Mijenix utilities a winner with PC users

BOULDER — Mijenix Corp., a leading provider of software products for enhancing the use of Windows-based computer systems, was acquired by Ontrack Data International Inc. in July 1999. No sooner was the ink dry than Legato Systems Inc., the world leader in data-recovery software and service solutions, signed an agreement to acquire Ontrack.

Mijenix’s products complements Ontrack’s data recovery. Ontrack also introduces Mijenix into a larger corporate marketplace. How did this small Boulder firm become such hot property?

Back in the early ’90s, Mike and Jennifer Kronenberg were graduate students at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Wis. Mike Kronenberg was working on his doctorate degree in mechanical engineering.

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To help him manage data, he wrote a file manager for Windows, and started circulating it around campus. The university also started to use the program, and Kronenberg decided he should make it more widely available and give it out for free. Jennifer Kronenberg encouraged him to charge a reasonable fee for the programs. People could download the program from the Internet, try it out and, if they were satisfied with the product, send a check for $39.

Unbeknownst to the Kronenbergs, InfoWorld ran a full-page article on their file manager, called WizManager, giving it a high recommendation. Soon, they were deluged with orders from Japan, Europe and all over the United States. After three years of selling WizManager on the side, and their newfound publicity, the Kronenbergs decided that it was time to focus on their business.

Their first employee was a baby-sitter. They gradually grew to 10 employees. In 1995, they associated with MicroHelp. Once MicroHelp saw PowerDesk, it immediately agreed to make it available off the shelf as a new Windows 98 product called PowerDesk. Eventually, the Kronenbergs decided that they could do the packaging and marketing themselves. They hired the senior vice president of worldwide marketing from Quarterdeck. Mike Kronenberg explained, “Once we brought the marketing in-house, this made an enormous change in the business.”

Wanting to escape the harsh Midwestern winters, the Kronenbergs searched for a place to relocate. When they called they Boulder Chamber of Commerce to ask for basic statistics on the area, they were essentially told that Boulder didn’t encourage growth. Ironically this convinced the Kronenbergs that Boulder must be interested in preserving something good. They moved Mijenix here, taking all nine employees with them.

Mijenix has grown to 39 employees, making it the eighth-fastest growing business in Colorado, and the 118th in the country for 1994-98. The company has experienced 140 percent compound annual revenue growth. In fact, its revenues doubled from 1997-98 and again from 1998-99. Add to this the fact that they have virtually no turnover.

Mike Kronenberg explains, “We recruit people for what they like to do within the framework of their skills and experience. We don’t hesitate to move people around if they want to learn something new.”

This fluid structure means that people are more enthusiastic and don’t get bored with their work.

Kronenberg also cites the many awards Mijenix has won, and continues to win, from PC Magazine and PC World to the Best of Comdex Award. The list goes on.

“This helps to create an atmosphere that people want to be a part of. They feel that what they’re creating is successful and valuable” Kronenberg said.

Mijenix/Ontrack’s newly released SystemSuite 2000 is a “kitchen sink full of utilities. Its main competitor is Symantec’s Norton Systemworks. Symantec is the primary competitor to Mijenix’/Ontracks products. The little brother to SystemSuite is Fix-It Utilities, which competes with Norton Utilities. Other Mijenix/Ontrack products include such programs as ZipMagic to use zip files without unzipping them and FreeSpace, which won the Most Innovative New Product Award from SIA.

Mijenix also developed Dynamic File System Enhancement (DFSE). This

patented technology enables people to compress files and create space “on-the-fly.”

Mijenix targets personal computer users and has scaled up to also address network administrators. They strive to create user friendly but powerful tools. In fact, now an IS manager can run diagnostics and utilities remotely on the other computers on the network. This means there’s rarely a need to dispatch a technician.

The merger with Ontrack is an excellent match as their is no product overlap. Ontrack’s focus is on-disc data recovery. Ontrack’s resources give Mijenix the resources to develop and expand their capabilities and to cross-pollinate with Ontrack’s products. The acquisition by Legato will most likely broaden the scope even further and it expected to be official early next year.