FrontRange Solutions Announces Revenue Growth and New Headquarters

FrontRange Solutions, publisher of GoldMine and HEAT, is trying to build on a wave of success and a new direction in customer service. The company's finances have improved steadily over the past four quarters, going from a small loss on under $17 million in revenue for the quarter ending September 2003, to a $2.1 million profit on close to $20 million in revenue for the quarter ending June 2004. Roughly 400 new customers came online during the quarter, including more than 250 new GoldMine accounts. The company is also putting the finishing touches on a formal launch of its voice-over IP contact-center solution. Currently in use by early adopters, the product represents a new, aggressive attempt by FrontRange to expand beyond point solutions in sales and service and provide an end-to-end platform for customer interaction. "Avaya, Aspect, PeopleSoft, Siebel, they're all trying [similar strategies], but none have the right solution for our market," says Kevin Smith, vice president of products for FrontRange. The new IP contact center platform targets sites with between 15 and 100 agents. Art Schoeller, Yankee Group senior analyst, says that FrontRange's contact center solution could address a crucial need. "At times there are features [small contact centers] would like to take advantage of: computer telephony, or tighter integration with email, and if to do that you have to buy [several packages] and integrate, they are not going to do that--it's too painful," he says. "Here, having a completely shrink-wrapped communication system plus trouble ticket [handling] is not a bad idea." Just 14 months into his tenure at the head of FrontRange Solutions, CEO Michael McCloskey has moved the company from its traditional base in Colorado Springs, CA, to Pleasanton, CA. The writing has been on the wall for the base in the Rockies for some time, after the company opened a development office in Pleasanton over the winter and placed the resources acquired in its June $1.6 million purchase of Cayo Communications, a contact-center technology development firm in the new office. CayoCom, a small company that employed a number of veteran contact center engineers and had an eastern european footprint, was already providing contact center capabilities to FrontRange under license. FrontRange says that move will help attract and retain top-flight personnel, likely a key consideration to the investors the company is known to seek. While FrontRange is already listed on South Africa's JSE market, the company has been openly considering a U.S. IPO. No time frame for an offering has been formally announced. Related articles: FrontRange Solutions Plans to Go Public and Go Hosted Contact Centers Begin the Switch to IP