Laguna Niguel-based consultancy Arbela Technologies is getting strong demand as businesses try to improve efficiency and streamline operations.
The company expects to surpass 50 employees by year-end, up from 35 at the start of the year. It projects revenue will rise 100% this year to more than $10 million after similar jumps in each of the past few years.
Arbela, established in 2002, specializes in implementing Microsoft Dynamics AX business management software for companies with $100 million to $2 billion in annual revenue, and customized enterprise resource planning software.
“We have developed our own add-ons and products like security management and an enterprise-ready series of software products that make deployment of ERP to multinationals a lot easier and cost effective,” Chief Executive Nima Bakhtiary said.
The company is known as a value-added reseller, staffed primarily with technology consultants who sell goods and services to businesses.
Its largest customers include Northern California-based Simpson Manufacturing Co., which posted $706 million in revenue last year, and OldCastle Inc., the North American unit of CRH PLC in Dublin, Ireland, and one of the largest U.S. manufacturers of building products and materials.
It has offices in Atlanta, Denmark and the U.K.
Tech Lite
Huntington Beach-based olloclip has released its first clip-on photo lens for the latest Samsung Galaxy smartphone models.
Its double-sided lens for the Samsung Galaxy S5 and S4, featuring fisheye, wide-angle and two macro shooting options, weighs less than an ounce and is smaller than a quarter.
Samsung aimed to ship about 35 million units of the S5 in the recently ended quarter, according to news reports. The S4, released last year, has sold more than 40 million units.
The technology in the latest olloclip model is based on its flagship product geared for the iPhone 4S, which put the company on the map and led founder Patrick O’Neill to garner an Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award this year from the Business Journal.
The company also recently captured the Consumer Electronics Association’s Innovation Entrepreneur, Small Business of the Year award.
The accessory maker has grown rapidly from its humble beginnings in O’Neill’s kitchen, with annual sales of more than $11 million. The company employs about 50 in Huntington Beach and its new office in London.
The olloclip is sold in more than 90 countries through distribution deals with Apple, Best Buy and Target, among others.
O’Neill recently told the Business Journal that the company plans to release a version in November designed to work with the optical image stabilization technology and faster autofocus in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.
Iteris Joins Group
Santa Ana-based Iteris Inc. joined a consortium of 13 companies to found the University of Michigan’s Mobility Transformation Center, which will develop research programs to advance technology and policies related to smart vehicles, connected cars and transportation infrastructure.
Other members include Ford, GM, Honda, Toyota and Verizon Communications.
The company recently reported that revenue in the 12 months through March increased 11% to $68.2 million from the prior year. Net income hit $1.4 million, down 41.6%.
Iteris, which makes traffic management software, networking gear, and surveillance cameras, drew regulators’ ire when it failed to file its annual report on time. It temporarily avoided a delisting from the New York Stock Exchange when the big board in August accepted its plan to complete the audit and regain compliance in listing standards.
