Clear Measure Inc., a custom software maker, has launched a new hosting division that executives plan to grow as large as the development part of the business.
The Austin-based company established DevOps Unlimited to eliminate the reliance on contracted hosting companies and provide Clear Measure with a more lasting relationship with its software customers.
“Clients rely on us for answers,” CEO Jeffrey Palermo said. “Even when a third party is doing (the hosting), we have the trust relationship.”
Hosting gives Clear Measure an opportunity to capitalize on the business it does developing custom software for its clients. The result should be more revenue and higher profit margins that could grow to generate the majority of the overall company’s business, he said.
Also, the new business could make revenue more predictable because clients don’t want to move complex networks, creating a “snowball effect,” Palermo said.
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The cost of a hosting subscription typically start at $5,000 per month and can cost more than $25,000 per month, depending on the size of the network.
Clear Measure, which was founded in 2012, develops custom software such as Web applications, e-commerce systems and database warehouses. The company employs 25 workers and operates offices in Dallas and Ohio.
Clients are all based in the United States, mostly Texas, and they’re typically technology-enabled service companies. The software that Clear Measure develops is usually designed to automate functions and to increase efficiency — saving a client operating costs, Palermo said.
The company doesn’t disclose annual revenue. But it was self-funded and has posted a profit every month since May 2013, he said.
Palermo was previously the chief operating officer of Headspring Systems Inc., an Austin-based customer software developer founded in 2001. At Clear Measure, he said executives focus on getting clients goal and objectives instead of targeting the technology side of a business.
“All conversations are with executives who own the company’s (profit and loss) numbers,” he said. “It’s become obvious and a gaping hole — and we had to fill it.”
Author: Christopher Calnan covers technology, finance and clean energy for the Austin Business Journal.Subscribe to the Energy Inc. newsletter
Original Article from Austin Business Journal’s Tech Flash