Beaverton computer maker CTL has built its business on a Chrome Operating System bet it made in 2013 that transformed the company into one of the few Chromebook suppliers.
Now, it is moving further into the Google Chrome ecosystem as Google takes on Microsoft's Office products, said CTL CEO Erik Stromquist.
CTL inked a deal with hardware maker Logitech and is supplying components to all of Logitech’s conference room equipment, which has a 50% share of the Google Meet market, Stromquist said.
As a result, 20% of CTL’s fourth quarter business was in conference rooms. That's double what the conference room business kicked in last year.
That's a big jump for a company that has been 90% Chromebooks, mostly supplied to schools.
It’s part of a strategy that was created two years ago when CTL sold to private equity firm Columbia River Partners. At the time the company noted it wanted to move further into the Google ecosystem and help take the technology to more international customers.
“They are private equity so they are active (partners). They are Google-centric,” Stromquist said of the new owners. “That fits the big theme, and they have added partnerships and connections.”
The financial backing also allows CTL to start looking at potential acquisition targets that align to the overall CTL vision of connectivity, Chrome OS and life-cycle management. CTL is also in the process of certifying as a B Corp.
Last year, the company had revenue of $100 million, Stromquist said. He expects this year to dip a bit coming off huge demand driven by school districts and remote learning through the Covid-19 pandemic. Moving into next year he anticipates business leveling off back at peak demand numbers as the expanded verticals strategy takes hold.
The company has a team of 50 people locally and about 10 working internationally. Stromquist has been building his executive team and has a new vice president of sales and an executive in charge of business alliances who is building out sales infrastructure.
With its education offering, CTL is becoming more than just a supplier of hardware. The company has moved to a services program that allows districts to rent the devices, which CTL manages, maintains and recycles when the time comes.
This expanded service is a bit of back to the future for the company. More than a decade ago CTL had an e-waste business called Retronics that recycled old computers. The company is now dusting off some of those old playbooks as it gets back into recycling and e-waste to handle the waves of Chromebooks that are hitting their end of life, Stromquist said.
On the international side of the business the company has started supplying Chromebooks to schools in Pakistan and Mongolia.
This coupled with moving into other enterprise verticals could propel the company beyond its 2% market share of Chrome OS devices.
“If we get to 5% (market share) we could be a $250 million company,” he said.
