2014 Business Class Honoree: JMark Business Solutions Inc.

In an industry built on systems automation, JMark Business Solutions Inc. President and CEO Thomas Douglas says the information technology field relies heavily on human capital.

“You can’t properly support a tech environment without a team of people,” the 15-year veteran president says. “One engineer used to be able to do it all. Now, one person can’t know everything and we need people with high skill levels. That just drives the need.”

A need the Springfield-based technology firm is all too familiar with. In the past three years, JMark increased its staff 42 percent, with 65 local employees and 70 nationwide, including creating a director of marketing and communications position.

Douglas says the new director – Chris Tuckness – is tasked with creating a marketing strategy for another of JMark’s large-growth areas: northwest Arkansas.

“Business is growing down there and we are gaining momentum in 2014,” Douglas says. “It’s been a challenging market because it’s a market based in relationships. To grow, we need to make those connections and that is where Chris comes in.”

In January 2012, JMark acquired the assets of Comprehensive Technology Services LLC, the Fayetteville, Ark.-based information technology service provider doing business as Integris Tech, and added six employees to the ranks.

Brokered through Kingsley Group Business Brokers, Douglas said the company also has added an office in Colorado Springs, Colo., and employs engineers around the Show-Me State.

The largest IT company in the area according to Springfield Business Journal research, the firm serves nearly 400 accounts with combined annual revenue topping $1 billion, including area companies such as Ollis & Co., Bank of Bolivar and Carnahan, Evans, Cantwell & Brown PC. JMark posted $9.85 million in 2013 revenue, up 16 percent and leading to 2013 profit growth of 647 percent.

“We are ahead of the revenue schedule in 2014,” Douglas says, attributing the growth to a handful of unexpected new contracts. “We anticipated things slowing down, but we are up 20 to 25 percent already.”

With a core belief in “hard ethical work focused on great business partnerships,” for Douglas, JMark’s growth circles back around to the success of his team. After months of groundwork, the firm kicked off a monthly profit sharing program April 1.

“This was a challenge administratively, but the impact it can have on our employees is well worth it,” Douglas says. “It’s so new, we are still in wait-and-see mode right now but it has huge potential for growth.”

Based on average growth during the preceding three months, Douglas said the program can provide additional income for each person on the team from 3 to 20 percent of their standard salary.

The company’s belief in sharing the wealth also extends to the Springfield community, where JMark counts at least 10 area nonprofits it contributes to and another dozen organizations in which employees serve in some capacity.

“As a team we are very fortunate and we’re very grateful,” Douglas says. “This community supports us and we support them.”[[In-content Ad]]