Growing Red Hat plans to hire hundreds in 2013

Red Hat has grown by about 20 percent a year and is targeting $1.13 billion in revenue in 2013. 

Lee Congdon, Red Hat's chief information officer, said the optimism around Red Hat, its services and its new location is contagious. 

"We have plans for adding 1,000 associates around the world, and some of those will be in Raleigh," Congdon said Thursday. "We really think (the new tower) is going to have impact on downtown Raleigh. Having so many people work in one place is good for us, and people really seem to like the environment."

Even with a brand new location to call home, many of Red Hat's employees work remotely, either from home or elsewhere.

That flexibility coupled with the excitement over the company's growth is something Congdon said helps make Red Hat a desired place to work for between 650 and 700 people in the Triangle alone. 

"We have associates in almost 80 locations in 30 different countries, but almost 20 percent of our associates work from home," Congdon said. "Our folks are more productive when they can take time off for the soccer match and them come back and handle emails in the evening."

That style is something Red Hat promotes across all of its locations, and it's an approach Congdon said he expects to see other companies use more in the future.