JMARK plans to add ASP services in near future

JMARK Systems Inc., located at 840 S. Glenstone, is a computer networking company where the employees pride themselves on their love of technology and the array of services they offer.

"We are enthusiastic about technology," said Service Manager Jeremy Hill. "We're quick to go to conferences and see product demonstrations, even on our own time. You have to care about the trends in the computer industry to succeed."

The company, which is 12 years old, began in James Montgomery's Cabool home.

In 1996, Montgomery purchased NetPro, a Springfield-based computer company. When he purchased the business, the approximately 10 employees who were working for NetPro became Montgomery's employees.

Montgomery sold part of the company last year and is now one of three owners. The other two owners are Tom Douglas, president, and Tom Goss, who assists Douglas with the financial management of the company.

Today, there are 11 full-time employees. Two employees work in the Cabool office and nine are in the Springfield office.

JMARK Systems offers sales and service for personal computer users and businesses including networking services, a management consulting service, training, and network and phone cabling.

"Networking means we take them from start to finish from the software to the end use," Hill said. "We'll install the computers and train the employees. We're more of a business consultant than just a network provider."

The company's management consulting service includes helping the client choose the software package needed for the day-to-day operations.

"It can be overwhelming to have to choose from the literally thousands of products on the market," Hill said. "So, we come in and evaluate what the client needs rather than leaving them on their own to try everything that's out there. We help them tailor pick a total solution to meet all of their needs."

Douglas said one of the main goals of the consulting service is to make the client's day-to-day operations run more efficiently.

"We try to justify the cost of our services by increasing the efficiency and productivity of our client, " he said. "When that's achieved, it, in turn, increases their profitability."

The company has an on-site training room for its clients.

"The employees can learn in a classroom environment instead of in an office which is full of distractions," Hill said. "We'll perform the training ourselves, outsource the training or rent a room to a client for training purposes."

Through its cabling service, JMARK runs and terminates all types of cable, including Current Category 5e and fiber optic.

Hill said being able to provide all these services is a way of differentiating the company from the competition.

"Superior service is the only way you can stay ahead of the competition," he said.

While JMARK clients include schools K-12 and colleges, its focus is on banks and law firms.

"These two types of business were some of the first clients we had," Hill said. "You have to understand how the company works before you can install a system. I understand how banks and law firms operate, as do the other employees."

Plans for the future of JMARK Systems include more offices, employees and services.

"We have customers all over the country," Hill said. "But we'd like to have more offices in additional Missouri cities staffed with employees. We also plan on increasing our technical staff here in Springfield."

JMARK hopes to become an applications service provider, or ASP, in the near future. An ASP hosts applications, such as Microsoft Word, QuickBooks or proprietary programs, on its servers and leases access to those applications to clients on a yearly, monthly or per-use basis. This helps the user control costs by minimizing the amount of hardware and costly software upgrades that must be purchased.

"As an ASP, we can take care of virtually all of the administration, maintenance and backups at our office," he said.

JMARK Systems is open during normal business hours, but Hill said technicians have worked other hours, as well.

"We have a customer that can only have down time from 11 p.m. until 5 a.m.," he said. "So, we service them during those hours. We're showing them that we'll do whatever it takes to make them more profitable."