Eyenalyze One of 3 Tech Firms with Downtown Conway Plans
Innovate Arkansas' own Eyenalyze is one of three tech firms that announced plans Thursday to invest in downtown Conway.
Eyenalyze is a Conway-based startup from CPA and UCA professor Michael Rasmussen that provides financial and managerial tools for the restaurant industry. Here's more on Eyenalyze from Arkansas Business.
It's a big growth phase for the Conway startup. Rasmussen expects to have about 40 employees by 2016.
Joining Eyenalyze downtown will be Metova Inc., a mobile app development firm based in Franklin, Tennessee, with an existing facility in Cabot, and Atlanta-based Big Cloud Analytics, a predictive analytics firm.
Here's more from Arkansas Business.
And here's the full release from AEDC, with hiring info included:
Three technology companies announce new jobs coming to Conway
Companies to invest a combined $2.5 million, create 140 new jobs
CONWAY, Arkansas (January 29, 2015) – Three technology companies today announced plans to locate new facilities in downtown Conway, Arkansas. Metova Inc., a mobile app development company; Big Cloud Analytics, a predictive analytics software company; and Eyenalyze, a Conway-based company that has developed innovative software for use in the food service sector; will invest a combined $2.5 million and create 140 new jobs.Governor Asa Hutchinson joined local officials and company leaders for the announcement, held at the Centennial Bank parking lot at Oak and Front Streets.
"Today's announcement is really a tribute to the leadership of Conway, which has created an attractive environment for technology companies, entrepreneurs and cutting-edge businesses,” said Hutchinson. “Metova, Big Cloud Analytics and Eyenalyze could have gone anywhere. But these fast-growing companies chose Conway and Arkansas for a reason. They know that the city and state are committed to growing with them, not getting in their way. These are the types of high-paying, technology-based jobs that will make Arkansas even more regionally competitive. The announcement today also highlights the importance of having computer-science classes in our schools. We can groom a ready workforce for an ever-changing world by educating our students for the 21st century economy. Thank you Metova, Big Cloud Analytics and Eyenalyze for your commitment to doing business in Arkansas. I know that you will be very happy in your new home."
Metova has a growing presence in Arkansas with a current facility in Cabot. The company recently acquired a radio-frequency identification (RFID) company in New Hampshire and is moving operations to Conway. As part of the move, the company is working to establish a wireless engineering degree at the University of Central Arkansas in an effort to sustain and grow new jobs. The company plans to invest $2.075 million and create approximately 60 new jobs in Conway.
“Conway offers a desirable combination of a skilled tech workforce, with a welcoming business environment and great living conditions,” said John Adams, CEO of Metova Inc. “We’re all very excited about opening offices here and look forward to working with central Arkansas’ universities to help bolster the region’s pool of engineering talent.”
Big Cloud Analytics provides technology enabled real-time marketing predictions through the use of “big data analytics,” the process of collecting, organizing and analyzing large sets of data to discover patterns and useful information. The technology is built upon world-renowned science from one of the top-five marketing scholars in the world and its proprietary COVALANCE ™ modeling software. The company plans to invest $116,000 and hire up to 40 employees in Conway.
“We are simply thrilled to open a new location in Conway,” said Bryan Throckmorton, Big Cloud Analytics’ Chief Revenue Officer. “The global analytics market is booming, and our growth plans require that we have access to the right kinds of talent. The combination of existing talent and new talent emerging through the three universities in Conway makes it an ideal place for us, and being downtown enables us to create a fun work environment to go along with the long days.”
Eyenalyze, a new player in the restaurant industry, hopes to give local, independent restaurants the same type of real-time profit analysis used by larger chain competitors. The company currently services restaurants, franchises, hotels, country clubs and caterers. The company is working with Metova to develop software that captures and compiles data from multiple sources to provide managers with sales information, labor costs, plate costing, and profit information along with day-to-day accounting. Eyenalyze has plans to employ 40 by 2016.
“Eyenalyze is meeting the hospitality industry’s demand for real-time profit analysis at a scale that wasn’t imaginable only a few years ago,” said Eyenalyze President Michael Rasmussen, CPA. “We’re excited to join these companies in establishing Conway, and its downtown, as a destination for big-data professionals.”
“I can think of no better way to start off 2015 than by announcing 140 21st century jobs,” said Conway Mayor Tab Townsell. “It affirms threefold the Conway model for success: Quality of place plus quality of workforce. Logistics and infrastructure don’t drive these types of decisions--they’re driven by the promise of a talented workforce in an attractive location.”
All three companies will be adding the new positions over the next few years. Most positions will be highly technical in nature. Those seeking employment with Metova can begin the process by visiting http://metova.com/jobs/ or by emailing their resume to jobs@metova.com.
Those interested in employment information for Big Cloud Analytics or Eynalyze can begin by emailing their resumes to getsmart@ConwayArkansas.org. Technology professionals interested in keeping up with these and other Conway tech opportunities are encouraged to join the “Conway Talent Tank” LinkedIn group.
About Metova Inc.
Metova, Inc. is a leading technology services and solutions provider founded in 2006 in Franklin, TN. Metova has expanded to also include locations in Washington, D.C.; Augusta, Georgia and Cabot, AR. Metova has two divisions, Metova Federal which provides technology solutions to the military and federal government and Metova, Inc. providing commercial solutions from mobile applications, desktop, web, and server-side to companies including Dropbox, Yelp, eHarmony, WebMD and many more.
About Big Cloud Analytics
Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Big Cloud Analytics is a global thought leader in predictive analytics. The company provides technology enabled real-time marketing predictions based on world-renowned science from one of the top five marketing scholars in the world and its patent pending COVALANCE modeling software. Big Cloud Analytics provides software and services for financial services, retail, consumer packaged goods, media and publishing, telecommunications, airlines, and the travel industry. For more information on the company, visit www.bigcloudanalytics.com.
About Eyenalyze
Founded in 2013, Eyenalyze delivers a meaningful and accurate daily picture of profitability to restaurants of any size. The Eyenalyze proprietary API retrieves daily POS sales numbers as well as controllable profit data directly from leading suppliers such as food service, payroll, alcohol and credit card companies. The Conway, Arkansas based company interprets point-of-sale data nightly, creating an accurate and up-to-date picture of daily restaurant profitability. The easy-to-read dashboard of reports is accessible online at any time through web or mobile devices. For more information on Eyenalyze visit www.eyenalyze.com.