Friday, July 11, 2008

Satuit banks on compliance rules

By Christopher Calnan

While the sluggish economy has affected the rapid growth of Norwell-based Satuit Technologies Inc., the software company can thank the federal government for the regulatory requirements that will keep it expanding this year.

The 14-year-old company that produces customer relationship management software, SatuitCRM, is expecting a 15 percent surge in revenue compared with 25 percent last year as the need for regulatory compliance software continues to expand, CEO Karen Maguire said.

“The challenge now is what will we do going forward,” said Maguire, who is looking to increase adoption of the mobile version of the application.

The challenge will be made easier by the demand for software capable of monitoring the amount Satuit’s financial services customers spend on attracting clients, information required by U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regulations. Since Satuit specializes in financial services companies, the demand for such software is expected to provide Satuit with a steady source of business, Maguire said.

“When someone is selling to brokers, they have to make sure they’re not spending too much,” she said. “Our software helps them do that. They can’t look like they’re buying business.”

Guggenheim Partners, a Chicago-based financial services firm, enlisted Satuit 15 months ago after using an in-house CRM system for six years, according to New York-based Guggenheim analyst Colin Dinneen. Compliance reporting is a side benefit of the data the system tracks, he said.

Satuit, founded in 1994 as a consulting business, didn’t produce a software product until 1997. Pivotal CRM, a division of CDC Corp. (Nasdaq: CHINA), is the company’s main competitor.