IT : Innovation & Job News

Expetec Technology Services' Troy office has experienced some double-digit growth in both its revenue and staff over the last year.

The IT company has nearly doubled its staff with three new hires in the last 12 months. Those new jobs were in the IT and technical fields. It is now looking to add two sales professionals to its staff of eight employees and one intern to keep up with its revenue growth. The firm experienced 20-percent growth last year and is on track for another double-digit gain in 2013.

"A lot of it has been organic, word-of-mouth advertising, taking care of clients growth," says Michael St. John, vice president of marketing & sales for Expetec Technology Services. "Our clients have also grown so we were able to grow and hire."

St. John explains it takes a "holistic approach" to handling its clients' IT needs. For instance, it tries to stop IT breakdowns before they happen instead of just responding to them. The firm also works with its customers to keep its technology as up to date as feasible. That approach has allowed it to ride the wave of improved business from automotive suppliers and other industries in recent months.

"We're looking at 40-percent growth this year as well," St. John says.

Source: Michael St. John, vice president of marketing & sales for Expetec Technology Services
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Vision Computer Solutions practically doubled its staff over the last year, prompting the IT firm to move to a bigger office in downtown Northville.

The 18-year-old firm has expanded its staff to 11 employees after bringing four more people onboard in the last 12 months. Two of those hires happened this month with the addition of a marketing professional and systems engineer. They are now in the company's 3,000-square-foot office, which is three times the size of its old headquarters.

"We knew we were going to have to find a bigger spot," says Peter Marsack, vice president of consulting for Vision Computer Solutions. "The need hit us quicker than expected."

Vision Computer Solutions specializes in providing IT services for small-to-medium-size businesses, primarily in Metro Detroit. It has enjoyed 25 percent revenue growth over each of the last four years, a streak Marsack calls both "very good" and "consistent and predictable."

"We really have found our vertical in small businesses under 100 employees in southeast Michigan," Marsack says. "We have really branded ourselves as the small business technology experts."

Source: Peter Marsack, vice president of consulting for Vision Computer Solutions
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

A couple of buzzwords are driving growth for RazorThreat: "insider threat."

The downtown Pontiac-based IT security firm has found the biggest need from its customers comes from combating and preventing insider threats. RazorThreat defines insider threats as credentialed employees that have gone rogue or malware that have invaded a company's network and are propagating unnoticed inside it.

"It's really now about the insider threat, whether it comes from a nation state or a rogue employee," says Greg Guidice, president & CEO of RazorThreat. "It's about protecting your high-value assets."

Guidice declines to specifically say how much the company has grown or how many hires it has made. He did say that it has grown its revenue significantly in 2012 and expects to do so again this year. The company has made a couple of new hires, expanding its staff to six employees and three interns.

He adds that there isn't a trend of specific sectors of business that is driving the demand to combat insider threats. Rather, it's businesses and organizations from across the digital spectrum.

"It's really across the board," Guidice says. "It's from the federal government to small-and medium-size businesses. Everyone has intellectual capital."

Source: Greg Guidice, president & CEO of RazorThreat
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Bischer Technologies is one of those relatively new companies that hit the ground running from its onset and hasn't looked back since.

The Clinton Township-based IT business has doubled its revenue each year since its founding five years ago. That has allowed it to grow from three employees to a staff of 10 people today. It's also looking at adding an intern this summer.

Bischer Technologies provides network management and systems technology integration services in the IT sector. Its business has always come from customer referrals but the company is looking to take a more proactive approach in 2013, recently hiring a business development professional.

"I want to drive and bring on additional clients that are not referral-based," says Doug Verkeyn, director of business development for Bischer Technologies.

Verkeyn expects this more aggressive growth strategy will let the firm expand faster than it has in its first few years. He also expects the firm's customer base to remain diverse. Bischer Technologies currently services a broad range of small-to-medium-sized businesses, from food manufacturers to tech firms.

Source: Doug Verkeyn, director of business development for Bischer Technologies
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

The Great Recession hit IPS Technology Services hard, winnowing its revenues to frightening levels in 2009. But that sort of challenge only set up the Troy-based IT firm for a comeback bigger than the company's leadership could ever imagine.

The 10-year-old firm tripled its revenues within two years. Then it quadrupled that number, putting it solidly into seven-figure territory. The company also hired eight people over the last year, expanding its business to 25 employees.

"We got a couple of huge contracts and some big clients we won over," says Pradip Sengupta, president & CEO of IPS Technology Services.

The company also expanded into staffing, sending new employees to other companies in the IT and engineering fields. It is also growing its work in the mobile sector and handling more clients in healthcare.

"We are poised for growth because mobile is one of the biggest things out there," Sengupta says.

Source: Pradip Sengupta, president & CEO of IPS Technology Services
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

The demand for more bandwidth and expertise in the IT and data management industries has risen sharply with the economy, which is good news for a business like DataFactZ.

The Northville-based firm specializes in data-warehousing and IT services. Its revenue has spiked 30 percent, enabling it to hire 110 people over the last year. It now has a staff of 500 employees and a few interns. It is currently looking to hire another 10 people.

"We had tremendous growth last year," says Sridhar Kodati, vice president of DataFactZ. "We added many clients, like Meijer.

This is helping good companies like DataFactZ that are in the right place at the right time to grow exponentially. Kodati expects to notch another 30-40 percent  growth this year as the company continues to attract more clients and staff.

"The trend has been increasing day by day," Kodati says. "The industry needs more resources, so a lot of companies are looking to us."

Source: Sridhar Kodati, vice president of DataFactZ
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Green Arrow Enterprises will turn four in June, and the Auburn Hills-based company has its sights set on growing its reach outside of Michigan.

The staffing company deals mostly in placing high-end tech professionals in engineering, design and IT jobs. It has also expanded into a little light industrial and skilled labor work. The company has placed 13 people in full-time jobs over the last year and another 45 in contract work.

"We expect more growth, just looking at the growth patterns in the market in automotive and transportation," says Wayne Montour, president & owner of Green Arrow Enterprises. "We're trying to get into healthcare. I just see so much growth here."

Green Arrow Enterprises has raised its revenue from $3 million last year to an expectation of $4 million or $5 million in 2013. All of that work is coming from business in the Great Lakes State. Montour expects to expand in Indiana later this year and is eyeing markets in the southern U.S.

Source: Wayne Montour, president & owner of Green Owner Enterprises
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

High Bit Security's bread and butter is IT security, but the Rochester-based firm is making its product offerings heat up by focusing more of its attention on sales and marketing.

The 3-year-old firm specializes in IT Security Testing (Penetration Testing), Social Engineering, and obtaining and maintaining PCI-DSS or PA-DSS compliance. It has recently focused on its sales and marketing efforts, adding a full-time staffer to handle that part of the company.

"A good part of the last year was spent getting that part of the business online and working," says Adam Goslin, COO of High Bit Security.

The idea is to bolster the sales and create some internal efficiencies. That has led to a freshly relaunched website and a constant drum beat of press releases going out each month. That work has set the stage for the company to hit some significant growth goals this year.

"This coming year looks to be quite positive for High Bit Security," Goslin says. "That's because of the investment we have put into our sales presence."

Source: Adam Goslin, COO of High Bit Security
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Marvel Technologies is leveraging some large projects to continue its substantial growth.

The Novi-based IT firm has hired 35 people over the last year, expanding its staff to nearly 90 people and the occasional intern. It currently has 10 job openings right now, for everything from a sales associate to director of IT. The company, founded in 2006, expects its staff to pass the 200 mark within the next year.

"I want to double that this year," says Bala Rajaraman, president & CEO of Marvel Technologies. "If we keep hiring at this pace it shouldn't be hard."

Marvel Technologies has created two new SAP products. CompEz is a compensation-planning solution for use with SAP applications that provides add-on capabilities to the SAP ERP Human Capital Management application. FormsEz 1.0 provides SAP-certified integration with the SAP NetWeaver technology platform. It helps customers become more sustainable by reducing the need and use of paper and enables enterprises to develop, manage and process electronic forms dynamically with speed and accuracy.

Those products have helped the company hit 70-percent revenue growth in 2012. The staff and its technology has also been supporting some major local projects, including General Motors' implementation of IBM technology.

"The last couple of years we have had big, big growth," Rajaraman says.

Source: Bala Rajaraman, president & CEO of Marvel Technologies
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

VioPoint is expanding its business, services, staff and bottom line in Auburn Hills these days.

The 6-year-old IT security company has hired four people over the last year, bringing its staff to nine employees. It has reached the point of doubling its office space to 4,400 square feet to accommodate the growth.

"We're lucky enough that the suite next to ours is empty," says Rob Cote, vice president of sales for VioPoint.

VioPoint specializes in providing IT security products and consulting services to medium- and large-sized businesses. Originally it provided IT security assessments and guidance implementing security measures. Now it has tailored its services to accommodate the type and size of client to be a more all-encompassing solution with a large amount of strategy behind protecting its information.

"We realized clients needed other types of expertise to move their security forward," Cote says.

Source: Rob Cote, vice president of sales for VioPoint
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Motor City Technology shifted its focus recently, paying special attention to customer service and satisfaction. Today the Southfield-based IT company is learning that business can fall into place if you take care of those two things first.

Over the last six months the 12-year-old company has focused on beating the industry standard of responding and correcting IT problems within two hours. "We try to respond to our clients in under an hour," says Joshua Van Berkum, CEO of Motor City Technology. "Technology is the easy part. It's the people that are the hard part."

Motor City Technology provides IT services to small businesses. It crossed the $1 million in revenue mark in 2011 and generated another 25 percent jump in revenue last year.

"That felt great," Van Berkum says.

That growth has allowed Motor City Technology to hire four people in the last year, expanding its staff to seven employees. It currently has two job openings.

Source: Joshua Van Berkum, CEO of Motor City Technology
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Red Level Networks has watched its business grow in Novi by double digits and its staff has gone up significantly because of it.

The 8-year-old IT company now employs 26 people after hiring six in the last year, including promoting one intern to a full-time employee. The company currently has three open positions in sales, help desk, and engineering.

"We have added a significant number of new clients and new business," says David King, president of Red Level Networks. "It has really stretched our ability to service that with existing staff levels."

To accomodate that growth, Red Level Networks has expanded its office space in Novi, adding another 3,000 square feet to bring its total square footage to just less than 8,000. The new space give the company room to double its staff to up to 55 new employees, which the firm hopes to do within the next 2-3 years.

"We expect 20-25 percent growth ion 2013," King says. "We are preparing for that with our latest office expansion."

Source: David King, president of Red Level Networks
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Avalon Technologies launched in 2002, but the IT firm has really seen its growth take off in recent years.

The Bloomfield Hills-based company has enjoyed either high-double-digit revenue growth or triple-digit revenue growth since 2006. That has allowed the firm to hire five people over the last year, doubling its staff to 10 employees. It's also looking to continue hiring and to bring on some interns to help accommodate its growth.

"We predict we will do another 100 percent in new business this year," says Brian Flynn, founder & president of Avalon Technologies.

Avalon Technologies' bread and butter is helping medium-to-large-sized business manage their data center demands. It has done work with the Detroit Pistons, Detroit Red Wings, Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Browns, University of Michigan and Genessee County, among others. Flynn expects the growth to continue through word-of-mouth referrals as his firm's work continues to speak for itself.

"The name Avalon is getting out there more and more," Flynn says. "People are looking for us."

Source: Brian Flynn, founder & president of Avalon Technologies
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Unitask Software is riding the wave of a rebounding economy.

The Bloomfield Hills-based tech firm has doubled its revenues in the last year and added three more people to its staff, which now stands at 24 employees and the occasional intern. The three recent hires include two software developers and a business development professional.

"What has happened now is business has gotten rid of a lot of the chaos," says Dale Royal, chairman & CEO of Unitask Software. "It knows which card to play and it is focused on growth."

Unitask Software develops and sells software for the Oracle E-Business Suite. Its products help businesses eliminate implementation and operational risk while improving the quality of their applications. The 6-year-old company moved its headquarters from Israel to Oakland County in 2010 after it received a $250,000 investment from Automation Alley. Since then it has grown its staff from 17 people to 24.

Royal expects his company to continue growing at its current pace in 2013, doubling its revenues again and hiring a handful more employees. He sees a lot of that new business coming from the construction industry, along with the oil-and-gas area.

"Those are the two sectors where we are seeing wonderful growth," Royal says.

Source: Dale Royal, chairman & CEO of Unitask Software
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Paul Johnston and Kris Wenzel don't always measure the success of their start-up, ParseNIP, by its bottom line. Sometimes success can be defined in how people use the New Hudson-based company's name.

"If our customers start using our products as a verb then I know we have that snowball rolling down the hill," Johnston says, adding he wants his customers to say "just ParseNIP it" when it comes to data migration and management.

ParseNIP has created software that can easily convert data from one format to another, effectively removing the language barrier between some operating systems so databases can be combined and easily accessed.

Johnston and Wenzel have spent years developing the technology and recently launched a public Beta. They are getting ready to transfer the software to a 10-day trial period and focus on creating the best possible user experience for their customers, which they want to expand to a broad range of users outside of the traditional software crowd.

"We want to target this to the accountant or the human resources representative," Wenzel says.

ParseNIP is currently a two-person operation but Johnston and Wenzel hope to grow their team this year as their technology becomes more widely adopted.

Source: Paul Johnston and Kris Wenzel, co-founders of ParseNIP
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.