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Will Sacramento Become a Destination for Gov Tech Companies?

Nearly 40 percent of companies that landed on a second-annual list of the top 100 companies selling to state and local government in market segments like civic tech, service delivery and administration, have their headquarters in California. But just one company resides in the Sacramento area. A local CEO thinks that's bound to change.

Nearly 40 percent of companies that landed on a second-annual list of the top 100 companies selling to state and local government in market segments like civic tech, service delivery and administration, have their headquarters in California. This isn't surprising given the dominance of Silicon Valley and the rise of Southern California as an attractive locale for tech companies.

What is unexpected, though, is that just one company on the list resides in the Sacramento area, since it's long been considered the epitome of a government town. Jon Coss, CEO of Pondera Solutions, whose company is based in the Sacramento suburb of Gold River, said Monday he was surprised to discover his company was the lone representative from Sacramento on the GovTech 100. He thinks that's bound to change, given Sacramento's inherent advantages.

"Outside of the federal government, it has the largest budget for state services — but also for information technology. It's also close to great talent in the Bay Area. It just makes sense to be in Sacramento," Coss said.

Founded in 2011, Pondera Solutions is a provider of cloud-based solutions that detect fraud, waste and abuse within Medicare, unemployment insurance and other government benefit programs. The company works with departments in California state government and five other states, so being located in Sacramento is a natural fit.

"Being able to literally drive downtown and bounce ideas off of people, to show them rough prototypes, to do product demonstrations and get feedback, pilots and proof-of-concepts. It makes all the sense in the world to be here and there are huge advantages to it," Coss added. "You throw that together with more agile development methodologies that the state [of California] has been moving to, combined with cloud computing. I just think this is going to be a great market for Sacramento."

In line with that, some have touted Sacramento as a potential destination and hub for upstart companies focused on the gov tech market. Sacramento's economic leaders celebrated last year when a small business called SupportPay, a platform that helps people pay child support, announced it would open a local office. And with support from the Greater Sacramento Economic Council and a $10 million innovation fund that is slated to continue under the leadership of Mayor Darrell Steinberg, officials hope other companies will soon follow suit and come to the River City.

Sacramento's moment, in other words, could be coming soon.

"I moved here in 2000," Coss said. "And the difference between then and now, in terms of the infrastructure to support technology entrepreneurs, is night and day. We didn't have anything. Now I'd like to see more coming up in the government space here, because I think there's a great opportunity for that. I do think we could be the gov tech hub of the country. Where else should it be? It makes perfect sense for it to be here."

The GovTech 100 is compiled by Government Technology, owned by Techwire parent company, e.Republic. Company data is provided in partnership with Crunchbase.

GovTech 100 Companies from California

Company Category Headquarters Description
Accela Apps, Software, Government and Military, Mobile San Ramon Accela provides civic engagement solutions and improves core processes for city, county, state and federal governments.
AmigoCloud Navigation and Mapping, Data and Analytics, Software San Francisco AmigoCloud is a geospatial platform that helps you collect, manage, analyze, visualize and publish your location data.
Appallicious Software San Francisco Appallicious is an open data visualization company that creates products to help government better serve its citizens.
Bidgely Energy, Sustainability, Data and Analytics, Software Sunnyvale Bidgely is a disruptive technology company developing an energy monitoring and management solution for eco-friendly energy saving.
Buildingeye Real Estate, Data and Analytics, Internet Services San Francisco Buildingeye is a user friendly planning information portal specializing in GIS and data visualization.
CityGrows Software, Government and Military Los Angeles CityGrows is the transparency-first process management platform for government.
CitySourced Government and Military, Mobile Los Angeles CitySourced is an enterprise civic engagement platform in the world, connecting citizens with their local government.
Civic Resource Group Media and Entertainment, Information Technology, Internet Services Los Angeles Civic Resource Group develops and distributes cloud-based technology solutions for civic organizations.
CivicActions Software, Government and Military, Internet Services Berkeley CivicActions helps agencies and organizations successfully execute large-scale software projects using open standards technologies.
Comcate Information Technology, Software, Administrative Services Oakland Comcate develops customer service software solutions for public agencies.
Compology Sustainability, Software, Transportation San Francisco Compology develops a dynamic routing system for the waste management industry.
Department of Better Technology Software Oakland Department of Better Technology makes great software that helps governments and non-profits better serve their communities.
Esri Navigation and Mapping, Data and Analytics, Software Redlands Esri offers geographic information system software, web GIS, and geodatabase management applications.
Govlist Software, Government and Military, Transportation San Francisco Govlist is a procurement solution helping governments and vendors make better decisions, move faster, and simplify the procurement process.
Junar Data and Analytics, Software Palo Alto Junar offers a cloud-based open data platform allowing businesses to free their data to drive opportunities, collaboration and transparency.
Neighborly Software, Financial Services, Lending and Investments San Francisco Neighborly is the municipal bond marketplace where you can invest in the local projects you care about.
NEOGOV Information Technology, Software El Segundo NEOGOV is the market and technology leader in on-demand human resources software for the public sector.
Nextdoor Media and Entertainment, Community and Lifestyle, Internet Services, Privacy and Security San Francisco Nextdoor is a private social network that enables members to communicate with neighbors.
NextRequest Information Technology, Software, Government and Military San Francisco NextRequest makes public records requests friendlier for the public and easier for governments.
One Concern Information Technology, Data and Analytics, Software Palo Alto One Concern helps public agencies make more informed decisions rapidly during any incident.
OpenCounter   San Francisco OpenCounter combines Silicon Valley and public-sector talent to create best-of-class products for modern governments.
OpenGov Information Technology, Data and Analytics, Software, Design Redwood City OpenGov offers cloud-based software that visualizes municipal financial data, allowing governments to access, analyze, and share data.
PingThings Energy, Information Technology, Data and Analytics, Software, Internet Services El Segundo PingThings is a venture-backed software company, brings best-of-breed big-data software and data science techniques to the utility industry.
Pondera Solutions Information Technology, Software Gold River Pondera offers a comprehensive cloud solution to help you detect, investigate, and enforce fraud, waste, and abuse.
PredPol Data and Analytics, Software, Government and Military, Privacy and Security Santa Cruz PredPol predicts crime using cloud software technology that identifies the highest risk times and places in near real-time.
ProudCity Information Technology Oakland ProudCity is a software company providing cities with websites and online government services.
Recovers Community and Lifestyle, Privacy and Security San Francisco Recovers is a software company making disaster preparedness and recovery smarter.
Remix Information Technology, Transportation San Francisco Remix is a planning platform for public transit.
Seneca Systems Software Redwood City Seneca Systems is a software company that provides software solutions for local governments, including its flagship product Romulus CRM.
SPIDR Tech Information Technology, Data and Analytics, Government and Military, Privacy and Security Manhattan Beach SPIDR Tech is a law enforcement technology development company.
SST Inc. (Formerly ShotSpotter) Data and Analytics, Government and Military, Privacy and Security Mountain View SST is a private-held company that develops a gunshot detection and location technology to help reduce gun violence in the cities.
StreetLight Data Navigation and Mapping, Data and Analytics, Software San Francisco StreetLight Data is a data analytics company transforming urban planning and transportation design with the power of geospatial data.
TriTech Software Systems Software, Government and Military, Design San Diego TriTech Software Systems develops highly integrated public safety products and services for police, fire, and EMS agencies worldwide.
Valor Water Analytics Natural Resources, Sustainability, Data and Analytics San Francisco Valor Water Analytics develops customized financial data and dashboard tools for water utilities and businesses.
VaultRMS Software, Government and Military, Education San Diego VaultRMS is a cloud-based technology platform for public safety agencies.
Vision Internet Software, Government and Military, Internet Services, Design El Segundo Vision is a website design, development, hosting, and software company for local governments.
Xcential Legislative Technologies Software Encinitas Xcential provides SaaS-based solutions enable legislatures and regulatory to more efficiently create/publish legislation and regulations.
Source: GovTech 100

Matt Williams was Managing Editor of Techwire from June 2014 through May 2017.