Move means space for more workers

Colorado Springs software developer Configuresoft Inc. has moved to roomier offices that will allow the company to boost its local staff by two-thirds.

The fast-growing company added about 20,000 square feet of space to its headquarters when it moved last month to 7450 Campus Drive, near Interstate 25 and Woodmen Road, from its previous home for four years on Arrowswest Drive, just off Garden of the Gods Road.

"This space is more usable than our previous location, and it gives us room to grow - it should accommodate our needs for another two or three years," said Mark Ruport, Configuresoft's chief executive. "Our sales are growing at 20 percent to 25 percent a year."

Privately held Configuresoft makes software that helps large corporations, colleges and other organizations manage computer servers by keeping them secure from hackers, operating under the most efficient and stable configuration and in compliance with federal privacy regulations.

Ruport didn't need a tour to know the building would work for Configuresoft - he designed the office space when he was chief executive of Optika Inc., the building's first tenant. He's even moved back into his former office on the west side of the building.

The space became available when Oracle Corp., which inherited the space when it acquired Stellent Inc., moved the former Stellent operation last year to its own building in the Northgate business park. Stellent bought Optika for $60 million in 2004.

Configuresoft is the first of three hightechnology companies that will leave the Garden of the Gods Road area this year. Plasmon PLC will move its plant in July to the InterQuest business park, and Intel Corp. will finish shutting down its plant by year's end.

Configuresoft won't fill its additional space immediately. Ruport said Configuresoft likely will add just 10 to 15 people this year because the company wants to be cautious amid a slowing U.S. economy and it has outsourced some shortterm projects.

About 20 engineers at Infogain Corp. in Bolivia and India are completing development of software for Configuresoft that will be sold overseas. Configuresoft hired Infogain because "we needed to staff up quickly with people with specialized skills," Ruport said.

About half of Configuresoft's 250 employees are based in the Springs. Ruport said he expects the company to grow from about $30 million in sales last year to more than $100 million in sales, and to employ between 400 and 500 people within three or four years.

The company's 400 customers include 13 of the world's 25 largest companies and are concentrated in the financial services, energy, retail and pharmaceutical industries. Configuresoft's software costs about $1,000 a server; the average customer spends $200,000.

Ruport said Configuresoft is expanding into the higher-education and credit union markets and has launched a telemarketing operation to sell its software to midsize companies. The company also has signed marketing partnerships and alliances with Deloitte LLP, EMC Corp., Microsoft Corp. and VMware Inc.

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