Originally published in Orange County RegisterThe sky’s the limit

By BILL QUINNAN / For O.C. REGISTER SPECIAL SECTIONS

An Irvine-based company known for technical services, on-site engineering, cloud computing and ongoing infrastructure support, is recognized for their social responsibility, employee rewards, and leadership.

For a company making its first appearance on the Orange County Register’s Top Workplaces list in 2013, cloud services firm Zumasys Inc. entered with a bang. The Irvine-based company earned a No. 2 ranking among small companies and No. 1 ranking among small companies for Social Responsibility, a new category added to the Top Workplaces rankings this year. Additionally, Zumasys President Paul Giobbi received the Top Workplaces Leadership-Small Company Medallion award.

The company was also named to the Orange County Business Journal’s Best Places to Work in Orange County list in 2012 and 2013.

Zumasys provides leading-edge solutions for disaster recovery, server and desktop virtualization, centralized storage, IP-telephony, warehouse management, collaboration and more. The firm’s solutions enable its clients to evolve and enhance their legacy applications and enterprise-resource planning systems while simultaneously advancing their infrastructure, either on premise or in the cloud.

The firm partners with leading technology companies, including NetApp, VMware, Citrix, HP and Cisco. In 2006, Zumasys launched an Application Hosting offering that allows companies to move their applications to a hardened data center and run their businesses on a 100 percent virtual server platform.

Zumasys was incorporated in 2000 by several managers of Jones Business Systems, a $68 million per-year systems integrator and a five-time Inc. 5000 honoree based in Houston, Texas. Seeing the opportunity to provide emerging technology solutions to customers with legacy systems, members of the JBS Enterprise Systems Division management team split off from the company, purchased the divisional assets and relocated to Southern California. The company also assumed vendor relationships with Tiger Logic (formerly Raining Data Corporation) and took over annual database support contracts with more than 10,000 Pick users.

The firm’s founders named the new firm “Zumasys” after the Aztec emperor Montezuma, who was forced to confront the “new world,” reflecting the firm’s mission to help companies preserve their applications and historical information-technology investments as they move to embrace new technologies.

Today, more than 1,950 companies across North America rely on Zumasys for technical services, on-site engineering, cloud computing and ongoing infrastructure support, according to the firm.

As an employer, Zumasys offers a variety of distinctive perks, including an International Travel Incentive, President’s Club and its 1% Non Profit Program, through which Zumasys employees decide how to donate 1 percent of the firm’s annual revenues.

The International Travel Incentive program annually provides four to six employees, selected in order of tenure, with a paid week off and a $3,000 stipend to go anywhere in the world. Through the program, employees have traveled to such destinations as Australia, Bali, China, Ireland, Italy, England, France and Peru.

The Zumasys 1% program brought about donations to more than 57 non-profit organizations in 2012 and 2013 and $424,240 in cash donations to the organizations. By involving customers and vendors and incorporating some in-kind donations, the company estimates that its charity impact over the past two years is close to $500,000.

Inspired by the book “The Great Game of Business” by Jack Stack, Zumasys has made it a priority to have performance measurements and rewards throughout the company, including sales, operations and each of the firm’s technical-services divisions. The company’s incentive programs offer each employee an opportunity to earn bonuses throughout the year for outstanding performance. Incentives have included annual holiday parties at St. Regis Resort and President’s Club trips for the firm’s top employees, for which Maui was the chosen destination in 2013.

Other highlights have included a trip to Las Vegas after a month of record sales, zip lining in Catalina, and a variety of parking-lot events.

The firm hosts a biannual Customer Solutions Summit, “Zumapalooza,” in Las Vegas, for which it brings its entire staff. The event attracts more than 350 attendees, and the firm believes it is an opportunity for all employees to get to know the company’s to customers and vendors.

The company’s employee lounge, dubbed “The Nerdery West,” features classic arcade games, a pool table, music and a refrigerator. The lounge was named after a former Zumasys director of sales, Luke Bucklin, who became the CEO of software development firm called the Nerdery and who passed away unexpectedly in 2010.

More traditional benefits offered by the firm include a 401(k) retirement plan; medical, disability and life insurance; and 120 to 160 hours of paid time off per year. To support the growth and professional development of employees, the firm offers continuing educational opportunities and certifications from market leaders such as Cisco, Citrix, VMware, NetApp and ShoreTel.

OC Register Company Stats: Zumasys