Originally published Monday, November 3, 2008 at 12:00 AM
Interface
Software maximizes power of older portable equipment
A weekly column profiling companies and personalities. This week:
What: Dexterra, based in Bothell
Who: Michael Liebow, 48, CEO
Mission: Develop software that coordinates interaction between portable devices and the enterprise.
Leveraging equipment: Dexterra's cross-platform connection allows companies to maximize the power of older portable equipment and create a situation that relieves mobile workers from having to lug an 8-point laptop.
Time sensitive: Liebow said customers can streamline any process that depends on "where" or "when." For instance, a repair crew can more accurately pinpoint its arrival time, avoiding the painful "between 9 and 5" instructions that customers receive.
Gathering evidence: Some applications are more exotic. One customer, a British advertising company, instructs its sales force to take snapshots of billboards and send them to the client. That's proof the sign is in place and all of its words have been spelled correctly. After the client receives this "proof of grammar," an invoice is generated and sent.
Employees: 145
Financials: The company just raised $21.5 million in venture funding, and hopes to achieve profitability in 2010. With 200 customers and 100,000 licenses, Liebow said Dexterra "has the wind behind us."
Word-of-mouth: Liebow said Dexterra doesn't need to convince the work force about the efficacy of its technology. In one case, the company built a test platform for a small portion of the sales force, but the service crashed. It turned out that the product "went viral" and was installed by 14,000 workers.
Scout duty: Liebow came to Dexterra in the summer, after a long stint at IBM.
No sale yet: Part of Liebow's mission at IBM was to find smaller companies to purchase to increase Big Blue's innovation portfolio. There are no such plans in place here. "Every company is for sale," he said, "When it happens is hard to predict. Our goal right now is to bring the company into a positive-cash-flow situation, and go from there."
— Charles Bermant
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
UPDATE - 09:46 AM
Exxon Mobil wins ruling in Alaska oil spill case
UPDATE - 09:32 AM
Bank stocks push indexes higher; oil prices dip
UPDATE - 08:04 AM
Ford CEO Mulally gets $56.5M in stock award
UPDATE - 07:54 AM
Underwater mortgages rise as home prices fall
NEW - 09:43 AM
Warner Bros. to offer movie rentals on Facebook

nwautos
Turismo upgrade "Gran Turismo 5: XL Edition" for PlayStation 3 has features such as new car-tuning settings, new NASCAR vehicles, better replay video...
Post a comment
- Council members get briefing on arena proposal, minus details
- Lakewood cop accused of embezzling $150K meant for slain officers' families
- Social worker recounts minutes before Powell fire
- 3 big health insurers stockpile $2.4 billion as rates keep rising
- Washington men walloped by Oregon, 82-57
- Agency set to investigate handling of 911 call about Josh Powell
- Quick decisions: How Washington hired its new football staff
- Historic day for gay marriage as another fight looms
- Justin Wilcox's versatile defensive style is the right fit for Huskies | Jerry Brewer
- Wanted in Seattle classrooms: more teachers of color
- Gay-marriage bill passes House, awaits Gregoire's signature
510 - AP Source: Obama to change birth control rule
421 - Wanted in Seattle classrooms: more teachers of color
420 - Council members get briefing on arena proposal, minus details
394 - Rough road again
109 - A few late-night notes
98 - USA Today further spells out how Mariners, handful of clubs next in line for huge cash windfall
76 - Marijuana legalization initiative set to go on Nov. ballot
76 - UW throttled at Oregon
68 - New TV deals won't guarantee everlasting success; that part will still take work by Mariners and others
67
- Wanted in Seattle classrooms: more teachers of color
- State Medicaid program to stop paying for unneeded ER visits
- 3 big health insurers stockpile $2.4 billion as rates keep rising
- Economy, blogs give survivalists new reason to look to Northwest
- Bellevue College adds a third bachelor's degree program
- State's share of mortgage settlement: $648 million
- Darren Berg gets 18-year sentence for Ponzi scheme
- One man's audacious pursuit of sailing history
- $25B settlement reached over foreclosure abuses
- 'Gauguin and Polynesia': dazzling mix-and-match | Art review










