The layoff of 55 people last week at Minneapolis-based Code42, which is trying to transform itself to a broader IT security provider at the same time it accelerates growth, shouldn't diminish the company as a potent player in Minnesota's growing software industry.
Nor should it tarnish our local software industry.
We're not Silicon Valley, Austin, Texas, or Boston when it comes to software startups and funding. We are a promising second fiddle.
And, if the strategy of Code42's leadership works, the now 550-employee company could become a much larger outfit.
CEO Joe Payne said in an interview last week that Code42's board still intends to be a publicly held company. However, to capture the price valuation sought by its venture-capitalist owners, Code42 must grow by 25 percent and achieve revenue around $150 million.
Code42 last year had sales of $117 million, declining from a multiyear pace of 25 percent annual growth, to 17 percent in 2018.
Payne decided he needed to let go of about 9 percent of employees who were tied to the company's legacy as a provider of data-backup products to consumers and small businesses. The company, including its data-backup software, is moving to sell a broader suite of "data loss protection" products to businesses and other organizations.
"We're now talking more to the chief information security officers of clients [and prospects] than the chief information officer," Payne said last week. "We need to transform the whole company from being experts in IT infrastructure to being experts in application security. It's easy to articulate at a board meeting but harder to execute."