"Within the last 12 months we've added some real key talent," says Bluelock CEO Christopher Clapp (right). A recent hire was Executive Vice President Joe Kuntz (left). The Indianapolis-based company offers cloud-based hosting, digital storage and disaster recovery services. (Photo: Michelle Pemberton/The Star)
From the looks of its unassuming local data center — kept intentionally nondescript for security purposes — you'd never know that Bluelock has big plans for growth.
But to clients it serves, the Indianapolis company's aim of increasing its work force by about 50 percent, adding at least 20 employees in 2014, comes as little surprise.
"We're in a stage now where we're really accelerating growth, having found a couple of key areas," said Christopher Clapp, Bluelock's president and chief executive. Those include offering data-recovery services, such as in the event of a disaster, with backup in its rented Las Vegas data center space, and providing high security and tailored data-storage solutions. To reach its goals, the company has brought on new leadership as well.
"Within the last 12 months, we've added some real key talent," Clapp said.
Last fall, the company hired former ITT executive Martin Van Buren as its chief operating officer. Then last month, Bluelock announced it had hired Joe Kuntz, a former top executive of ExactTarget as Bluelock's executive vice president of sales to help aggressively expand its business.
Kuntz seeks to draw from his previous experience in this area to build on Bluelock's momentum.
"Those high-growth environments don't just happen," he said. "You have to make them happen by assembling great teams and making sure you're focused in the right areas."
Most of the new positions Bluelock plans to fill in 2014 are in sales, but it also will hire additional technical, finance and accounting personnel, as well as IT and software engineers. It currently employs 44, having already hired half a dozen workers toward its goal of 20 new employees this year. "We'll be adding team members across our business to provide better support to our growing customer base," Kuntz said.
Goodwill Industries of Indiana contracts the IT firm for data-recovery services in case of disaster.
"I think as more companies adopt the cloud as a technology-delivery platform, Bluelock will continue to grow," said Jeff Ton, Goodwill Industries' senior vice president of corporate connectivity and chief information officer. "Bluelock was really on the forefront of a lot of that."
Bluelock's "cloud" provides organizations ranging from small technology startups to a Fortune 100 firm, Siemens, with virtual space in brick-and-mortar buildings to store and back up data for everyday operations or in case of an emergency, such as a tornado or crippling computer virus. "Instead of buying your own computers and equipment and storage devices, you can rent from us," Clapp said.
The company prides itself in being flexible, nimble and swift in meeting clients' changing needs. "They're real proactive about staying ahead of demand and making sure we have enough resources to grow," said Kevin Schoenrock, chief information officer for DECA Financial Services LLC, a collections firm in Fishers.
Because DECA handles sensitive data, such as medical bills, Schoenrock said, it needs a company that knows how to comply with health privacy laws and meet consumer protection regulations. That's in addition to making information accessible in real time through secure connections — while storing it under lock and key.
Even at a fee of $13,000 to $14,000 monthly, Schoenrock estimates Bluelock has saved DECA "hundreds of thousands" of dollars since it first contracted with the company in 2010 to run the IT portion of its business and provide disaster recovery services.
Revenues for Bluelock have been increasing at a 30- to 40-percent pace year over year, Clapp said. He declined to provide figures for 2013 or 2012, but confirmed previously disclosed revenues of $19 million for 2011. The company has expanded rapidly since its founding in 2006.
"Very early on, we were actually seeing near stratospheric growth," said Clapp.
Much of that hinged on a job from 2009 to 2012 to handle data from Lehman Brothers. Lehman Brothers Asset Management Inc. hired Bluelock to operate the IT function as the asset-management firm handled the fallout from the failed bank.
"That was a very large contract," Clapp said.
Bluelock's new salesman-in-chief didn't miss a beat in explaining how that unique experience still applies to clients today. "Our offering gives us great flexibility to scale up or down — whatever your needs are," Kuntz said.
Bluelock
• What: IT company providing virtual data centers for information storage and recovery.
• Headquarters: 6325 Morenci Trail.
• Leader: Christopher Clapp, president and chief executive.
• Services: Data storage and recovery.
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