Dude Solutions expands footprint with its first energy asset acquisition

CARY – Dude Solutions is expanding its footprint into the energy space.

On Tuesday, the Cary-based firm announced that it has purchased the EnergyCenter™ product asset from New Energy Technology (NET).

A cloud-based energy information system, the product is equipped to support all aspects of a sustainable, high-performance energy management program. From a single interface, users can collect and track utility bills, synchronize data and interpret energy data to quickly identify cost savings.

It’s the sixth acquisition in less than four years for the software-as-a-service (SasS) provider, and marks the start of a newly created energy business unit focused on selling the software to organizations in education, local government and healthcare.

“We’re committed to the energy space,” Ed Roshitsh, CEO of Dude Solutions, told WRAL TechWire, adding that his firm, in partnership with NET, had already spent the last two years selling and implementing the product, saving clients anywhere from 5-15 percent in energy savings.

Dude Solutions Catherine Harrell and Ed Roshitsh at their Cary office.

“We saw that it was a great opportunity to take technology that we’re already familiar with and own it, rather than being a re-seller, essentially.”

As part of the agreement, NET will continue providing service and support to their existing clients and retain a license to sell to industries not served by Dude Solutions. Additionally, Dude Solutions has entered into a lease agreement for the NET software engineering office in Olympia, WA, establishing the company’s fifth location in North America.

Celebrating 20 years

The deal comes on the eve of the company’s 20th anniversary, ushering in a new period of record-setting growth.

In 2018, the company surpassed $100 million in annual revenue and is expanding at an astonishing clip – at around 25 percent per year, says Roshitsh.

Other recent acquisitions include acquiring Poulsbo Washington-based Paladin Data Systems, which provides software for local government.

“We’re projecting that [growth] to accelerate over the next five years. Over 12,000 organizations rely on our software, and we’re on track to add an additional 2,000 clients to our roster in 2019. Not only are we growing at an impressive pace, we’re thriving.”

It all started back in 1999 as SchoolDude, when founders Lee Prevost and Kent Hudson started providing SaaS solutions to manage K-12 school facilities.

Today, the firm boasts 650 employees nationwide, and is gearing up to hire another 125 personnel over the next 12-18 months.

“It’s not inconceivable our 5-year plan will be up over 1000 employees in Cary over next three years,” said Roshitsh.