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May, 2001
"Arius Accelerating In Region "
(Photo caption) - The two bright stars behind Arius Software, entrepreneurs Michael Neame and Adam Zimmer have had such success with the e-commerce application company they started while studying at the University of Waterloo, that they've hired Ted Shapiro, formerly of Waterloo Maple as Vice President of Sales and Marketing.
One of the most satisfying things about being an employer is when you see your employees succeed - especially when they are your classmates! Take University of Waterloo students Adam Zimmer and Michael Neame, for instance, both just 22, co-founders of Arius Software in Waterloo since 1999, members of the Chamber and employers of 10 staff.
Both started fooling around with computers by the age of seven. Developed web pages for fun and pocket money by the time they were 15. Programmed together just for recreational purposes and then were approached by some corporations to do some work. Then they got really focused, eventually hiring a few friends to help keep up with the work. Ended up as roomies at the University of Waterloo, where Adam is in Computer Engineering and Mike in Computer Science.
Now they are entrepreneurs of an e-commerce application company - a company which attracted $1.5 million in capital in January from local investors, known to bank the best and brightest in high-tech development. And in this competitive town, you know they had to have been considered a major upcoming contender to generate that kind of suit-and-tie belief, despite the fact that every computer at their 12th floor Marsland Centre office has a Sesame Street character's name like Grover or Elmo.
Co-ops Integral in Company
Maybe it's because this pair of visionary co-op students, about to graduate in the spring, are emulating best practices, gained through their various work terms. Maybe it's because they are attracting other co-op students by the handfuls in a very tight co-op market. And maybe after a year spent writing their software, they've developed an innovative product that accelerates the movement of data in a scalable and seamless fashion. It's been selling well in Western Canada, the States and gaining local momentum.
Take Arius As Seriously As They Take You
Yet being taken seriously is probably their major challenge at this point, says Zimmer. "Our software moves customers' critical business data and every business has critical data," says this president, who is responsible for Arius' business concerns. Neame is vice-president of development and manages the staff of 8, enhances products and develops customized solutions for clients. "For instance, newspapers handle a lot of information - copy, submissions of ads, classifieds, etc. They need to move that data easily. Instead of mailing in all that information, customers, suppliers and advertisers can use our product from wherever they are and connect to the information online."
To Know ConnectedDB Is To Love It
It's Ted Shapiro's job as Vice-President, Sales and Marketing to get the message about their versatile software toolkit called ConnectedDB, out into the marketplace. Shapiro, who has sold high-tech products for 20 years, has a marketing degree and was sales manager at Waterloo Maple Software for over seven years. He laughs as he says he hopes his baldness and grey temples will help doubters realize that this company is here for the long haul.
"Our software can be used in any industry: transportation, media, manufacturing, financial services, security and educational markets, wherever. They all have critical data and need to be web-enabled," says Shapiro. "The interfaces that we write can easily be recompiled for any computer platform, whether from an internal, external (over the web) or mobile wireless device like a cell phone. This brings costs down and speeds up development schedules."
Many still choose to crank out these three approaches manually, says Zimmer, adding: "We automate them for our clients and there hasn't been much direct competition for ConnectedDB yet."
"We offer a kind of assembly line, while the rest of the world customizes, which costs more. We can also customize, but we do it at certain stages," says Zimmer of his middle-of-the-road style of processing. "It's working. We have two target markets: end user customers and now we also partner with accounting firms, the advertising media industry, other software companies, etc. to do pieces of solutions for their clients."
Arius has also joined the Chamber in a savvy move that they hope will fuel contact growth.
"We can't really use TV or sell our products off the shelves," says Zimmer. "We've become Chamber members so we have a chance to get out and meet other businesses. We're really looking forward to the exposure and the opportunity to create new relationships through networking."
They may be young and moving into a recession along with the rest of us, but these factors are likely to elevate, not eliminate, Zimmer, Neame and the Arius team to the honour roll, due to their enthusiasm and cost-effective software.
Welcome to the Chamber and summa cum laude!
For more information, please visit www.ariussoftware.com., e-mail info@ariussoftware.com, or phone Gary Baksi of Arius Software at (519) 885-9045.
Reprint with permission