HBR

C A S E STUDY

For two years, DataClear has had the data analysis market to itself. But now a British upstart is nipping at its heels. Should DataClear continue to focus on its strong domestic prospects or expand overseas to head off the nascent international threat?

by Walter Kuemmerle

l A/HY AREN'T THEY BITING?" wondered Greg McNally as he laid V V down another perfectly executed cast. He wasfly-fishingin the most beautiful spot he had ever seen, on the Alta in Norwayreputedly the home of Scandinavia's worthiest salmon. And he had plenty of opportunity to admire the view. No fish were getting in the way. What a difference from the luck he'd had a couple of weeks earlier trout fishing at Nelson's Spring Creek in Montana. It seemed like so much more time had passed since the two-day off-site he had called there, designed to be part celebration ofthe past, part planning for the future. Some celebration had definitely been in order. The company, DataClear, was really taking off, fueled by the success of its first software product, ClearCloud. In 1999, itsfirstfull year of operation, DataClear's sales reached $2.2 million. Now, the following September, it was looking like 2000 sales could easily reach $5.3 million. At the all-staff meeting on the Friday before the off-site, Greg had announced the company's success in recruiting two more great 37

JUNE 2001

HBR CASE STUDY • Go Global-or No?

executives, bringing the staff to 38.Tm more confident than ever that we'll hit our goals: $20 million in 2001 and then $60 million in 2002!"

Clouds on the Horizon
A New Jersey native, Greg held an MSc from Rutgers and then went West to get his PhD in computer science from UC Berkeley. He spent the next 15 years at Borland and Oracle, first as a software developer and then as a senior product manager. He started DataClear in Palo Alto, California, in the