NYSTEC prospects for technology gold

ROME — In the California Gold Rush of 1848, mining technology initially included pans, picks, and shovels. Some prospectors quickly learned that gold extraction was quicker and more reliable with devices designed to drop the heavy metal through a sifting screen. It wasn’t long before the image of the lonely gold-panner crouching in a stream gave way to miners working in deep, hard-rock mines using the technology of hydraulic hoses to increase the yield.

The New York State Technology Enterprise Corporation (NYSTEC) is also panning for gold. Its success, however, is not measured in nuggets, but rather in technology research and application and in client satisfaction. NYSTEC — a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation founded by New York State in the same year Griffiss Air Force Base closed its Rome operation — was created to leverage the technologies, methodologies, and expertise of the Rome Laboratory, renamed the Air Force Research Laboratory, (AFRL).

“The new corporation was funded by a six-year, $6 million, state grant to benefit the state’s businesses, institutions, and government entities by assisting with planning, procuring, and integrating new technologies and systems,” says Mike Walsh, NYSTEC’s president and CEO. “The state then enacted legislation to make it easy for the state and New York City agencies to contract with NYSTEC. We became fully independent in 2001 when the state discontinued all supplementary funding to the company.”

Today, all of NYSTEC revenues are derived from client contracts.

“Keeping pace with technological change is the biggest challenge most organizations have today,” posits Walsh. “Ray Kurzweil, the inventor and futurist, feels humanity will see the equivalent of 20,000 years of progress over the next 100 years. Few organizations can rely solely on their employees to stay abreast of technology trends and identify the best and most cost-effective solutions to their problems. Our model promotes collaborative innovation between our clients and NYSTEC’s engineers, project managers, and technology specialists. The goal is simple: Exceed client expectations.”

NYSTEC, which started 20 years ago with three employees, now boasts a staff of 150. Of those, more than 70 percent are consultants who are degreed and/or certified. The nonprofit company leases more than 16,000 square feet in Rome, Albany, and New York City. Michele Salisbury, NYSTEC’s CFO and Central New York economic development & outreach director, “… estimates 2016 revenues approaching $20 million.”

Walsh, who has been NYSTEC’s leader since 2013 and with the organization since 2003, started his career at KPMG Consulting where he served for 18 years, the last six as a principal.

“When I joined [NYSTEC], it already had a strong corporate reputation,” opines Walsh. “Our clients appreciate our not-for-profit status, which lets us invest for the long-term and not just the next quarter’s profit. We are also vendor-neutral, which helps to separate ourselves from many IT consulting firms. Our close working relationship with AFRL is another critical asset that sets us apart from the competition. Finally, NYSTEC works with organizations placing special emphasis on the human side of technology utilization. Just because something looks good on a spread sheet is no guarantee that it will be implemented effectively.”

Of all NYSTEC’s competitive advantages, Walsh cites the highly skilled staff for the company’s continuing growth. “The leadership team is exceptional,” avers the company CEO. “Michele Salisbury is our CFO, Jana Behe is the director of contracts and our general counsel, Nick Alger is the director of service delivery, and Mark Romano heads up our business development. The staff includes 125-130 professionals, whom we encourage to continue their professional development by our underwriting continuing education. The work is both meaningful and challenging, which helps our consultant/partners to understand and focus on client business.”

NYSTEC consults in a variety of practice areas: technology-acquisition support, information-technology strategy, communications, information security, network planning and design, health-care IT, and education IT. The company’s clients over the years have included multiple state agencies, such as the Departments of Corrections, Health, Labor, Transportation, and Taxation; five New York City and metro area agencies plus the City University of New York; and several county governments, including Albany, Monroe, Nassau, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, and Tompkins.

NYSTEC also supports institutional clients, such as the Development Authority of the North Country, New York Power Authority, and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

While company projects are generally not released for publication, Behe shared NYSTEC’s collaboration with the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) at the recent New York ITS-sponsored Cyber Security Conference to discuss Medicaid-modernization efforts.

“The use of big data, such as Medicaid-claims data, is at the core of NYSDOH’s efforts to reduce costs,” notes Behe. “We are helping them with innovative solutions to make better and faster decisions that not only reduce costs but also improve their claims adjudication and fiscal management, as well as deter fraud and abuse. Our consulting also includes recommendations to support the development of a more secure data system to mitigate the problem of data breaches.”

Walsh and his plan
Walsh describes his business plan as a three-legged stool focusing on clients, employees, and business performance. One might suggest a fourth leg — his focus on community. NYSTEC is supportive of multiple programs including the Commercialization Academy and a summer, start-up accelerator program called IgniteU NY. The company also supports area technology programs such as Project Fibonacci, Semi High-Tech U, and P-TECH. The goal is to promote an interest in science and technology and to bring together regional entrepreneurs to show how much the area has to offer.

Walsh earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration and his master’s degree in applied mathematics from the University of Miami. From 1983 until 2001, he worked at KPMG, leading the state and local government practices in Albany, Boston, and New York City before becoming the partner-in-charge for KPMG’s state and local government consulting practices for New York and New England. From 2001-2003, he was managing director of BearingPoint, responsible for the higher education practice in New England, New York, and the Mid-Atlantic states. BearingPoint is a multi-national management and technology firm headquartered in Amsterdam with 3,500 employees operating in 20 countries. Walsh joined NYSTEC in September 2003 and resides in the Albany area.

For the past 11 years, Salisbury has served as NYSTEC’s CFO and economic development and outreach director. She also leads the innovation initiatives, which includes working with AFRL and other technology entities to support technology transfer. Prior to joining NYSTEC, Salisbury was the controller for ARISE in Syracuse. She earned her bachelor’s degree in accountancy from SUNY Polytechnic Institute and her MBA from Syracuse University. Salisbury is a licensed CPA in New York State and resides in the Rome area.

Behe received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Rochester and her law degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. She is admitted to practice in New York and Pennsylvania and joined NYSTEC in 2003. Her primary focus is on risk-management, compliance, contracts, and governance. Behe is a native of Little Falls.

NYSTEC plans to continue panning for technology gold by sharing its nuggets of wisdom accumulated over the past 20 years. The company’s collaborative prospecting model will include a greater emphasis on developing clients in the private sector eager to keep pace with technological change.

Contact Poltenson at npoltenson@cnybj.com

ROME — In the California Gold Rush of 1848, mining technology initially included pans, picks, and shovels. Some prospectors quickly learned that gold extraction was quicker and more reliable with devices designed to drop the heavy metal through a sifting screen. It wasn’t long before the image of the lonely gold-panner crouching in a stream gave way to miners working in deep, hard-rock mines using the technology of hydraulic hoses to increase the yield.

The New York State Technology Enterprise Corporation (NYSTEC) is also panning for gold. Its success, however, is not measured in nuggets, but rather in technology research and application and in client satisfaction. NYSTEC — a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation founded by New York State in the same year Griffiss Air Force Base closed its Rome operation — was created to leverage the technologies, methodologies, and expertise of the Rome Laboratory, renamed the Air Force Research Laboratory, (AFRL).

“The new corporation was funded by a six-year, $6 million, state grant to benefit the state’s businesses, institutions, and government entities by assisting with planning, procuring, and integrating new technologies and systems,” says Mike Walsh, NYSTEC’s president and CEO. “The state then enacted legislation to make it easy for the state and New York City agencies to contract with NYSTEC. We became fully independent in 2001 when the state discontinued all supplementary funding to the company.”

Today, all of NYSTEC revenues are derived from client contracts.

“Keeping pace with technological change is the biggest challenge most organizations have today,” posits Walsh. “Ray Kurzweil, the inventor and futurist, feels humanity will see the equivalent of 20,000 years of progress over the next 100 years. Few organizations can rely solely on their employees to stay abreast of technology trends and identify the best and most cost-effective solutions to their problems. Our model promotes collaborative innovation between our clients and NYSTEC’s engineers, project managers, and technology specialists. The goal is simple: Exceed client expectations.”

NYSTEC, which started 20 years ago with three employees, now boasts a staff of 150. Of those, more than 70 percent are consultants who are degreed and/or certified. The nonprofit company leases more than 16,000 square feet in Rome, Albany, and New York City. Michele Salisbury, NYSTEC’s CFO and Central New York economic development & outreach director, “… estimates 2016 revenues approaching $20 million.”

Walsh, who has been NYSTEC’s leader since 2013 and with the organization since 2003, started his career at KPMG Consulting where he served for 18 years, the last six as a principal.

“When I joined [NYSTEC], it already had a strong corporate reputation,” opines Walsh. “Our clients appreciate our not-for-profit status, which lets us invest for the long-term and not just the next quarter’s profit. We are also vendor-neutral, which helps to separate ourselves from many IT consulting firms. Our close working relationship with AFRL is another critical asset that sets us apart from the competition. Finally, NYSTEC works with organizations placing special emphasis on the human side of technology utilization. Just because something looks good on a spread sheet is no guarantee that it will be implemented effectively.”

Of all NYSTEC’s competitive advantages, Walsh cites the highly skilled staff for the company’s continuing growth. “The leadership team is exceptional,” avers the company CEO. “Michele Salisbury is our CFO, Jana Behe is the director of contracts and our general counsel, Nick Alger is the director of service delivery, and Mark Romano heads up our business development. The staff includes 125-130 professionals, whom we encourage to continue their professional development by our underwriting continuing education. The work is both meaningful and challenging, which helps our consultant/partners to understand and focus on client business.”

NYSTEC consults in a variety of practice areas: technology-acquisition support, information-technology strategy, communications, information security, network planning and design, health-care IT, and education IT. The company’s clients over the years have included multiple state agencies, such as the Departments of Corrections, Health, Labor, Transportation, and Taxation; five New York City and metro area agencies plus the City University of New York; and several county governments, including Albany, Monroe, Nassau, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, and Tompkins.

NYSTEC also supports institutional clients, such as the Development Authority of the North Country, New York Power Authority, and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

While company projects are generally not released for publication, Behe shared NYSTEC’s collaboration with the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) at the recent New York ITS-sponsored Cyber Security Conference to discuss Medicaid-modernization efforts.

“The use of big data, such as Medicaid-claims data, is at the core of NYSDOH’s efforts to reduce costs,” notes Behe. “We are helping them with innovative solutions to make better and faster decisions that not only reduce costs but also improve their claims adjudication and fiscal management, as well as deter fraud and abuse. Our consulting also includes recommendations to support the development of a more secure data system to mitigate the problem of data breaches.”

Walsh and his plan
Walsh describes his business plan as a three-legged stool focusing on clients, employees, and business performance. One might suggest a fourth leg — his focus on community. NYSTEC is supportive of multiple programs including the Commercialization Academy and a summer, start-up accelerator program called IgniteU NY. The company also supports area technology programs such as Project Fibonacci, Semi High-Tech U, and P-TECH. The goal is to promote an interest in science and technology and to bring together regional entrepreneurs to show how much the area has to offer.

Walsh earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration and his master’s degree in applied mathematics from the University of Miami. From 1983 until 2001, he worked at KPMG, leading the state and local government practices in Albany, Boston, and New York City before becoming the partner-in-charge for KPMG’s state and local government consulting practices for New York and New England. From 2001-2003, he was managing director of BearingPoint, responsible for the higher education practice in New England, New York, and the Mid-Atlantic states. BearingPoint is a multi-national management and technology firm headquartered in Amsterdam with 3,500 employees operating in 20 countries. Walsh joined NYSTEC in September 2003 and resides in the Albany area.

For the past 11 years, Salisbury has served as NYSTEC’s CFO and economic development and outreach director. She also leads the innovation initiatives, which includes working with AFRL and other technology entities to support technology transfer. Prior to joining NYSTEC, Salisbury was the controller for ARISE in Syracuse. She earned her bachelor’s degree in accountancy from SUNY Polytechnic Institute and her MBA from Syracuse University. Salisbury is a licensed CPA in New York State and resides in the Rome area.

Behe received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Rochester and her law degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. She is admitted to practice in New York and Pennsylvania and joined NYSTEC in 2003. Her primary focus is on risk-management, compliance, contracts, and governance. Behe is a native of Little Falls.

NYSTEC plans to continue panning for technology gold by sharing its nuggets of wisdom accumulated over the past 20 years. The company’s collaborative prospecting model will include a greater emphasis on developing clients in the private sector eager to keep pace with technological change.

Contact Poltenson at npoltenson@cnybj.com