Inc 5000 Magazine has once again listed Claris Networks as one of the fastest-growing private companies in America, with a three year sales growth rate of 25%. Inc 5000 ranked Claris Networks NO. 4,320 overall. The average growth rate among companies listed is 94%, with the online retail company ideeli topping the list at over 40,000%.
In a national environment of slow economic growth, this East Tennessee Information Technology and cloud computing company is experiencing the opposite. Larry Bodie, CEO, explains, “While Claris is very good at what we do, we are also positioned well. Our services are what businesses want and need right now. Couple that with treating people the way we want to be treated and you have a good recipe for growth with very little attrition.”
Over the past three years, Claris Networks boosted revenues 25% earning it the spot of 554th fastest-growing private company in the IT services industry. This year’s placement marks the 4th consecutive year the Knoxville-based cloud computing and managed services firm has made the list. Bodie comments, “Being on this year over year is very honoring. Claris is working very hard to serve our clients well.”
After decades of setting the pace in consumer computing technology, Steve Jobs is resigning as CEO of Apple Inc. Diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer, Jobs will continue focusing on his health and has recommended the board of directors to pass the reins of the most profitable company on earth to COO Tim Cook.
Love him or hate him, this man has done a lot. The music, animation, movie, telecommunications and personal computer industries are among a few of the top recipients of his leadership. If you’re looking to explore the legacy of Mr. Jobs and Apple computers, here are a few resources to explore.
5 Reasons People Hate Apple (You either love Apple or hate it. There are rarely any inbetweeners. If you’re an Apple lover and have a hard time understanding all the hate, check out this link.)
The real question, of course, is can Tim Cook replace Steve Jobs? Will Apple continue to put out sleek, revolutionary consumer electronics or will it flounder under the new leadership? What are your thoughts?
Meet Andy Price. At Claris, he manages 22 “hard-working, dedicated, wonderful people,” he says in his own words. At home, Andy and his wife Jennifer manage a smaller team that keeps them just as busy. Their four person team Elizabeth (11), Nathan (9), Hannah (6) and Ben (5) run the gamut of fashion designer, sports freak, baker and the “Quote-A-Day” guy. “Ben just had a birthday, so in the car he says, ‘Daddy, I just turned five. So I’m in charge now.’”
Before Andy had most of Claris Networks reporting to him, he was a systems administrator and technical account manager supporting companies like Ford, GM, Ebay and Fidelity Investments. He went on to help build and manage the infrastructure and support for a Fortune 500 Company and the international helpdesk for another $10 Billion company. Somewhere in the mix he started a bread and all-natural smoothie shop. That’s right. IT guy turned smoothie-making bread-baker.
“We started ‘The Priceless Bread Company’ as a way to do something meaningful as a family and teach our kids how to serve people, eat well and the value of hard work. We were baking bread for individuals, bakeries, farmers’ markets, etc. when I started to pursue Claris for employment. When I was hired at Claris, we gave up the bread baking business and moved to Knoxville. About that time we found out Jenn was pregnant with our 5th child. Pretty soon after that, Jenn became sick.”
“Pretty early on in the pregnancy, we learned that our baby girl had a cystic hygroma, which can be indicative of serious medical issues for the baby. So we were starting a new job in a new city and struggling through a very difficult pregnancy. During the first seven months on the job at Claris, management immediately invested in my family by allowing me to get on my feet and care for my family through what was to become an even more difficult time in our lives. Soon after Jenn gave birth to our little girl, Hope, we lost her. She was only alive for an hour and 15 minutes, but we got to hold and meet her. We are just so very grateful to get to meet her. Our trial brought us close to our new church and work community.”
“You can’t walk through anything deeper with someone than struggling with the death of a family member. Several people at Claris are like family to me because of how they served us during that time. From babysitting our kids, to bearing the load of much of my new job to being a friend, they were there for us. I wish I could still have her and hold her, but despite how much pain there is in a trial like that, I cannot but think about how kind God was to us through all of it. Losing a child is heart-wrenching, and there is nothing else like it in life. But God was so kind to send people around us like our church community and our friends at Claris.”
“We are about a year removed from everything and we are doing great. Our kids are so wonderful, such a joy to us. We did a walk/run 5K in Hope’s honor. Family, friends and coworkers all came out to support us. It was such a wonderful time to get to remember and thank God for the time we had with her. We are blessed with the life we have here in Knoxville.”
This is a heavy topic for a blog post, but the reality is that the people at the desk next to you live real lives and walk through very tough issues from time to time. Let’s take the opportunities we have to help the people around us! Claris is honored to have desks filled with fathers, mothers, friends and people like the Price family.
When three people share an office and you don’t have enough room for the new employees you need to hire, it’s time to move. So that’s what we did! Claris has been growing like crazy over the past three years, and now we finally have our own place. That said, we can do whatever we want, like invite all our friends to come check it out, get some free food, drinks and have a great time!
We’re inviting all our clients and friends to come and hang out with us for a while and check out our new offices.
See the image below for everything you need to know. Let us know if you can make it!
So, it’s been a couple months since the Google + debut. For those of our readers on Google +, what do you think of it so far?
If you’re still not quite sure what the Google + hype is all about, check out Dan Thompson's explanation on WBIR in Knoxville. (Ed Rupp’s introduction is particularly good this time.)
Here is a head-to-head comparison of Google + with Facebook. Note that in the past week or so. Google + has added games to its arsenal. Click the photo to see the full comparison.
One thing to keep in mind is that as soon as one site gets a feature, the other will be close behind. For instance, the infographic above is already outdated because Google + just added games feature this week.
So, if you’re on Google +, what you think about it so far!
Has it been worth all the hype so far?