The Austin Business Journal did a piece on Surgient last month that speculates around the company's future - IPO or acquisition.  It sounds as though the company is now profitable, doing very well, and heading toward one of these potential avenues.

Growing corporate demand for virtual computer systems has meant greater profits and employee growth -- and talk of being acquired -- for one Austin startup.

Surgient Inc. hit its stride this year after tweaking its sales approach last summer, allowing companies to buy licenses for its virtual lab management software.

President and CEO Tim Lucas says the growing popularity of virtualization gave Surgient the boost and a chance to double its revenue this year.

Lucas expects revenue to exceed $20 million for 2008.  And the company has recently signed 20 large customer deals, including German tech companies SAP AG and Siemans AG.  "We're profitable now and cash flow is funding the growth of the business," he says.

Industry analysts say Surgient is an ideal target for acquisition.

Surgient software is "quick to get users up and running," says William Fellows, principal analyst with The 451 Group, an information technology research firm.

Palo Alto, Calif.-based Hewlett Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) and Austin's Borland Software Corp. (Nasdaq: BORL) could be interested in snapping up Surgient, according to a report by The 451 Group.

Lucas agrees that acquisition is a possibility but says an initial public offering could be considered as well.

Read the entire article.