. After all, the telecom industry was on the verge of major meltdown – Synchronoss' main client was the soon-to-be-bankrupt MCI – and September 11 would make things even more difficult. .

Despite all this, Waldis was able to build out key technologies and attract top-notch customers, like Verizon (NYSE: VZ), AT&T, Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA), Clearwire (NASDAQ: CLWR), and Level3 (NASDAQ: LVLT). Synchronoss' technology not only speeds up activations of new services, but also greatly reduces the costs.

As validation of its offerings, Synchronoss announced a multi-year contract with AT&T to support the activation services of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)'s iPhone. Because of the deal, an analyst from ThinkEquity, Eric Kainer, boosted his price target from $35 to $44.

True, as seen in today's news, there is some disappointment in AT&T's activiations so far. But, looking to the long run, the growth should be there. And Synchronoss will provide the platform to carry it out.

If you want to see some other recent IPOs, click here.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.