TC 100 Profile: Claris Networks Delivers 'Worry-Free IT'

Claris Networks wants to hire the best candidates and is willing to pay the price to do so.

For example, just consider Claris’ employee referral program that rewards both customers and workers. Claris offers $500 to any customer or employee who emails one of its job descriptions to a friend if he or she is hired based on the referral.

In addition, those who share a link to a Claris’ job description via social networks with the hashtag #clarispeoplesearch are entered into a $500 drawing.

Clearly, it takes a special kind of person to work for Claris, a Knoxville, Tennessee-based cloud services provider (CSP) that ranked 51 on last year’s Talkin’ Cloud 100 list of the top 100 CSPs.

Larry Bodie, Claris CEO, said his company has enjoyed consistent success since its launch in 1998, thanks in part to the dedication of its employees. In fact, he attributed Claris success to employees who are committed to “making IT work” for customers.

“Our biggest accomplishment has been maintaining our culture while growing an average of 30 percent year over year. Our employees are what make our service excellent and that alone attracts new business,” he told Talkin’ Cloud.

What Defines Claris?

What does it mean to make IT work for customers? Claris employees are focused on delivering “worry-free IT” so enterprises and small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) can focus on their core operations.

To help customers streamline their IT, Claris offers the Claris Total Cloud fully outsourced cloud infrastructure along with services such as:

Claris has made several acquisitions over the years as well. It added two Tennessee-based companies — healthcare IT solutions provider MindLinx Technology Solutions and business technology supplier SRC Technology Solutions — in 2011 to bolster its portfolio and expand locally.

Today, Claris employs 105 workers across offices in Knoxville, Nashville and Chattanooga and continues to explore new market opportunities.

Click here for Talkin’ Cloud’s Top 100 CSP list

Bodie noted that security is top of mind for many Claris customers, and as a result, his company is focused on addressing cloud threats.

He also pointed out that Claris remains committed to finding employees who “feel like they’re at home” at his company.

“It’s really important to me that people feel like [Claris] is a place where they’re not just doing their 9 to 5 task, that they’re actually living life here,” he said. “I want to feel like I’m working alongside my brother [and] alongside my best friend. I want to enjoy what I do here, and I want that same feeling for everyone else who works here.”

What do you think of Claris’ dedication to deliver “worry-free IT”? Share your thoughts about this story in the Comments section below, via Twitter @dkobialka or email me at [email protected].