Envisionet looks to expand beyond Maine

LEWISTON – Envisionet, which has created hundreds of jobs and is touted as a technology startup success story in Maine, has begun looking beyond Maine for future expansions, an official said.

The company’s growth has reached its apex in Maine and the company must look elsewhere to continue to expand, said Winn Price, the company’s vice president for performance enhancement.

The company, founded by University of Maine alumnus Heather Blease, has grown from 12 employees in 1997 to more than 2,200 today.

“Eventually, this growth will expand us out of Maine,” Price told a Great Falls Forum audience Thursday.

Envisionet’s employees work 24 hours a day to assist customers with software and hardware problems by phone, e-mail and the Web. In addition to solving technical problems, the company offers e-commerce and financial services including marketing, sales support and consumer research.

Right now, Microsoft and Dell account for 90 percent of Envisionet’s business. While the company couldn’t ask for better clients, others are needed to provide diversification, Price said.

Expanding into new time zones and new languages would give the company the ability to attract new clients.

The trend is already happening with competitors, Price said. For example, some companies already are using workers in other countries to keep labor rates low for customer service.

Although accents can be a problem, those disappear when transactions are carried out by e-mail.

That means a company in India, where English is the official language of business, can offer some of the same services as Envisionet but pay employees much less than what Maine workers receive.

Envisionet recently opened an office in California, but it will always remain Maine-based, Price said.

Envisionet will maintain “a physical presence in Maine – always,” he said.