Info Solutions named NCC Small Business of the Year
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Info Solutions Leadership Team members are, left to right, John Koval, Richard Roux, Mark Olazagasti, William Riley, and Ann Marie Amato | PHOTO COURSEY BLUE BLAZE ASSOCIATES
WILMINGTON — Information technology company Info Solutions measures success not only in its profit margin, but how it serves its customers and sets its employees up for success.
“My view is that our team members are stewards of our company, and anything we can do to help them benefits not just our company but the community as it’s facing these challenges that lie ahead,” Info Solutions managing partner Richard Roux said.
Info Solutions was named the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business of the Year last month. One of the fastest-growing IT companies in the region, the company designs, implements, and supports clients’ IT infrastructure with specific expertise in upgrading, building out, relocating, and managing IT infrastructures.
“Info Solutions has had a stellar year, even in the midst of a pandemic,” said Jaimie Watts, director of events for the NCC Chamber, in a statement. “The company simultaneously supported the changing needs of the business community and adapted to your own changing needs while successfully showing financial and hiring growth year-over-year.”
Founded in 2008, Roux and fellow managing partners Bill Riley and Mark Olazagasti aimed to create a company focused on customer relations. The men connected over their work at Info Systems, but said they later saw the team-oriented and community-focused culture erode when the company was bought out by MTM Technologies.
“By the time we formed Info Solutions, it was pretty ugly out there. We were just happy at that time to get the scraps,” Roux said. “I think the turning point for us is when Beebe Healthcare had a sizable project they hired us for. I knew if we did a great job, it would be something we could point to for years to come.”
The company first participated in the Emerging Enterprise Center, the chamber’s business incubator and accelerator, starting with a six-figure sales goal. These days, sales are into the millions and Info Solutions has 20 full-time employees and four consultants. Employees are working from home in six different states, and more than 90% of the company’s computing infrastructure is in the cloud.
Info Solutions has grown thanks to the work of delivering IT solutions for remote work, which was once a novelty but is now a necessity during the coronavirus pandemic. By designing secure IT networks for companies, Info Solutions has developed a reputation for delivering strong networks and virtual tools to meet the moment.
“It’s really accelerated business in a big way, and it’s also changed how we sell some of these services. In a sense, we’re eating our own dog food. We tell clients now when we’re at a video conference, ‘This is how we’re using the tools we have,’” Roux said. “It’s not just in sales that we’re meeting the moment, but in supporting our customers. I love the fact that at 2 a.m. one of our engineering consultants can help out a client in France from his living room.”
Work-from-home and hybrid office models will become even more popular once the pandemic is over, Roux predicts. Cloud servers may be more commonplace as companies realize the benefits of working remotely, and IT companies in turn will become more necessary than ever before to help companies who were otherwise unprepared to make the jump.
“Before this, we worked with a company whose CEO wanted to get his team set up to work from home. He was almost reluctant but it was like the younger workforce was almost demanding it. When the pandemic hits, reality sets in real quick,” Roux said. “That CEO eventually thanked us for setting up the network and had us scale it up. Over time they closed some of their offices, but not all of them.”
Next on the horizon is maintaining a good office culture — even if the work is remote — and growing opportunities for the community. Info Solutions is still growing as long as the work keeps coming with it, and Roux sees it as a chance to start tapping deeper in the Delaware community for talent.
“When you have trust in your employees, you provide them the opportunity to succeed and grow their talents, I believe that you’ll find them to be happier, more loyal and invested in the company’s overall success,” Roux said. “We’re all very happy about this award, but there’s no big egos here.” It’s a validation that what we set out to build all those years ago is working, and we’re sharing the success with our team members.”
