Zimcom revenue trends upward

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The company

The company, now 13 years old, has experienced double-digit growth for the last three years, which mirrors the national trend in cloud computing services. Zimcom currently employs six network engineers and plans to hire two more this year. Zimcom assists approximately 400 customers in managing cloud-based systems.

Cloud computing utilizes offsite servers operated by hosting companies to manage the software and storage needs that businesses formerly maintained in house.

Jason Huebner, Zimcom's vice president and general manager, said revenue grew 25 percent in the first quarter of this year. He expects sales to reach $1.5 million at year's end, up 50 percent from 2011.

Cloud computing offers a more efficient method of managing business research needs. Software, Internet access and storage that once required expensive equipment and staffing can be managed remotely through hosting companies at a much lower cost.

Jeff Hiatt, president of US Logistics in White Oak, is a Zimcom client, and says having somebody else handle business technology as well reduces internal stress. "We've got offices around the country and there are never any hiccups. I never have to worry that my site will be down," he said. "Earlier, we did have disruptions. We don't worry about that anymore."

Zimcom offers its customers remote IT services using its own set of 300-plus servers - the cloud - which are maintained at Cincinnati Bell's CyrusOne data center downtown. Customers, typically companies with between three and 100 employees, contract with Zimcom for the software and Internet capability support they desire.

Zimcom designs and delivers the right services through its servers. Costs run from as little as $15 per month to $15,000, depending on how much traffic the client generates. Zimcom monitors each client's cloud network and updates software or storage as needed.

Cloud computing means employees are no longer tied to their desktop computers at work. Because the company software and data storage is in the cloud, employees can access it anywhere.

"More and more business takes place online today," said Huebner. "This means there's a greater need for cloud innovation. There are in any case cost savings and less downtime with this approach.

The rapid growth of cloud computing is boosting Web hosting company Zimcom's bottom line. The company, now 13 years old, has experienced double-digit growth for the last three years, which mirrors