Xiotech Corp., a provider of data storage and data discovery solutions, opened an office in Vancouver’s Tidewater Cove complex as part of an initiative to become a leader in evidence management solutions.
It was no mistake the Minnesota-based company focused on Vancouver. Xiotech President and CEO Casey Powell was cofounder of Portland-based Sequent Computer Systems, which was bought by IBM in 1999 for $810 million. Following some time off and short stints with two California high-tech firms, Powell joined Xiotech in February 2005.
Powell’s mandate was to position the company to become a market leader. But Powell is quick to admit competition is stiff. EMC Corp., with revenue of $9.66 billion, up 17 percent in 2005, is the clear market leader in data storage.
“EMC is the $10 billion gorilla in storage,” said Powell. “We want to be number one in our chosen market; it probably won’t be in storage.”
Powell said he became involved in Xiotech to get the company involved in a business other than what they were in.
Before the Vancouver office opened, Xiotech completed its acquisition of Connecticut-based Daticon, a company specializing in managing paper and electronic documents for law firms, corporations and government agencies involved in extensive litigation, merger activities or regulatory compliance matters. Xiotech expects to leverage its expertise to grow Daticon’s evidence management services. The explosion of data in digital forms and compliance rules such as the Sarbanes-Oxley and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability acts will drive growth in this market, said Powell. And that is where Vancouver fits in.
Powell said the opening of the Tidewater Cove office is a strategic move to take advantage of the talent pool available in the market.
“Vancouver has the beginning of a good high-tech business community,” said Powell. “It is growing in many ways that are very sophisticated.”
The state has an attractive tax structure, he said.
Some of the company’s workers may commute from across the river, but not Powell. He has made Vancouver his permanent residence when he is not in one of the company’s other offices in Minnesota, Connecticut or India.
The Vancouver office is opening with 15 employees, many of them recruited locally and has room in its 12,000-square-foot office for about 50 more. And Powell wouldn’t rule out a race with neighbor iRiver to fill out other vacant offices in the building.
Scott Winkler heads the Vancouver office as vice president and general manager. He was most recently with Connecticut-based Gartner Inc. and previously worked with Powell at Sequent.
The staff will consist of senior-level software engineers and executives, said Winkler. And he expects the company to become “a real high-tech anchor for Clark County.”
