Data management company adding 15 jobs in move to downtown Ann Arbor

BraveSoft, led by CEO Eric Heverly (left) and President Tom Wood (right), plans to add 15 jobs in Ann Arbor in 2012.

Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com

Data management firm BraveSoft plans to hire 15 new employees in Ann Arbor in 2012 after nearly doubling its local office space.

The company — which provides remote database management services to major corporate clients — recently moved from a 1,900-square-foot office in the Waterworks Plaza on South State Street to a 3,500-square-foot office in the sixth floor of the office tower at 301 E. Liberty St. in downtown Ann Arbor.

BraveSoft has between 22 to 24 employees based in Ann Arbor with plans to add another 15 this year. The company has 36 employees overall, including an office in Atlanta.

BraveSoft President Tom Wood said the company chose to expand in Ann Arbor in part because of the strong pool of talent generated by local universities.

"We thought we were going to expand grow more in Atlanta, but we decided to do it here," Wood said. "We wanted to move into a bigger space that we could grow into."

Among the factors was the high cost of living in the Atlanta area. Salaries must be higher there to compensate.

BraveSoft's logo sits on a window ledge overlooking the city at its new office at 301 E. Liberty St. in downtown Ann Arbor.

Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com

The average senior database administrator earns between $90,000 to $120,000 in Atlanta, while the average one in Michigan would earn between $80,000 and $90,000, according to Salary.com data cited by BraveSoft.

"The salaries are still high, but they're lower than Atlanta," Wood said.

Eric Heverly, CEO of BraveSoft, said the company's revenue has been averaging annual increases of about 31 percent. Many clients are choosing not to contract with off-shore database companies, recognizing the value in using local service providers.

"They just feel comfortable knowing that you're near them," Wood said.

Driving the increased interest in BraveSoft's services is a general desire among corporations to outsource their data management so that they can focus on the core products and services they provide.

BraveSoft provides data analysis, using tools from companies like Oracle, to give executives a clear picture of their companies' performance.

BraveSoft's clients range from major financial institutions to hospitals to manufacturers. Those clients' revenue ranges from $5 million a year to $2 billion to $3 billion a year.

Swisher Commercial brokers Mike Giraud and and Randy Maas represented the 301 E. Liberty St. building owner, Larson Realty Group, in the BraveSoft lease, while Milliken Realty Co.'s Bill Milliken represented the tenant.

Contact AnnArbor.com's Nathan Bomey at (734) 623-2587 or nathanbomey@annarbor.com. You can also follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's newsletters.

Comment Now