uTest Moves East To Framingham
When software testing services firm uTest began to outgrow its former headquarters in Southborough, executives wanted more than just additional square footage in a new space.
“We also were looking for a space that we could put kind of our unique fingerprints on,” uTest Chief Marketing Officer Matt Johnston said. “We wanted it to have lots of personality.”
Wanted: More Space, 'Tech-y' Feel
For a company on the cutting edge of in-the-wild testing for software and mobile applications, that meant creating a space with a “tech-y” vibe and modern flavor, according to Johnston. He said not all office building developers are open to that, so finding one that is was a “guiding force” as uTest searched for new digs.
Recently named private company of the year by the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council and ranked America’s 8th most promising company by Forbes Magazine in February, uTest launched in a one-room office in Ashland in 2008 before it moved moving to a larger space at 153 Cordaville Rd. in Southborough later that year. uTest expanded that office to accommodate its growing staff before it maxed out at 11,000 square feet.
With offices on three different floors, the company was running the risk of becoming disjointed, and the search for a new headquarters was on, Johnston said.
In addition to finding a building with an owner who is open to uTest’s interior vision, Johnston said it also had to be within 10 miles of the Southborough headquarters so as not to disrupt the lives of uTest’s employees, who numbered 125 by the time they left Southborough.
After viewing eight or nine properties in MetroWest, uTest settled on 100 Pennsylvania Ave. in Framingham – part of the same cluster of office buildings just off Route 9 that’s home to biotechnology giant Genzyme Corp. and audio technology company Bose Corp.
uTest will occupy the entire fifth floor, plus 5,000 square feet on the fourth floor, with the option to add more space as needed, Johnston said. Since moving, the company has already added five employees and plans to hire more.
Six-Year Lease Anchors uTest In Framingham
Meanwhile, the uTest staff is getting acclimated to the new space, with less separation than the Southborough site and the design elements the company envisioned, like exposed ceilings, concrete floors and industrial design elements, which were brought to life with help from the architecture and design firm NELSON, which has an office in Boston.
Johnston said company executives “have no idea where the apps economy will be in 2018,” but it appears uTest’s headquarters will be in Framingham. The company signed a six-year lease with the building developer, Reit Management & Research — the longest in that company’s history.
Image source: Freedigitalphotos.net
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