Tallahassee Magazine September/October 2006
It’s
not your traditional success story: Home-grown software company, established
in the 1970s, morphs into a global technology firm serving some of
the largest law firms in the world. And, despite its evolution under
various names and parent companies, it manages to stay in Tallahassee.
Aderant North America, Inc., known through the years as CMS/Data, PC Docs and Solutions 6, is an 80-employee firm that provides financial and productivity tools to billable hour companies. Though originally focused on the back office, since acquired by Francisco Partners in 2004, Aderant has grown its product line to include marketing, profitability and other solutions.
Growth was also what led the company to seek new office space five years ago. “We were downtown at the time, in cramped offices,” says Cecilia A. Lopez, Global Contracts Administrator, “and our lease was running out.” She prepared a cost analysis on five different properties; the site they chose was owned by Parrish Group.
“We signed a build-to-suit lease in mid-2001 and moved in at the end of August in 2002,” says Lopez. “Parrish was very easy to work with.”
Accommodating a firm that offers around-the-clock tech support to some of the world’s most prominent service organizations wasn’t exactly an easy assignment. “We were in almost daily contact with Parrish,” she says.
Fortunately, the relocation helped boost the company’s own operations. Proximity to the I-10 interchange makes them more accessible to clients and employees, there’s plenty of free parking and the location is more secure.
For a bottom-line focused company, Lopez says, “Things like that add up.”