Aliso Viejo-based startup Verismic Software Inc. is on a hiring push as more companies look to offload IT management services via the cloud.
The company, launched in December 2012, aims to double employment to about 90 by year’s end, with some of the growth pegged for its OC office, according to Chief Executive Ashley Leonard.
“It’s the adoption of cloud technology that’s been the fundamental shift,” he said.
Verismic’s Cloud Management Suite software is billed to help customers manage infrastructure, servers, laptops and other equipment from the cloud. The product garnered the Innovation Award in May at the 2015 Association for Corporate Growth Annual Awards Gala at the Island Hotel in Newport Beach.
It is used by more than 400 customers, including the Tullow Oil, Emerson, and the Washoe County School District in Nevada.
“The cost of managing IT is expensive, and they’re looking for ways to reduce the costs of all the IT infrastructure and ensure it’s patched and secured,” said Leonard, who has built and sold two other companies, including Newport Beach-based consultancy networkD.
The software service has generated a strong foundation of recurring annual revenue, helping grow the company’s top line by 100% from a year ago. Verismic is estimated to see more than $5 million in annual sales.
The company also offers a power management software product.
It employs 15 in OC, with the rest of its 35 or so workers based in Salt Lake City; Ukraine; Australia; and the U.K. Its Russian subsidiary, Arbyte, which makes PCs, employs about 100.
The company has raised about $3 million from Salt Lake City-based Signal Peak Ventures and is seeking another round of funding.
Vizio Buy
Irvine-based consumer electronics maker Vizio Inc. in late December acquired all outstanding equity interests of Seattle-based Advanced Media Research Group Inc., according to regulatory filings affiliated with its pending initial public offering.
The buy, which flew under the radar for months, could indicate another possible revenue stream for the company or provide a link to Vizio’s developing ecosystem of products and accessories.
Advanced Media operates the website BuddyTV. The site, purchased for about $5,300, including benchmark payments, bills itself as the Web’s most reliable source of TV show recaps, episode videos, exclusive spoilers, news, celeb photos, TV personality quizzes, trivia and slideshows.
Vizio is seeking to raise as much as $172.5 million in the IPO. Some 95% of its $3.1 billion in sales last year was derived from flat-screen TVs.
Bits & Pieces
Irvine-based Hatchwork will hold a tech career fair Sept. 26 at Real Office Centers at The Vine, 5151 California Ave. in Irvine. The event will feature several growing local companies, such as Postmates, Zeel and Adaptiv. OC was ranked No. 15 last year among the best places for tech startup funding with $212 million invested, according to the Associated Press. … Santa Ana-based Iteris Inc. received a notification from the Nasdaq Stock Market for not filing its June quarterly earnings report on time. Iteris, which makes traffic management software, networking gear, and surveillance cameras, has outlined a plan to regain compliance that’s under review.
The company avoided a delisting from the New York Stock Exchange a year ago as it worked to regain compliance with listing standards after failing to file its annual report for its fiscal year ending in March.
