AppRiver CEO earns state entrepreneur of year award

Michael Murdoch (left) When Gulf Breeze-based AppRiver launched its e-mail messaging and Web security company in 2002, its founders jokingly referred to their venture as 'Two Men and a Spam Filter.'

"It was just me and my business partner, Joel Smith," AppRiver CEO and president Michael Murdoch recalled last week. "It was a humble beginning."

Seven years later, AppRiver - short for Application River - boasts 106 employees and is a global player in Internet technology. It enjoys 'inc 5000' status, meaning it is recognized as one of the 5,000 fastestgrowing private companies in the world.

Murdoch anticipates that AppRiver, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) security provider, will become a $100 million company within three to four years.

Its prolific growth contributed to Murdoch's selection as Ernst & Young's 2009 Florida Entrepreneur of the Year in the Emerging Organizations category. The program honors entrepreneurs who have achieved exceptional success in areas such as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.

Murdoch was honored June 11 during a gala event at the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate.

"I won the award as an individual, but what's really exciting to me is that this is a real big endorsement for the company and what we've been doing here for the past seven years," Murdoch said.

"This (recognition) really is a sum of the parts here. We've got some very, very talented people. Joel (Smith), our Chief Technology Officer, has been critical and crucial to our success. I really think (the award) says a lot about our company."

AppRiver, previously identified as one of the top 100 companies to watch in 2008 by 'Red Herring' magazine, provides managed e-mail and Web security services to businesses worldwide. It is a subscriptionbased service where there is no hardware or software to purchase. All applications are delivered via the Web.

AppRiver gives small- and medium-sized businesses access to applications that typically only the largest enterprises enjoy. As its clientele grows, its services become more costeffective.

"The market is massive," Murdoch said. "Because we are a subscription-based recurring revenue model, our growth has been remarkable.

"We have plans to eventually open an office in Europe, and after that Asia as well," Murdoch said. "We have customers in China, Australia and Europe - all over the world - and the beauty of it is we do it based right here in Gulf Breeze."

Murdoch complimented the area's resiliency as the world economy sputters. He said AppRiver's recognition speaks for the relatively strong business climate in Northwest Florida as a whole.

"Ernst & Young is an international organization, so to win the award and win it here in this part of the state is a great endorsement not only for our company but of the business environment and the economic development we have going on here locally," he said.

"It's wonderful to be able to be in this part of the country, being able to live where a lot of people hope to eventually retire to. We're actually able to live here and build an organization that's doing business worldwide. It's just tremendous."

Murdoch is eligible for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year national award, which will be announced in November in Palm Springs, Calif.