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Putting its sights on customized software

Verivo Software: Putting its sights on customized software

 

Premium content from Boston Business Journal by Taryn Plumb, Special to the Journal

Friday, November 9, 2012

W. Marc Bernsau

Verivo Software has seen a surge in new customers for its software, which lets enterprises create customized mobile apps, CEO Steven Levy says. 

It’s been four years since Apple first came out with its slogan-turned-cliche, “There’s an app for that.” And while it might seem like there really is an app for everything these days, some see a largely uncharted territory in the mobile space: customized apps for mid-sized and large businesses.
Waltham-based Verivo Software believes so strongly in that demand — both now and into the future — that it relaunched itself to focus on the area earlier this year. The firm shifted its business model, expanded its sights and physical space and changed its name from Pyxis Mobile Inc.
The company has moved from selling packaged apps (largely to financial service companies), to providing a platform that allows businesses across various industries to build, deploy, manage and update their own cross-device mobile apps for employees and customers.
“We want to help customers take ideas that they believe will help their business, and make those ideas a reality through a mobile initiative,” CEO Steven Levy said.
They’re just delivering what the market wants, Levy said. When the company was selling packaged apps, customers frequently asked for changes, and apps were tweaked on a per-customer basis.
Once it made the shift to a customized software platform, the company experienced instant gratification.
In 2011, Verivo saw a surge in new customers, Levy said, with large names such as CSX Corp. and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. coming on board. Over the last two years, its customer base has widened into manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, gas and oil, and many other industries, Levy said, with “rapid adopters” being in the financial services, business services and health care fields.
“Every quarter we’re announcing record run rate,” said Levy, although he declined to provide specific revenue figures. Similarly, the company is continuing to add to its base of more than 100 employees (including, in June, CTO Arnold Epstein); its developing teams in London (where it now has an office) and the Netherlands; and it’s beginning a gradual expansion into Asia.
Fueling this expansion is $17 million in venture capital the company received in January from Commonwealth Capital Ventures, Ascent Venture Partners and Egan-Managed Capital. Pyxis was previously backed by $7.1 million in Series A and Series B rounds.
According to Chris Silva, a mobile analyst with San Mateo, Calif.-based Altimeter Group, Verivo has helped to change the dialogue around mobile enterprise apps.
Previously, it was technology first, business need second — for example, a company would adopt a system, then task developers with creating an app — whereas now it’s the other way around, he said.
Levy likewise touts Verivo’s CPU-based pricing (as opposed to per-app or per-user), along with the platform’s security and updating features and HTML5 capabilities. The company released its newest version (7.4) in October, which will provide support for its global expansion with the inclusion of double-byte character sets.
Overall, the mobile apps market is still “pretty early,” Silva said. Levy agreed, calling the development process never-ending.
“This space is moving so fast, that the transition keeps going,” he said. “The innovation is at a breakneck pace.”

Original story link here.