Digital Intelligence Systems, LLC.

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January 21, 2013 Issue

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As a Leading Provider of IT services, including Implementations, Upgrade and Maintaining of ERP Systems and the Software, Digital Intelligence Systems, LLC (DISYS) has seen Strong Growth over the Years

About Digital Intelligence Systems, LLC:

www.disys.com

DISYS is an ISO 9001:2008 certified IT staffing and consulting company with core services in IT Staffing and Consulting, Finance and Professional Services, ERP Services, and Infrastructure Support Services.

Mahfuz Ahmed
CEO
Mahfuz Ahmed is the principal founder of DISYS. He is currently the CEO and serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors. From 1994 to present, Mr. Ahmed’s focus has been on strategic planning, new business development, financial management, operations, and overseeing DISYS services. Mr. Ahmed is an alumnus of Harvard University. In addition to a degree in Computer and Electrical Engineering, he has more than 15 years of Information Technology experience. Mr. Ahmed’s has previous career experience at several companies, including ExxonMobil, which gave him the foresight to create a company that could provide its clients with highly skilled consultants to complement their technology staff without the burden of long-term costs associated with hiring and training. He decided to use his project management knowledge, industry experience, and technical skills to provide resources that would embody his clients’ mission to expeditiously and successfully complete their IT projects and achieve cost savings. His savvy business sense has allowed him to build DISYS’ internal recruiting, management, and reporting processes, which have contributed to the success of DISYS and our clients. Mr. Ahmed has a unique ability to motivate the spirit of individuals to share his focus on quality and integrity. DISYS has grown 68% over the last eight years – a testament to Mr. Ahmed’s knowledge, persistence, and focus on the right industry and technology solutions for their clients.

Business Services
IT Staffing & Consulting

Digital Intelligence Systems, LLC.

8270 Greensboro Drive, Suite 1000
McLean, VA 22102
703-752.7900
www.disys.com
 

Digital Intelligence Systems, LLC.

Print Version


 

Interview conducted by: Lynn Fosse, Senior Editor, CEOCFO Magazine, Published – January 21, 2013

CEOCFO: What was your vision when you founded the company and where are you today?
Mr. Ahmed: I started the company right after I obtained my engineering degree from George Mason University. The vision at that point initially was to do grand things, but when we narrowed the scope down, it really was to get things done. When I came into the workforce and I got my first job working for one of our companies, I realized while in the workforce that there are many people who talk about getting things done, and then there are people who actually get it done, and get it done on time and under budget. Our goal was to get things done indefinitely-- to execute on plan. I believe our growth is destined to do that we have grown it from zero to about $350 billion in revenue, so hopefully, we are executing on plan.

CEOCFO: What is the current focus at DISYS?

Mr. Ahmed: We dominantly provide IT services; anything that has to do with large scale IT implementations, for example, ERP systems. Any one of the large companies have enterprise planning software; it could be SAP, Oracle, or something similar that helps them run their business. From procuring products to sending products, to doing market analysis, all of the software they use we help to implement, upgrade, and maintain. Besides that, we do other IT related work as well. If it has something to do with enhancing an IT platform, DISYS is there for you.

CEOCFO: Are there particular industries of focus for you?

Mr. Ahmed: No. We deliberately did it this way: we service a broad segment; we are in with gas, telecommunication, transportation, banking, and finance. All of the industries have a very strong IT component. We did not want to say we would service one or the other, we decided to service anybody we can who have these needs.

CEOCFO: Can you walk me through an example of how you have worked with a company; what challenge they brought for you, and what DISYS was able to do that perhaps others would not have figured out as well?

Mr. Ahmed: Sure, we were working with one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world, and they were doing an upgrade of their global system. Normally they would use a one of the bigger system integration companies, such as IBM or Accenture to do some of this work. This was a multi-award contract and we were able to come in and get a 30% cost savings on the project. Initially, our client was uncertain DISYS could make the investment because what it meant was opening offices in some of the international locations where we were not, and the client was unsure if we were able to deliver the same level of service quality in those locations as well. We not only made those investments, but we were also able to show them we could do the project and save them money. Many companies go in there and make the pitch, “We can save you money,” but if things are not done correctly, it can actually end up costing these clients a lot more in the long run. Our ability to do the implementation globally, on time, and under budget, was a great testament to our client about our commitment, and how we can even expand to places we are not to help our client.   

CEOCFO: Can you give me maybe one point, a small or big step, which would allow for that savings?
Mr. Ahmed: Our ability is to form a theme that does the job on an on-demand basis. There are many companies who have people on staff that they try to engage in different projects. For example, if you are doing a software update from say version four to version five, the company will look at their “bench” and see if they have someone who has done an upgrade. It does not have to be an upgrade from version four to version five, but just someone who has similar experience, and then put that individual into that client project. What happens is those individuals are actually learning some of the business off the client’s dime. What DISYS is able to do with our extraordinary recruiting force is we are able to build a theme on demand of individuals who have done exactly that work in a similar industry. We will find you a team that has already done an update from version four to version five. That way, our people are hitting the ground running; they are not learning off our client’s dime, and because we do not have the overhead of keeping the wrong individuals, once this project is finished we are able to pass those cost savings down to our client which obviously saves them money. It is almost how Dell pioneered when they were doing on-demand procurement of their parts, which saved them a lot of money; we are doing it on the service assigned.

CEOCFO: How do you reach potential customers?

Mr. Ahmed: We have a multitude of methods that we use to reach potential customers. We have a marketing department that creates marketing campaigns that target similar industry leaders and promote to them the performance we have previously done. We also participate in trade shows to reach new customers. In addition, much of our business has come from client’s recommendation rather than referrals. When you do a good job for one client, they are fairly eager to tell someone, sometimes even their competitors or somebody who has moved from one client to another similar client. They will say, “Use DISYS! They can actually save you money and get the job done!” If you look at the IT industry in general these days, it is a field where every year, the CIOs are given less money and are asked to do more. With that being said, a company like DISYS, and with what we provide, resonates very well with the clients.

CEOCFO: What is one of the more unusual projects you have worked?
Mr. Ahmed: A recent project we have done is our veterans program. When people look at DISYS, they see mainly an IT service company, but we have a great interest in working with veterans as well. We have worked with a few of our clients’ best interest in finding veterans, training them, and putting them back into the workforce. We have been able to work with these clients, and many times create training programs so that we can reintegrate our vets into the workforce. This is something that fits well with the core values of DISYS and we are proud to support.

CEOCFO: You have been quite successful at a relatively early age; what surprised you the most as the company has grown and developed?

Mr. Ahmed: I guess it is finding like-minded people to fuel the growth to the next level. As a smaller organization, it is easy to find the right people that have the same mindset as you with the same discipline to get the work done. As a company grows, many people will tell you that they have the strong core values like accountability, respect, collaboration, and transparency, however it is amazing to see how many people do not walk the talk. That rather surprises me, because it is not “rocket science” from my perspective building a company that lasts, and that brings value. We all know the right tools. It is really about making sure you stay true to it all, and knowing your goal and trying to stay true to it. What surprises me is that people say it, but very few of them actually want to do it.

CEOCFO: How has your company faired under the current and recent year’s economy? Has it been an opportunity in some ways, or really just a problem like it has been for most people?
Mr. Ahmed: Actually, we have been blessed; even in 2008-2009, when the IT services market and obviously the broader economy slowed down significantly. Since our inception, we have never had a growth year less than 30%; even in 2008, I believe we grew 31%, and in 2009 more than 33%. This year we have achieved our 30% growth goal. Obviously, our methods have resonated with our clients, and we have enjoyed great growth; but we do understand that to a degree it is an anomaly. If you are providing something that brings value to your clients, you will still thrive under most economic circumstances. The good companies actually do well in down times; because the clients do not have the flexibility to take unnecessary risks. Clients really want to go with somebody who has been tried and tested by their peers or the market. For us it has been great.

CEOCFO: What is ahead for DISYS?

Mr. Ahmed: Our goal is to grow 30% year after year, and we hope to get to a billion dollars in revenue by 2017. We also want to be a global company. We have seven offices outside the U.S, and what we want to do is truly take a holistic approach to finding the best talent, and at the best price point. To us, it is not about onshoring or offshoring, it is not about how much of the business can we attract and put into a low-cost location, it is about finding the best talent. If you can do that and manage it well, you can have a lower-cost project sitting in Washington D.C. than you would have outside in a cheaper country. It is about how you establish team formulation, and how you access the talent and give people support when they need it. We hope to build a company that is global, that understands our clients’ issues globally, but solve it in a manner that is the most efficient solution to where ever in the world it might be.

We are also very excited to announce the launch of our first-ever research and development arm, DISYS Labs, which focus is to create cloud application stacks to deploy to both DISYS customers and to the public. Our most recent cloud enablement product, Sirro, will act as a foundation for DISYS Labs. We are constantly creating new services and growing as a company, we are eager to see what lies ahead for us.

CEOCFO: Why should investors and people in the business and investment community pay attention to Digital Intelligence Systems?

Mr. Ahmed: People should pay attention to DISYS because our growth and performance speaks for itself about the value we bring to our clients. In a market where you are constantly under cost pressures, and the pressure to deliver more with less, a company like DISYS should definitely resonate with them because we are that team which can bring that value. DISYS can be your trusted partner in giving you advice on how to accomplish complex business and IT issues. If we can take some of this off the CIOs plates, they can then focus more on their strategic initiatives. Again, where we strive is with large-scale systems that are in maintenance and upgrade mode. Those are the functions under large cost pressures that DISYS can accomplish more efficiently. If we can take that on, then businesses can accomplish more work to help their company achieve their goals and get to their mission, which is to grow in a very challenging environment.

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We dominantly provide IT services; anything that has to do with large scale IT implementations, for example, ERP systems. Any one of the large companies have enterprise planning software; it could be SAP, Oracle, or something similar that helps them run their business. From procuring products to sending products, to doing market analysis, all of the software they use we help to implement, upgrade, and maintain. Besides that, we do other IT related work as well. If it has something to do with enhancing an IT platform, DISYS is there for you. - Mahfuz Ahmed

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