Software Design

RAVE Computer hires 5 as it expands local clientele

By Newsroom

●

February 7, 2013

RAVE Computer, formerly Rave Computer Association, has been growing its clientele through adding more business with Michigan-based firms. It's a plan that has allowed the Sterling Heights-based company to hire five people over the last year. "The growth has been in our presence in Michigan," says Rick Darter, president & CEO of RAVE Computer. "It's been phenomenal." RAVE Computer works in modeling, simulation and visualization work. It is the anchor tenant of the Macomb-OU INCubator, allowing it to focus on growing its business with firms based not only in the Great Lakes state but in the defense industry. A few years ago, about 3 percent of the company's customer base came from Michigan. Now it's well into the double digits. The firm now employs 40 people and one intern. Its new hires work in areas that focus on government contracting expertise, product development and marketing. Darter expects to keep hiring in 2013. "We will continue to hire a strong presence in the defense industry," Darter says. "I see a large portion of our growth being in the commercial sector right here in Michigan." RAVE Computer is also serving as a mentor advocate for the Women In Defense Michigan chapter's GRID Mentorship program this year. The program assists Women In Defense Michigan members looking become more active in the defense and national security industries to help grow the military business sector in the Great Lakes State. Source: Rick Darter, president & CEO of RAVE Computer Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Latest in Software Design

Avalon Technologies doubles staff in Bloomfield Hills

By Newsroom

●

General

●

February 7, 2013

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.

Food-tech firm NEXTEP SYSTEMS adds 6 jobs, sees 60% revenue jump

By Newsroom

●

Economic Development

●

January 24, 2013

NEXTEP SYSTEMS began selling its own full-service tech solution a little more than a year ago, and the foodservice tech firm's growth has been a sight to behold since then. The Troy-based company has watched its revenue jump 60 percent in 2012, up from its average annual growth rate of 30-40 percent since its founding in 2005. That has allowed the hiring of six new people in software development, project management, installation and sales. The company, which has a staff of 30 people and the occasional summer intern, is now looking to hire a services technician, purchasing agent and graphic artist. NEXTEP SYSTEMS specializes in producing self-order kiosks that allow customers to order their own food or coffee, grab a ticket and wait for it come up. The technology is being used in a wide variety of places, including restaurants, airports, casinos, convenience stores, grocery stores, educational facilities and sporting venues. It recently released its Foundation5 platform that is an all-in-one solution for eateries, which has proved quite popular. "They (a business owner) could make one phone call and purchase all of the software and hardware to run their restaurants," says Tommy Woycik, president of NEXTEP SYSTEMS. He adds this sort of streamlining allows eateries to focus on the food instead of the technology needed to serve it. NEXTEP SYSTEMS is currently working on a cloud-based version of its point-of-sale technology and hopes to expand it into more chain eateries in 2013. "More and more of our system is moving upstream to the cloud," Woycik says. "That is our focus for the year." Source: Tommy Woycik, president of NEXTEP SYSTEMS Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Birdhouse aims to becomes data mine for autism research

By Newsroom

●

Health

●

January 24, 2013

Birdhouse is wrapping up its first year of providing a mobile/web solution for parents and caregivers of autistic children. The West Bloomfield-based start-up is creating software that tracks the behavior of autistic children and helps the loved ones of autistic children manage the disorder. It is also looking to find news ways to leverage the data it's collecting to help further the fight against autism. "We'd like to be working with organizations from around the country to use the data Birdhouse is collecting to better understand autism, and to give us more answers and better understanding of the disorder," says Ben Chutz, founder of Birdhouse. Chutz was inspired to start the company las year because his girlfriend has a daughter with autism, exposing him to the trials and tribulations that come with it. Chutz is now hoping the data gathered from his technology, still in private Beta until this summer, will be able to help shed some light on whether nature (barometric pressure or tides) factors into the impact of autism. "We're looking to crowd source the idea of collecting info on kids with autism," Chutz says. Birdhouse currently has a team of three people and is looking to add two software developers to help bring its technology to market. Source: Ben Chutz, founder of Birdhouse Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Tech firm ePrize acquires Silicon Valley start-up, hires 60

By Newsroom

●

General

●

January 24, 2013

Pleasant Ridge-based ePrize has acquired Mozes, a Silicon Valley-based start-up that specializes in mobile technology. The acquisition is the third in 18 months for ePrize, and more are on the horizon for the digital engagement software firm. "We have a number of acquisitions targeted," says Matt Wise, CEO of ePrize. Mozes' technology engages live audiences at concerts, sporting events and in television broadcast through social and location-based experiences, making it an attractive target for ePrize's efforts to expand its mobile capabilities. The 14-year-old firm (ePrize) plans to retain Mozes' staff and offices in Palo Alto and Nashville but will absorb the Mozes brand into its own operations. Catterton Partners, a private-equity firm, acquired ePrize last year. That allowed the tech company to hire 60 people in the last year, expanding its staff to more than 400 employes and about 20 interns. "It's been a great success story and we look forward to continuing that in the future," Wise says. Source: Matt Wise, CEO of ePrize Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Unitask Software adds three to staff, doubles revenue

By Newsroom

●

General

●

January 24, 2013

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.

Becoming a verb equals success for data start-up ParseNIP

By Newsroom

●

General

●

January 17, 2013

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.

OPS Solutions expands to Novi to accommodate growth

By Newsroom

●

General

●

January 10, 2013

OPS Solutions is making the move from Northville to Novi to make room for its growing staff. The industrial-automation company also recently struck a deal with the Michigan Economic Development Corp to expand its office by 25 people within three years. The 6-year-old firm has hired four people in the last year, expanding its staff to six. The company expects to continue hiring in 2013. "We're growing aggressively," says Chris Bala, vice president of sales & marketing for OPS Solutions. "We certainly expect our growth to beat that goal by a healthy margin." OPS Solutions is launching a new visual guiding system that directs workers using visual display features anywhere on a work station surface. The intention is to improve quality, productivity, and training efficiency. "We call it a visual work-flow system," Bala says. "It's applicable to many different industries in Metro Detroit." OPS Solutions is investing approximately $268,000 and, as a result, has been awarded a Michigan Business Development performance-based grant of $400,000. The city of Novi is offering support to the project including city and county staff time, use of public facilities for meetings and other support. Source: Chris Bala, vice president of sales & marketing for OPS Solutions Writer: Jon Zemke

ALLCOMM leverages new health care work to grow staff

By Newsroom

●

General

●

December 20, 2012

ALLCOMM Communicatuions recently expanded its offerings to include a wider range of services, including IT infrastructure support, voice-over IP, employee production tools. All of these new offerings and a bevy of new customers in the health care industry have helped it grow significantly in 2012. "Health care in Michigan is just growing," says Paul Robuck, sales manager for ALLCOMM Communications. "Beaumont and Henry Ford merging and there are a number of physicians groups merging. Healthcare is in a state flux and growth." ALLCOMM Communications has hired three people in engineering and sales in 2012. The company expects to harness its growth for more hires next year. Revenue growth is projected to hit 30-50 percent. The 13-year-old, Commerce Township-based firm is also moving into the mobile sector, helping its customer tie their IT and software needs all into one system with a focus on mobility. "It helps tie it all into one structure," Robuck says. Source: Paul Robuck, sales manager for ALLCOMM Communications Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Accel Partners invests $30M in Plex Systems

By Newsroom

●

Economic Development

●

December 20, 2012

Accel Partners, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm, is investing $30 million into manufacturing software maker Plex Systems. The Troy-based firm was acquired by Francisco Partners, also of Silicon Valley, last summer. Plex Systems plans to use the new investment capital to create more product features for its software, improve customer service and expand its sales capabilities. "You name it, we have initiatives," says Mark Symonds, CEO of Plex Systems. "Growing at this rate things break and you rethink things from time to time." The 17-year-old company creates Cloud ERP software Plex Online, which helps industrial companies improve and streamline the manufacturing process from product quality management to supply chain management. Plex Systems employs 280 people after hiring 90 in 2012. Symonds expects to keep growing at that rate for the next year. "Manufacturing is one of the largest markets in the U.S.," Symonds says. Source: Mark Symonds, CEO of Plex Systems Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.