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IDAC
Comprehensive IT management : 9 years
Darrel
Bass started International Data and Analysis in the spring of 1992,
just one day after leaving his job at Xerox Corp. Although his transition
from employee to entrepreneur may have seemed sudden, he had been preparing
for it for a long time. His idea was to provide local businesses with
information technology management assistance.
But before striking out on his own, he gathered as much
information as he could about the market for information technology.
Taking note of the downsizing trend in corporate America and forecasts
about the volatility of the market, he decided to start his business
small and keep his debt low.
“I wanted to stay small, because I knew that was the only
way I’d be able to stay in business,” Bass says, noting the recent fate
of many tech start-ups that borrowed a lot, got rich quick and then
crashed when stocks declined.
At Xerox, Bass had been an accounting software specialist;
one of the programs he wrote helped the company win a 1989 Malcolm Baldridge
Award. But his idea for IDAC was to offer more comprehensive information
management services to his clients.
Out on his own, the company’s first customer was Entergy Corp.
IDAC installed a bar-coding network for repairs at the utility’s Waterford
III nuclear power plant. The bar codes provide a unique identification
for each tool at the plant. Supervisors monitor the plant with the aid
of a camera inside a robotic arm, then dispatch specialized engineers
to fix problems.
“There are thousands and thousands of tools, and some are
very similar,” Bass says. “To have a human try to memorize all that,
when you’re dealing with a nuclear reactor, could be very dangerous.
So we have a very precise and accurate system that allows them . . .
to do their job more effectively and with a tremendous decrease in errors.”
The next contract involved supplying personal computers
to Xavier University’s College of Pharmacy. It was at that point that
the company began to steer slightly away from Bass’ original plan and
more toward becoming primarily a supplier of computer equipment to educational
institutions. Supply contracts with the Southern University campuses
in Baton Rouge and New Orleans followed.
Bass began to realize that, with the exception of big corporations
like Entergy, the local market for complex information management overhauls
was limited at that time. IDAC became a certified IBM supplier, and
over the years that role has evolved to business partner, with IBM providing
Bass with technical assistance and temporary personnel.
“It is a pleasure working with IBM Business Partners such
as IDAC to develop and provide complete technology solutions to our
customers in the New Orleans area,” says Rick Marshall, client representative
for IBM for the Greater New Orleans area. “Teaming with IDAC provides
customers with both a face-to-face relationship and the IBM support
structure, including our hardware, software, and global services. Together
it is a winning combination.”
The U.S. Navy has joined the list of clientele, contracting
with IDAC for maintenance and repairs of the printers at all local Navy
facilities. And this year, with several multimillion-dollar contracts,
is finally bringing the company back to the kind of work Bass wanted
to do all along.
“We want to help businesses build their information infrastructures,”
he says.
A year after starting the business, Bass brought in Frank
Dejoie III as vice president. Dejoie, who had worked at Pitney-Bowes
and other technology-related companies, became the marketing and customer
relations specialist at IDAC. The two have now decided to hire
on Michael Roussel, who has been their technical specialist for the
past year.
Looking ahead, Bass wants to expand his company’s focus
to design, implementation and maintenance of information management
systems. He is looking forward to a new project at Dillard University
and exploring other potential clients.
Bass says one of the keys to his success as entrepreneur
has been his understanding of the culture and communication styles of
the corporate world—knowing how to make clients feel comfortable and
confident in the quality of his work. “Without that, you’re really
at a disadvantage when you’re starting a business,” he says.
Please contact IDAC at (504) 283-1795.
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