New Datacom Systems leader plans emphasis on marketing

DeWITT  —  You might be hearing more about Datacom Systems Inc. now that Kevin Formby is the company’s president and CEO.

At the very least, potential clients will probably be hearing more about the DeWitt manufacturer.

“My background is in sales and marketing, so I’ve been brought on board to put more resources and more emphasis on sales and marketing,” Formby says. “In this field it’s good to be close to your clients.”

Datacom Systems manufactures devices for data networks, such as network test-access points (TAP). It also has a software-development group and creates software to manage those devices.

A TAP allows an administrator to monitor a network to make sure it is properly transmitting data, Formby says.

“You imagine the FBI tapping a line — well, it’s the kind of modern equipment that’s used for tapping the lines,” he says. “And then people put very specific equipment on the end of it to monitor the quality of the lines. You can actually see where packets [of data] are dropped and can’t get through.”

The company’s products are in demand in the financial-services industry, according to Formby. He declined to name any of Datacom Systems’ clients, but said its products are used by credit-card companies, stock exchanges, and banks.

The company is headquartered in a 16,800-square-foot facility at 9 Adler Drive in DeWitt. Datacom purchased the structure in 2002 for $920,000, according to records from the Onondaga County Office of Real Property Tax Services. The manufacturer assembles and tests devices in that building, although it subcontracts production of circuit boards.

Datacom Systems also has a four-person software-development group in Utica. The company employs 26 people in DeWitt for a total of 30 full-time workers.

That total is about to grow, as the company is planning to open a sales office in London within a month. That office will employ about four people, Formby says.

“We do have a market in Europe and we use resellers, but it’s very difficult to support large opportunities remotely,” he says. “We need some local sales presence [in Europe].”

Formby declined to share revenue totals for Datacom Systems. However, he said that the company is planning to grow with its industry in 2012.

“The market we operate in is growing at around 40 percent a year, and we aim to grow at least the market rate,” he says.

Formby’s background

Formby started at Datacom Systems at the beginning of February. Before that, he was the vice president of business development at New Zealand–based Endace Ltd. (LSE: EDA.L), a data-capture and analysis hardware and software firm that operates U.S. offices in New York City, Atlanta, Chicago, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C.

Formby was based in Atlanta. In fact, he says he plans to continue living there for a year until his youngest daughter graduates from high school. In the meantime, he will be traveling between Atlanta, Syracuse, and Datacom Systems’ clients.

“I’m the kind of person who visits a lot of customers,” Formby says. “We have a lot of clients all over the United States. It’s not as if I’m in the office a lot.”

He is a graduate of Birmingham University in the United Kingdom and has a first-class honors degree in electrical and communications engineering. Formby is also a national of both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Coming to Datacom Systems was attractive because of the company’s technology, Formby says. He was familiar with the manufacturer through his previous work at Endace, he adds.

Formby proposed joining Datacom Systems several months ago, he says.

“It was me kind of approaching them,” he says. “I thought I could do a great job here.”

Datacom Systems’ location in the Syracuse area gives it several advantages, according to Formby. It has access to universities, like Syracuse, and manufacturing costs are reasonable, he says.

And the city’s location is a plus because it is relatively close to New York City and Chicago, he says. Those cities are important sources of business because of their financial-services industries.

Many of Datacom Systems’ competitors are farther away in California in Silicon Valley, Formby says. Those competitors include Milpitas, Calif.–based Gigamon and Santa Clara, Calif.–based Net Optics.

Formby says he will try to increase Datacom Systems’ visibility in the press. But he is not a fan of trade shows as a way to build sales and improve marketing.

“You’ll have salespeople giving out colored pens to people who walk by,” he says. “That’s not the way to build the market. What I’m interested in is what I would call leadership events.”

Formby envisions Datacom Systems putting on smaller events in New York City where he and other company staff members talk about new technological developments and how they fit into the market. The idea is to get close to customers and understand their needs, he says.

The former president and CEO of Datacom Systems, which was founded in 1992 in Syracuse, was Sam Lanzafame. He held those positions since 2005 and is remaining with the company as its chairman.

The company’s majority owner is Wellesley, Mass.–based Gemini Investors, which acquired its stake in the manufacturer in 2008. Several company managers are also minority owners, Formby says.

DeWITT  —  You might be hearing more about Datacom Systems Inc. now that Kevin Formby is the company’s president and CEO.

At the very least, potential clients will probably be hearing more about the DeWitt manufacturer.

“My background is in sales and marketing, so I’ve been brought on board to put more resources and more emphasis on sales and marketing,” Formby says. “In this field it’s good to be close to your clients.”

Datacom Systems manufactures devices for data networks, such as network test-access points (TAP). It also has a software-development group and creates software to manage those devices.

A TAP allows an administrator to monitor a network to make sure it is properly transmitting data, Formby says.

“You imagine the FBI tapping a line — well, it’s the kind of modern equipment that’s used for tapping the lines,” he says. “And then people put very specific equipment on the end of it to monitor the quality of the lines. You can actually see where packets [of data] are dropped and can’t get through.”

The company’s products are in demand in the financial-services industry, according to Formby. He declined to name any of Datacom Systems’ clients, but said its products are used by credit-card companies, stock exchanges, and banks.

The company is headquartered in a 16,800-square-foot facility at 9 Adler Drive in DeWitt. Datacom purchased the structure in 2002 for $920,000, according to records from the Onondaga County Office of Real Property Tax Services. The manufacturer assembles and tests devices in that building, although it subcontracts production of circuit boards.

Datacom Systems also has a four-person software-development group in Utica. The company employs 26 people in DeWitt for a total of 30 full-time workers.

That total is about to grow, as the company is planning to open a sales office in London within a month. That office will employ about four people, Formby says.

“We do have a market in Europe and we use resellers, but it’s very difficult to support large opportunities remotely,” he says. “We need some local sales presence [in Europe].”

Formby declined to share revenue totals for Datacom Systems. However, he said that the company is planning to grow with its industry in 2012.

“The market we operate in is growing at around 40 percent a year, and we aim to grow at least the market rate,” he says.

Formby’s background

Formby started at Datacom Systems at the beginning of February. Before that, he was the vice president of business development at New Zealand–based Endace Ltd. (LSE: EDA.L), a data-capture and analysis hardware and software firm that operates U.S. offices in New York City, Atlanta, Chicago, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C.

Formby was based in Atlanta. In fact, he says he plans to continue living there for a year until his youngest daughter graduates from high school. In the meantime, he will be traveling between Atlanta, Syracuse, and Datacom Systems’ clients.

“I’m the kind of person who visits a lot of customers,” Formby says. “We have a lot of clients all over the United States. It’s not as if I’m in the office a lot.”

He is a graduate of Birmingham University in the United Kingdom and has a first-class honors degree in electrical and communications engineering. Formby is also a national of both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Coming to Datacom Systems was attractive because of the company’s technology, Formby says. He was familiar with the manufacturer through his previous work at Endace, he adds.

Formby proposed joining Datacom Systems several months ago, he says.

“It was me kind of approaching them,” he says. “I thought I could do a great job here.”

Datacom Systems’ location in the Syracuse area gives it several advantages, according to Formby. It has access to universities, like Syracuse, and manufacturing costs are reasonable, he says.

And the city’s location is a plus because it is relatively close to New York City and Chicago, he says. Those cities are important sources of business because of their financial-services industries.

Many of Datacom Systems’ competitors are farther away in California in Silicon Valley, Formby says. Those competitors include Milpitas, Calif.–based Gigamon and Santa Clara, Calif.–based Net Optics.

Formby says he will try to increase Datacom Systems’ visibility in the press. But he is not a fan of trade shows as a way to build sales and improve marketing.

“You’ll have salespeople giving out colored pens to people who walk by,” he says. “That’s not the way to build the market. What I’m interested in is what I would call leadership events.”

Formby envisions Datacom Systems putting on smaller events in New York City where he and other company staff members talk about new technological developments and how they fit into the market. The idea is to get close to customers and understand their needs, he says.

The former president and CEO of Datacom Systems, which was founded in 1992 in Syracuse, was Sam Lanzafame. He held those positions since 2005 and is remaining with the company as its chairman.

The company’s majority owner is Wellesley, Mass.–based Gemini Investors, which acquired its stake in the manufacturer in 2008. Several company managers are also minority owners, Formby says.