Welcome to Ajasa!

Omaha, NE The Midwest Minority Supplier Development Council (MMDSC) held its first Diversity Business Networking Summit on Tuesday, August 16, 2011 at the Embassy Suites La Vista Conference Center.

The event was well supported and attended by over 150 representatives from local and regional Corporate Partners and certified Minority Business Enterprises (MBE’s) including Ajasa Technologies, Frontier Bag Company, and Hayes & Associates, CPA’s. More than 35 companies exhibited and exchanged business ideas during the event. The Summit opened with a free form matchmaking session that allowed MBE’s to network one-on-one and discuss procurement opportunities with local Corporations with concurrent business workshops offered to minority businesses by representatives from the U.S. SBA, the Procurement Technical Assistance Center, Hawkins Construction, and Offutt Air Force Base.

Keynote Speaker Mike McCarthy, McCarthy Investments shared business wisdom with luncheon guests emphasizing the importance of vision, relationship building and customer service. Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle responded that he was pleased with the response and show of support from minority businesses with interest in and willing to invest in Omaha. MMSDC President, Duane Ramseur was joined in the ribbon cutting ceremony to open the afternoon Trade Fair by Mayor Suttle, Mike McCarthy, and Karen Watson, the local MMSDC Director Business Development. The event ended with a networking reception and the sounds of accomplished musician Ed Archibald and friends.

The MMSDC is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN. The council is a regional council providing services in five states: MN, NE, ND, SD, and Iowa. The MMSDC is an affiliate of the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC). Chartered in 1972, the NMSDC is one of the country’s leading business membership organizations. The NMSDC network includes a National Office in New York and 37 regional councils across the country. There are 3,500 corporate members throughout the network, including most of America’s largest publicly owned, privately owned, and foreign owned companies, as well as universities, hospitals and other buying institutions. Regional Councils including the MMSDC certify and match more than 16,000 minority owned businesses with member corporations that want to purchase goods and services.

Mobile technology is the future that’s already leading the present. We live in a world controlled by gadgets, from a simple TV remote control to a sophisticated MP3 player. We like these tiny technological wonders for the things they do for us, yet they seem to pass unnoticed through our daily routines.

We push buttons to make things happen or to stop them from happening, nonetheless something is being pressed while some gadget is being used. Let’s think for a moment, when was the last time you used a GPS to find your destination? How many times a day do you get or send a text mes-sage using your mobile phone? How often do you Google, Bing, or Yahoo to find what you are looking for? Are you still buying audio CDs or are you just downloading MP3 files to your portable music player? Have you realized the power of mobile technology in your daily life?

The same device that you use to communicate with loved ones, business contacts, and friends is also a music player, a GPS, note taker, message manager, an emailing system, web browser, voice recorder, contacts manager, calendar, digital camera… and the list goes on and on. It’s all about convenience and fulfilling a need, but not just a need, an immediate need. It comes down to what we want to do NOW and being able to have the means to do it regardless of when and where.

Mobile devices empower us to do just that, the things we want, when we want, and wherever we want. Now I don’t know about you, but that’s what I call power! The mobile market is so rich with such an amalgam of applications that with a simple search you are very likely to find an application for your mobile phone that does exactly what you need, and if you don’t, chances are that it will be available soon.

Next time you interact with your mobile phone, take an interest on what it can do for you. You’re bound to be surprised once or twice. Don’t let technology pass you by, embrace it and use it to maximize your productivity or enhance your entertainment. Think of what you want it to do, search it, find it, and if you can’t find it, talk to me about it. What you want might be someone else’s need and that’s the start of a promising application.

We can choose to watch the game or become a player, is all about doing that which makes us happy! If you decide to watch, is worth having expectations, demand what you want so you can get what you need. If you decide to be a player, contribute with passion in all the things you do, it will bring those who decided to watch the things they want and most important the things they need.

Franklin Peña

Chief Technology Officer Ajasa Technologies, Inc.

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Gartner, Inc. has revealed its top predictions for IT organizations and users for 2011 and beyond. Analysts said that the predictions high-light the significant changes in the roles played by technology and IT organizations in business, the global economy and the lives of individual uses. The predictions show clear linkage of IT investments and business results becoming an imperative for IT organizations.

The top predictions include:

• By 2015, a G20 nation’s critical infrastructure will be disrupted and damaged by online sabo-tage.
• By 2015, new revenue generated each year by IT will determine the annual compensation of most new Global CIOs.
• By 2015, information –smart businesses will in-crease recognized IT spending per head by 60 percent.
• By 2015, tools and automation will eliminate 25 percent of labor hours associated with IT ser-vices.
• By 2015, 20 percent of non-IT Global 500 com-panies will be cloud service providers.
• By 2014, 90 percent of organizations will sup-port corporate applications on personal devic-es.
• By 2013, 80 percent of businesses will support a workforce using tablets.
• By 2015, 10 percent of your online “friends” will be nonhuman.

Additional details are in the Gartner report “Gartner’s Top Predictions for IT Organizations and Users, 2011 and Beyond: IT’s Growing Transparency” which is available on Gartner’s website at http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1278413.

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The weather is warming up, the days are getting longer and everyone is eager to be outside. As you and your family start to spend more time in the yard, at the park or on the lake, remember to use common sense. Sunlight on your skin may feel good after winter’s cold, but prolonged sun exposure is the number one cause of skin cancer.

Enjoy the sun while staying safe with these tips:

• Apply sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher on all exposed skin. Read and follow the product instruc-tions about when to apply and reapply sunscreen.
• Cover up with appropriate clothing, as needed. T-shirts and beach cover-ups may not provide enough protection, so use sunscreen along with these.
• Avoid prime sun time. The sun’s rays are strongest from mid-morning to mid-afternoon, so take extra care during these times.
• Wear a wide-brimmed hat to help protect your face, neck and ears.
• Protect your eyes with wraparound sunglasses that block close to 100 percent of the sun’s ultraviolet rays.
• Keep babies out of direct sunlight. When needed, use a small amount of sunscreen on areas not covered by clothing, such as the baby’s face and hands.

Practicing sun safety will help you and your family get the most fun out of the season, whether at home or “up at the lake.”

Fact: Protecting your child is especially important. Just a few sunburns during childhood increases the risk of skin cancer later in life.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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In support of Ajasa Technologies Inc. business goals and growth strategies, Ajasa offers a Bonus Program to our consultants, alumni and business associates to help promote and develop the company’s business. This program allows us to encourage and compensate employee referrals that result in new business and/or contract assignments for Ajasa.

Eligibility Criteria

• The assignment/contract duration must be at least 6 months or full time.
• The employee referral fee will be paid on the initial contract only. No referral fee will be paid on contract extensions.
• The referral fee is payable only for W-2 employ-ees. A consultant cannot be both a W-2 and 1099 (for referral).
• The referral amount is $500 per contract. If a contract is offered, accepted and falls below the Companies net margin guidelines; Ajasa reserves the right to decrease the amount of the award.
• The referral bonus payout will be as follows:
• End of 240 billable hours – ½ of the referral bonus
• End of 960 billable hours or end of the contract, whichever is earlier – ½ of referral bonus

For additional information please contact HR@ajasa.com

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We would like to take this opportunity to “Spotlight” Ela Gori. Ela joined Ajasa Technologies in late 2010 as a Technical Recruiter in the Golden Valley, Minnesota and she brings over 25 years of successful recruitment experience to Ajasa. Her diverse background is a reflection on the diversity, values and culture of Ajasa.

Ela was born in Madras, India (now Chennai) but spent most of her life growing up in Kan-pur and Calcutta. Ela’s father was Indian and

her Mother European and she recalls a very happy childhood with exposure to Hinduism and Christianity; Nuns and Brahmins; Diwali and Christmas. Ela recalls reading her first book as a child, Johnny and the Monarch –a story about a little boy growing up on a farm in Minnesota and his monarch butterfly. Perhaps this was an early sign of travel and adventures to come for Ela!

Ela had the opportunity to grow up at a time when India was getting independence from British rule and experienced directly the amazing infrastr-ture changes and the hard work of the middle class. She attended a Catholic girl’s school and Women’s college in Calcutta for her undergraduate degree in Psychology. One should note the college was run by the Nuns of the order of Loreto, from which Mother Theresa had emerged decades before. Ela feels very privileged to have attended the college and worked directly with Mother Theresa herself. This educational experience had a powerful impact on Ela’s thinking and perspectives on life which remain with her to this day. She continued her education at Allahabad U (North India) with a Master’s Degree in Psychology and post-graduate studies in Organization Development and Behavioral Psychology. After college, Ela married an Indian Naval Officer, had two sons and traveled the world. Eventually, she started a consulting practice with an initial focus on Motivation and Leadership (Cont. Employee spot-light) training for Corporations, FN institutions and Government. Her first job in recruiting was as CEO of Headhunters in India. This provided her with experience leading to starting her own company which was one of the pioneers in Engineering Staffing for local and overseas multinationals in India competing with the likes of Tata Consultancy.

Her son came to the United States with his wife and expressed concerns that their newborn daughter would grow-up without knowledge of her Indian heritage. This led to a major decision by Ela and her husband to take a major risk and start a new life in the United States leaving behind family, company, and their property. Ela’s second son eventually also came to the United States to complete his Master’s degree in Architecture at the University of Minnesota. Today, Ela’s complete family lives in Minnesota.

Ela loves painting (oil &acrylic) landscapes, sea-scapes and an occasional portrait. She also enjoys writing and has published a Children’s magazine with an international subscription base from Minnesota. Her favorite vacation spot is Bali, Indonesia with the peace loving gentle people and idyllic scenery.

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I would like to take this opportunity to introduce Shelleye Williamson and myself as co-founders of Ajasa Technologies Inc. This is the first edition of Ajasa Technologies’ newsletter and, many of you may not know, but, Ajasa currently has employees in 21 states across the United States. The intent of this newsletter is to provide a vehicle to communicate with employees across all of Ajasa. My column will be a regular part of the newsletter and I will focus on providing business updates and sharing insights/lessons learned during my 29 years as a corporate employee, contractor, and entrepreneur.

One of the first lessons I learned as an entrepre-neur is that every day at Ajasa Technologies is a new adventure. We have received lots of recognition and awards for our accomplishments over the years and also have felt the pain of projects or initiatives not meeting expectations. It has been and continues to be a marvelous journey that I would not trade for any other lifestyle.

A related learning to this initial lesson is that we often learn more through pain or failure than through success. The last few months have been very interesting and yet extremely challenging for the business. This provided an opportunity to reflect on past business decisions, an opportunity to explore and implement new business solutions, and experience the satisfaction of successful implementation. I have learned much more in the last few months in a challenging business climate than many years of prosperity when the economy was roaring.

The slowdown in the economic recovery this spring has been a challenging period of time for all organizations. We have lost more em-ployees/contractors than we have placed on new assignments during this time period. This hurts! This change is being driven by two major reasons:

1. We saw many project extensions denied because of budget cuts with our customers
2. We experienced a larger than normal conversion of employees/contractors to regular W-2 employees by our customers. The conversion of employees/contractors by our customers reflects very positively on the quality of individuals employed at Ajasa and the quality of work they do for our customers. It also positions Ajasa for the future with individuals operating in key roles for our customers, whom we will continue to have relationships with to build the business.

A young entrepreneur recently asked me about the greatest challenge they could expect to face as they work to grow and develop a newly founded business. My response: Finding talented individuals for all roles to move the business ahead. In other words, getting the right individuals on the team! Related to getting the right individuals on the team is creating a sustainable work culture that allows individuals to perform at their highest levels while experiencing satisfaction, enjoyment from their work, and the right level of work/life balance.

The ability to find the right talent for the team, creating a positive work environment, and culture which allows individuals to perform at their highest level remains the key factor that separates or-ganizations that are successful with those that are not successful over the long run. Organizations that learn how to do this successfully are better positioned to win.

I will expand on these concepts and my vision for Ajasa in future issues of this newsletter. In the meantime, thanks for your time, and always, for your hard work in keeping Ajasa one of the top organizations in our field.

Best Regards,

Tony Williamson

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Ajasa grew rapidly for the first 12 years of business without significant marketing efforts. But in the last two years our growth has halted and instead we are simply maintaining. Luckily, we have been able to remain profitable and avoid downsizing through it all.

Tough economic times like these are eye opening and make you really think about the fundamentals of business to increase revenues. For us, this meant examining our processes, procedures and systems to determine new ways to position ourselves for the growth we were accustomed to.

Part of that positioning for Ajasa involves a new identity and website. We want people to really understand who we are and what we do—through communication that better-reflects our brand today.

Take a minute to explore the new Ajasa.com. We plan to update it often, so stop back soon. Or sign up for our newsletter to get that content delivered directly to your inbox.

I encourage you to share your thoughts—on the blog, the site, the economy and more—and provoke conversations through comments and posts.