The largest software makers in Orange County added jobs for the fourth straight year, albeit at a slower clip.
The 32 largest companies with local operations in the diverse segment added 49 jobs in the last year for a combined 7,991 positions through March, eking out a 0.6% increase, according to this week’s Business Journal list.
The sector, which includes locally based software makers and subsidiaries and operations of big companies, has posted modest job gains every year since the Business Journal began ranking companies by local employees instead of revenue four years ago.
Seven companies added staff, six made cuts, and four were flat from a year ago. The Business Journal estimated figures for 15 companies that didn’t provide enough information for yearly comparisons.
• Perennial No. 1, Blizzard Entertainment Inc., has about 2,000 workers at its iron-gated headquarters at Irvine Spectrum, flat from a year ago. The company, best known for its “World of Warcraft,” “Diablo” and “StarCraft” franchise hits, is developing several games, including its second free-to-play title.
“Heroes of the Storm,” which is scheduled for a June 2 release, pits characters from those franchises against each other in online brawls.
The company’s first free offering, the collectible card game “Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft,” has amassed more than 20 million players, a figure that will jump with its recent release on iPhone and Android smartphones. A “Hearthstone” expansion set called “Goblins vs Gnomes” was released in December.
Blizzard loyalists also are awaiting news of “Overwatch,” a first-person shooter game with a fresh cast of characters that square off in the not-too-distant future. It will be Blizzard’s first new franchise in 17 years.
• No. 2, IBM Corp., has an estimated 1,200 employees. The Armonk, N.Y.-based company has two offices in Costa Mesa that specialize in content management software.
• Irvine-based Kofax Ltd. moved down one spot to No. 8 after shedding 16 employees to 279 local workers, down 5.4%. The business software maker was sold last month to Lexmark International Inc. in Lexington, Ky., for $1 billion, ending its brief stint as a U.S. public company. It moved its operational base from London to Irvine in 2009 and began trading on the Nasdaq in December 2013.
• No. 9, Kareo Inc., is one of three newcomers to the list, with 258 employees, up from 187 a year ago. The 38% jump was the biggest increase on the list. The Irvine-based company, which makes cloud-based software for small medical practices, has benefited from new enrollees in the healthcare system under the Affordable Care Act; an industry shift to more end-user customization; and greater adoption of technology as doctors move to electronic records and new coding systems.
Over 30,000 doctors use its suite of products, boosting annual revenue past $50 million, with most of the growth coming in the past four years.
“We have really big ambitions to continue growing,” said Chief Executive Dan Rodrigues.
• No. 15, Aliso Viejo-based Telogis Inc., moved up two spots after adding 35 employees.
The company added product managers and marketing personnel as it attracts more big automakers and fleet managers to its logistics software, which relies on GPS technology and analytics to improve fuel use, driver and vehicle performance, shipments and deliveries, and routes, among other features.
An industry push into connected vehicles has also helped the company increase revenue past $100 million and expand research and development at a new facility in New Zealand.
“We’re well positioned to take advantage of it,” said Chief Executive Dave Cozzens.
• Austin, Texas-based Epicor Software Corp. moved down seven spots to No. 18. It has 100 local workers after shedding 50.
• The other newcomers to the list also are based in Irvine: No. 16, Operation Technology Inc., which has 130 local employees, and Verys LLC, which has 34 local workers and is No. 26 on the list.
Operation Technology, better known under its brand name ETAP, makes specialized software used by nearly every U.S. nuclear power plant to manage power systems and prevent cataclysmic failures.
Consultancies make up ETAP’s largest customer base. About 70% of ETAP’s estimated $50 million in annual sales is generated outside the U.S.
Verys, established in 2012, landed recent deals with mortgage lender Pacific Union Financial and management software maker Active Network LLC to provide Web design, custom development and consulting.
Verys has benefited from the economic recovery as IT budgets are increasing, as well as from a shift to bring speedy and quality software design and development back to the U.S. after years of offshoring, according to Chief Executive Chris Antonius.
“As a result, we have seen exceptional growth, and we anticipate the same throughout 2015 and beyond.”
