DataWorks lands new customer

BONITA SPRINGS — DataWorks Inc., a software provider that helps businesses keep track of inventory, landed a new customer this week. Sodexo Inc., a Maryland-based company that earned $7.7 billion in 2010, will soon become DataWorks' largest client.

Headquartered in Bonita Springs, DataWorks is led by founder and CEO Mark Cecil, who started the company in 1986 with $100,000 of what he called “family capital” (see “Data that Works”).

Sodexo manages retail operations for its clients, which include hospitals, senior living facilities, schools, and government sites. The company plans to install DataWorks software at roughly 400 hospitals and campuses throughout North America.

Sodexo Inc. is itself part of a larger group of companies, called the Sodexo Group. Worldwide, the Sodexo Group generated roughly $22 billion in 2010 revenues, with 380,000 employees.