Austin, Texas-based CMIT Solutions, which provides IT and cybersecurity services to small businesses across the nation,plans to expand to Louisville, opening at least onelocal franchise by 2023.
Currently, there are over 15,000 small businesses in the Louisville area that CMIT Solutions could connect with for work. CMIT Solutions defines a small business as having anywhere from five to 99 employees.
According to Lisa Montanio, director of franchise development, there is potential for two or three CMIT Solutions locations in Louisville.
“That's a lot of potential [in Louisville] for our franchisees to be able to ... build a very significant business if they want to with that size market,” Montanio said.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, nearly 75% of all ransomware attacks, which can include anything from phishing emails to software vulnerability, happened to small businesses in 2021. Montanio added that the average asked for ransom is over $80,000.
“That's a lot of money for a small[business] to come up with to pay," said Montanio. "So, we put together solutions and services to help them mitigate the risk of them having to pay the ransom and keep the environment safe from a repeat attack."
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Ideally, CMIT Solutions would like to open its first Louisville operation in January 2023, but it currently has not found someone to operate the location. After finding a candidate to start the Louisville branch, CMIT Solutions is looking to immediately bring 10 to 30 jobs to the metro area with the goal of only hiring locally.
“Louisville is a great area. It’s very interesting with all the small businesses," Montanio said of the potential in the Derby City.
Recently, CMIT Solutions reached $100 million in systemwide revenue. Montanio believes the Louisville operation could make anywhere from “$100,000 in annual revenue to eight digits in revenue.”
Reach business reporter Olivia Evans at oevans@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Cybersecurity, IT company CMIT Solutions to open Louisville location