SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- One company here has managed amazing growth despite a slow economy. JMARK Business Solutions Inc. is on Inc. magazine's list of the 5,000 fastest growing private companies in the United States for the second year in a row.
The company has been around since 1988 and moved to Springfield from Cabool in 1996. In the last three years, JMARK has grown 203 percent.
The people at JMARK are troubleshooters for technology at more than 6,000 places of business.
"We've got it kind of broken up into teams, with our help desk triaging the cases as they come in, and then our escalation points go this way as the teams tier upward," said Jeff Bendure, JMARK's senior director of Support Services.
They keep an eye on servers and network devices all over the Ozarks and even across the country.
"We've got server downs up there," said Bendure, pointing to giant video screens. "You'll hear a little bicycle bell if a server goes offline. Everybody jumps on it, so it really allows us to react proactively, as quick as possible, if customers have an issue."
Working with everyone from medical providers to manufacturers, the technology consulting firm is proud of it's growing customer list, which has spurred its growth.
"We've got an outstanding group of people here who really care a lot about our clients and their businesses," says JMARK president Thomas Douglas.
Douglas credits his company's dedication to honesty and integrity, as well as the urgency with which they treat clients' needs.
"What we're finding is that technology and the solutions provider that you partner with is often times more important than the attorney or the accountant in your world because, if your systems go down, you can't make money to need an accountant," said Douglas.
The slow economy may have, in some ways, helped JMARK, as some companies have downsized in-house information technology services and added JMARK's help.
"It takes us, from the time we receive the phone call, about 30 seconds to 1 1/2 minutes to see whatever's on the screen," said Douglas.
By keeping thousands of computers on track, JMARK hopes to continue its fast track of success.
"We hope to make this our hub as we continue to grow across and branch out regionally," Douglas said.
The company has 44 employees right now, and Douglas says it's likely to break 50 by the end of the year. He believes it won't be long until they reach 100.
You can see the full list of the 2011 Inc. 5,000 here. JMARK ranks number 1,397 on the list.
