Cloud start-up BlueLock thrives during downturn

Technology companies, such as rapidly growing BlueLock LLC, appear to be getting a much bigger boost from the growing corporate interest in cloud-based services.

BlueLock, an Indianapolis-based cloud infrastructure provider, plans to add nearly 120 new workers to its 30-person workforce by 2014, according to an agreement with the state of Indiana that provided the firm with a $1.4 million tax credit . The state said the tax agreement, announced this week, is contingent on the company's meeting agreed-upon goals.

BlueLock's has based its hiring projections on expectations that its rapidly accelerating revenue growth will continue beyond this year. The privately-held firm claimed some $9 million in revenue last year, which it said is 400% higher than 2008. The company said it reached profitability in 2009.

BlueLock is forecasting $17 million in revenue for this year.

The rapid growth is due mostly to fast-growing demand for cloud infrastructure services, company officials said. BlueLock customers are using its cloud environment to host software-as-a-service applications, disaster recovery and other services running in VMware, Windows and Linux environments.