Change has been in the air at the Ann Arbor office of Systems in Motion, and it's been a welcome transition. The California-based IT firm rebranded itself to
Nexient, doubled its office space in Ann Arbor, and made a score of new hires locally.
"I could see us adding 100 people over the next 2-3 years," says Colin Chapman, chief delivery officer for Nexient. He adds, "I expect it (hiring) will pick up with the pipeline we have right now."
Nexient specializes in application development, information management and testing services. It uses an Agile software development methodology, which makes the creation of software viable through a system of incremental improvements. That system enables it to be cost-competitive with overseas companies, bringing more outsourced jobs back to the U.S. Nexient rebranded itself from Systems in Motion last spring in an effort to help it differentiate itself from other tech firms.
Nexient employs about 250 people in Ann Arbor after hiring 20 people over the last year. That hiring pace is a bit slower than in recent years because the company ran out of room at its offices.
"We were facilities constrained," Chapman says. "Our current building could only seat 230."
It did double its space early this year, taking over the lease in an adjacent space. Nexient went from 35,000 square feet to 75,000 square feet with that move. That should give it enough space to grow at an accelerate pace for the next two years.
"I expect the renovations (of the new space) to finish in the next month," Chapman says.
Source: Colin Chapman, chief delivery officer for Nexient
Writer: Jon Zemke
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