German site software maker sets sights on Boston's tech reputation

A German software company has moved its temporary U.S. headquarters from Florida to Boston for the climate -- business climate, that is.

CM4all, a Cologne, Germany-based web content management software developer, relocated in February to the Park Square area for the larger pool of technology workers and other benefits Boston offers compared with Fort Lauderdale, Chief Executive Robert Schovenberg said.

"We were looking for a city that has the infrastructure and Boston has great infrastructure for a technology company," he said. "And for us Europeans, Boston is a European-like city."

The company, founded in 1999, produces software used to create websites. It opened a small, three-person office in Fort Lauderdale in August 2004 while testing the U.S. market.

In Boston, Schovenberg expects to hire seven to 10 workers by the end of the year, and 20 to 30 within three years. The Boston office would include sales, marketing and technical workers. But Schovenberg said he's considering a Boston-based development team.

The company's software is now developed solely in Germany. It's sold to web hosting companies, Internet service providers and broadband providers.

Joe Donahue, president of Quincy's Microtech Staffing Group, a technology recruiter, said he expects the general need for temporary technology workers in the Boston area will increase 25 percent this year, compared with 18 percent nationally. CM4all shouldn't have any trouble filling vacancies if it produces a quality product, he said.

"If you have good technology, people will go to you," Donahue said.

Schovenberg, who is moving his family to Boston in May, said he's confident the new location better positions the company in the market.

"Even if people don't come from Boston, people like to go to Boston" to work, he said.

CM4all doesn't publicly release revenue figures. U.S. competitors dropped out of the market during the dot-com bubble in 2000. Now CM4all's chief competitors are based in Russia and India, Schovenberg said.

CM4all plans to extend sales beyond Europe and Asia Pacific with growth in North America and South America. U.S. customers include Aplus.net, eNom, Hostway and Verio.