Talk about a big X marking the spot for growth … that’s ANEXIO.

From $1.4 million in revenues four year ago to some $26 million this year – that’s red-hot, sizzling growth. And the company may very well be one you have never heard much about. Until now. In an exclusive Q&A, its CEO Tony Pompliano talks about the data center success story, a company that calls Raleigh home.

Why located in Raleigh?

“Raleigh rocks,” he declares. “It’s that simple.”

The kind of growth ANEXIO is enjoying as enterprises move more and more data to the cloud, coupled with acquisitions helping drive the revenue, earned ANEXIO a spot in the Inc 500 this summer as being among the fastest growing private companies in the U.S. Revenues soared from $3.8 million in 2015 to $14.1 million last year and have nearly doubled again this year.

Recently, ANEXIO, which launched in 1996, also acquired assets of Net Data Centers as ANEXIO continues to grow its coast-to-coast customer base. The firm also recently secured an $8 million credit facility with Bridge Bank – and it’s hiring.

​Let’s meet Tony and find out what’s the secret sauce at ANEXIO.

  • Congratulations on the 2017 Inc. 500 recognition. What does the publicity mean to the company, its employees, and how does this help draw customers?

Thank you very much. The Inc. 500 win is a big deal.

As an Inc. 500 honoree, ANEXIO now shares a pedigree with Oracle, Box, Microsoft, GoPro, Intuit, Under Armour and dozens of other Inc. 500 alumni that have gone on to become household names.

We are honored to be recognized on such a prestigious list of the nation’s fast-growing companies. The publicity is flattering, but everything we do is first and foremost for our customers. Their satisfaction drives every decision we make, and we thank them for allowing us the opportunity to serve them.

The Inc. 500 recognition is proof positive for the company and our employees that ANEXIO is heading in the right direction, and we will continue to work hard to help businesses around the world make a smooth transition from their legacy IT environment to a more efficient and secure Hybrid Cloud infrastructure.

I’m a long-time Inc. reader and this honor will help ANEXIO increase our awareness among exactly the type of people who need our products and services.

  • Why do you choose to disclose financial information to Inc for this list? What are the risks?

We’re very proud of ANEXIO’s financials and our revenue growth from zero to $14 million in revenue. [It’s much higher now as 2017 draws to a close.] We liked the fact that the Inc. 500 ranking is based on revenue growth and we were happy to provide them with ANEXIO’s revenue numbers so that the Inc. 500 team could accurately rank our company’s growth.

  • What factor(s) set your company apart and are helping it grow revenue at such a rate?

The first thing you need to know that sets ANEXIO apart is that we live to serve our customers. Customer satisfaction fuels everything we do. We believe that when you take care of the customer everything else falls in line after that.

The second thing that sets ANEXIO apart is that we have great people who are all committed to helping our customers have the smoothest transition possible from their legacy IT environment to a Hybrid Cloud infrastructure. In order to do this, we have invested in first class data center facilities, an IT solutions center and a nationwide IP network.

In the ever-changing world of technology, you must always be looking ahead and anticipating what the customer will want in the future. At ANEXIO, we go the extra step to leverage our assets and differentiate the offerings in a way that creates value beyond what may be generally available in the market place.

  • Are you profitable? If so, how long have you been so?

ANEXIO has been profitable since day one.

Four years ago I saw the technology transformation that was occurring as companies were moving from customer premise-based solutions to one where the technology was going to be deployed either in a data center or via a cloud solution. I saw an opportunity to acquire several regionally-focused managed IT firms, and consolidate them to create some scale, both in terms of the size of the company, and in the size of the service portfolio.

These days, ANEXIO operates eight Tier III SOC-2 certified data centers, we have a brand-new IP network that connects those data centers and we have certified experts that can help monitor, manage and maintain your desktop to data center IT environment anywhere in the world. Everything we do is immediately accretive and cash flow positive to the company’s bottom line.

  • Why did you base the firm in Raleigh?

Raleigh rocks. It’s that simple.

Raleigh is the only place in the world that I want to work, play and live. I am originally from New Jersey and have lived around the country (Los Angeles, Miami and Tampa).

We moved here 23 years ago and are not leaving. I raised my family here and I have built companies here. My family and I have always felt at home in Raleigh.

From a business stand point, Raleigh has a great pool of talented employees, it is a business-friendly community, there are several cool technology companies that we will partner with, and the research triangle has created a culture of innovation and learning that benefits ANEXIO. Plus, you can’t beat the quality of life.

Next: Embracing changing technology