SYRACUSE — Ithaca–based software-development firm Envisage Information Systems has new offices in Syracuse and Endicott and is working to tap into the local talent pools in those markets to keep pace with its recent growth. The Syracuse office, located in 4,000 square feet at Presidential Plaza, opened in January. Envisage has had a presence in […]
SYRACUSE — Ithaca–based software-development firm Envisage Information Systems has new offices in Syracuse and Endicott and is working to tap into the local talent pools in those markets to keep pace with its recent growth.
The Syracuse office, located in 4,000 square feet at Presidential Plaza, opened in January. Envisage has had a presence in Endicott, a 4,000-square-foot office at 306 E. Main St., since September.
Envisage provides recordkeeping systems and other software products for the retirement industry.
Both new offices have about 20 people currently with room to double that total, says Robb Jetty, senior executive vice president at Envisage. The company expects to grow the offices to those levels over the next six months, he adds.
Envisage is headquartered in a 15,000-square-foot building at 31 Dutch Mill Road in Ithaca. The satellite locations launched so the firm could attract talent more easily from those communities, Jetty says.
The business has been growing rapidly in recent years and finding enough people to keep pace has been challenging, he adds.
“That is our biggest challenge and we are happy to have it,” Jetty says.
Around 2009, Envisage had about 30 employees and generated $5 million in revenue. But some new federal regulations that emerged that year started the firm on a path to rapid growth, according to the company.
The rules applied to 403(b) retirement plans. They’re similar to 401(k) plans, but used by colleges, hospitals, and other nonprofits. The regulations mandated new levels of accountability and required a consolidated overall picture of what was happening in the plans.
That meant that a need for new software emerged, according to Envisage. The company built a software product, known as Common Remitter, to help the industry meet the new rules. The firm worked with a client in Kansas to design the product.
The client went live and ran the system for about a year before a national player in the space found out about it and signed on. The product allowed Envisage to grow its revenue and helped the staff swell to its current total of about 200.
Envisage was expecting more than $15 million in revenue in 2012.
The company is just starting to reach out directly to colleges and universities on recruiting, Jetty says. Envisage expects the new offices to help with those efforts.
The initial staff members at both locations already worked for Envisage and either commuted to Ithaca or worked remotely, Jetty says. He adds that the company tries to hire as many local people as possible, but its rapid growth rate has prompted some outsourcing.
“Our growth forced us to attack on all fronts,” he says.
The satellite offices house a mix of employees including software developers, business analysts, project managers, and more. Envisage could look to open more remote offices in the future, Jetty says.
The company also has been hiring in the Rochester market so that could be a future target for a physical location, he says. The firm has about four employees in that market at the moment so that base would have to grow before opening an office there.
Envisage has clients nationwide and has been in business since 1990. The firm has been focusing on the retirement industry since 1998.
Jetty and Envisage President and CEO Steff McGonagle own the firm with several angel investors.
Contact Tampone at ktampone@cnybj.com
