Ostendio thrives in Rosslyn's growing tech corridor
Software helps organizations protect sensitive data, maintain compliance
Grant Elliott, CEO of the information security management company Ostendio, gives many reasons why the burgeoning company has chosen to be in Rosslyn. He says he and his team appreciate the convenient location, which offers proximity to many staff members' homes and easy access to D.C.
Chief Marketing Officer Jean Foster likes the neighborhood so much that she moved here. "It's the first time I've been able to walk to work," she says. She and other staff members say they also enjoy the neighborhood's many community events, such as the free summertime Rosslyn Cinema, and the "fabulous food truck scene."
Also, Ostendio receives funding because it is located in Virginia. In 2015, they garnered seed money from the Center for Innovative Technology, a nonprofit corporation that invests in Virginia-based high-growth technology, life science and clean technology companies. They would not have had access to these funds had they moved elsewhere in the D.C. area.
Arlington County treats tech sector businesses like Ostendio favorably as well, offering a reduced local license tax, called a Technology Zone Incentive, to new or growing hardware or software companies in Arlington's premier high-technology business corridors, including Rosslyn-Ballston.
Ostendio is one of many companies benefiting from Virginia and Arlington's commitment to feeding the innovation economy: More than 50 technology companies are in Rosslyn alone, including Divvy Cloud, Higher Logic, LiveSafe and Phone2Action.
MyVCM: Ostendio's solution
Founded in 2013, Ostendio has experienced phenomenal growth in a short time, doubling in size and recording a revenue increase of 250 percent in the past year. Their product, MyVCM (My Virtual Compliance Manager), is used by healthcare providers and digital health companies to protect patient data and manage staff and volunteer training in compliance with industry regulations. Many leaders in the digital healthcare space are among their clients, including MedStar Health and the American College of Cardiology. Ostendio also provides their solution free of charge to Arlington Free Clinic, a local nonprofit that offers free medical care to low-income and uninsured Arlington County adults.
Elliott says that while MyVCM is used by the health segment for now, it could support other industries as well, including government contracting and finance. This is where he hopes to take the company next.
"Any organization that needs to demonstrate that they are adhering to a specific workflow could benefit from this software," he says. "And while it's true that much of what MyVCM does could be done with spreadsheets, it's the automation and scheduling of certain processes that makes our customers' lives easier."
With the goal of reaching new sectors in the future, Elliott and Chief Marketing Officer Jean Foster say Ostendio is focused on building up their sales team. They also hope to garner Series A funding so they can continue to grow.* "There's definitely demand for our product," Elliott says. "We have customers all over the world, including in Israel, Australia and Canada. A lot of our current customers recommend our solution to others. Companies are coming to us. We need to scale up. That's our next challenge: expanding, and reaching new segments with our product."
To learn more about Ostendio, visit their website.
Ostendio is hiring! View open positions here.