A mix of new and established companies helped Orange County post solid job growth in the software sector for the second consecutive year.
The 42 largest software makers here grew employment 7% in the 12 months through July, adding 611 positions for a combined total of 9,250 jobs in one of OC’s most important economic engines.
Last year the 39 largest software companies with local operations grew employment by 5%.
The most recent gains marked the sixth straight year the sector, which includes locally based software makers, as well as subsidiaries and operations of big, primarily U.S. companies, posted job gains since the Business Journal began ranking companies by local employment rather than revenue.
Seventeen companies added staff, two made cuts, and four were flat from a year earlier. The Business Journal estimated figures for 16 companies that didn’t provide enough information for yearly comparisons.
The Rankings
• Perennial No. 1, Blizzard Entertainment Inc., has an estimated 2,000 workers at its iron-gated headquarters at Irvine Spectrum. The company turned heads this month when it announced that several prominent professional sports executives, including Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and Sacramento Kings minority owner Andy Miller were among the first buyers of its developing esports league.
The “Overwatch” League now has franchises in Boston, London, Los Angeles, Miami-Orlando, New York, San Francisco, Seoul and Shanghai.
“Overwatch” is a first-person, multiplayer futuristic shooter game that has garnered about 30 million players and grown into a $1 billion business for Santa Monica parent Activision Blizzard Inc. since its May 2016 launch.
• No. 4, Lake Forest-based Schneider Electric Software LLC, moved up three spots with 550 employees. The subsidiary of French conglomerate Schneider Electric, which does software development out of its Lake Forest operation, reclassified some of its workers, which accounted for the jump, according to a spokesperson.
• Irvine-based Kofax moved down five spaces to No. 12 after cutting 63 jobs, down 21%. The document capture and retrieval software maker was acquired in July by Chicago-based private equity firm Thoma Bravo.
It was expected to attract a sales price in the ballpark of $1.2 billion in its third sale in as many years.
• No. 15, Newport Beach-based MSC Software Corp., moved down one spot with an estimated 150 local workers, flat from a year ago. The simulations software maker was sold this year for $834 million to Swedish IT service provider Hexagon AB.
MSC, which came into prominence in 1965 with breakthrough simulation software that helped the Apollo 11 spacecraft land on the moon four years later, operates as an independent business unit in Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division.
• Alteryx Inc. moved up two spots to No. 18 after adding 16 jobs to 136 positions, up 13%. The Irvine-based analytics software maker raised $114 million in net proceeds from its March initial public offering, which snapped a nearly two-year drought in OC IPOs.
Its share price is up about 45% since the IPO to a market value eclipsing $1.3 billion.
• Veritone Inc. is among six newcomers—a rather high number—on this week’s list with an estimated 125 employees, good for No. 20. The Newport Beach-based company, which is trying to break into the hot artificial intelligence segment, raised $37.5 million in a May IPO. The company, which primarily helps customers with advertising and ad placement, is moving its headquarters from Newport Beach’s Lido Marina Village to a 38,000-square-foot office at The Met, a multibuilding office complex a few blocks from South Coast Plaza, the Business Journal recently reported.
• Newport Beach-based NextVR Inc. moved up six spots to No. 22 after adding 35 positions, up 50%. The virtual reality content maker is among the most closely watched companies in OC, lining up broadcast deals with professional sports leagues and rock stars as it builds VR content for consumers, which have been slow to adopt the emerging technology.
The company raised $80 million about a year ago from a consortium of Asian technology companies that helped boost hiring and expanded its VR catalog.
• Foothill Ranch-based iBASEt, which makes task-based, quality assurance, maintenance, and operational management software for large manufacturers, held its No. 25 ranking, despite adding 16 jobs to 82 positions, up 24%.
Tom Hennessey, vice president of marketing and business development, credits the gains to a more rosy business outlook from its customer base of Fortune 100 companies.
“We have seen from our clients a boost in confidence about their businesses due to solid economic growth and a strong desire to transform the way they manufacture by applying technology to drive transformation and innovation,” he told the Business Journal in an email.
• No. 27, Irvine-based Verys LLC, maintained its ranking while adding 19 jobs to 72, up nearly 36%.
Verys President Mike Zerkel said he believes growth will continue into next year.
“Current clients, such at Zenimax Online Studios, American Airlines and Blizzard Entertainment, have been key as we continue to build on our partnerships,” he said. “We have also seen great new business activity as companies continue to look for local, onshore software development firms who focus on quality.”
The local jobs gains significantly outpaced global hiring among the 42 largest software makers with operations here. Companywide employment hit 835,431, up less than 1%.
