Two businesses recently have opened offices along on Columbia’s Main Street.

EDTS, a full service, Augusta-based technology consulting firm that specializes in networking, security and managed IT services for business, this month opened a new office at 1320 Main St., roughly three blocks from the state Capitol. The office, which opened Jan. 4, was opened in order to better serve a growing portfolio of Midlands clients, the firm said.

“We’ve been serving Columbia since our inception in 1999, but typically from our Augusta office,” said Charles Johnson, EDTS CEO.

“We’re more committed (now) to a regional approach, so we’re going down to Charleston next. But it makes sense to have a physical presence here so that we can build our engineering staff and be able to branch off from there.”

The firm, which already has offices in Greenville, may branch off to Macon, Ga., once offices are opened in Charleston, Johnson said, and north into Asheville, N.C., rounding out its regional approach.

EDTS, named the seventh-fastest-growing small company in South Carolina on the statewide Roaring Twenties list, has 50 professional staff members currently and said its new state-of-the-art Columbia facility will allow it to add 15-20 network engineers and sales professionals in the next 18 months.

EDTS clients span from health care to automobile manufacturers in the Upstate, Johnson said, though mainly any business that places primary importance on its computer systems and the Internet.

“We’re fortunate to have a cross-section of about any industry you can imagine,” said Johnson, an Augusta native. “Essentially if they value their computer network as a business tool, we’re a good fit for them.

“We do a lot in the network infrastructure and security side that a lot of companies don’t,” Johnson said.

Also opening nearby this month is Grice Consulting Group, an Atlanta-based consulting firm that specializes in city/urban planning, including engineering, transportation, traffic and water resource services. The company’s has opened in the iconic Capitol Center Columbia building at 1201 Main St., Suite 1980, as the result of increased workload and client base in South Carolina, the firm said.

“We are encouraged by the positive feedback that we have received from current and potential clients regarding the opening of this office in Columbia, S.C., and we look forward to its success,” John J. Funny, Grice Consulting Group president and CEO, said in a statement.

The nationally recognized firm – founded in 1995 and formerly known as Grice & Associates Inc. – will maintain corporate headquarters in Atlanta, which will provide support for all technical and project needs of the Columbia office, but which also maintains technical staff.

CEO Funny, a Georgetown native, said opening a South Carolina office is the fulfillment of a long-range strategic plan for the firm.

A S.C. State University graduate with a Master of Science from North Carolina State University, Funny will lead the Columbia office until a principal/office manager is named, the firm said.