New Government Contractor Customers Embrace Cloud Computing for OpenAir’s Project Management, Earned Value Management and Compliance Automation
BOSTON—February 25, 2009—OpenAir, Inc., a NetSuite Inc. (NYSE: N) company and a leading provider of on-demand professional services automation (PSA) software, today announced a number of new customers who have embraced cloud computing to improve their competitiveness in the government contracting space. Ciphent, Portal Solutions, AuthSec, American Federation of Teachers, AcuTech Consulting Group, and Information Experts join a robust roster of government contractors already using OpenAir's PSA software for real-time management of government-specific projects, time tracking, and government compliance issues. With OpenAir, these government contractors will gain better visibility into project health and project management, thereby improving efficiency and accuracy. For more information about OpenAir's product offering targeting government contractors, please visit http://www.openair.com/home/solutions.html.
Government contractors face a complicated web of rules and regulations that require the ability to track project status and proactively identify and correct any cost and performance issues before they affect the project scope. Coupled with Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) compliance, via cloud computing delivery, OpenAir's PSA software provides an essential tool for government contractors to replace the use of outdated and arduous project management tools which can lead to expensive project delays.
"The government contractor space consists of some of the most innovative firms in the market today," said Morris Panner, CEO of OpenAir. "These companies need a tool like OpenAir in order to focus on their core strengths and leave the difficult work of metrics tracking and compliance to us."
The most recent customer wins include:
Ciphent
Ciphent is an industry-leading cyber security, development, and integration company. Ciphent's suite of security software, analysis, implementation, and development solutions enable global corporations, government agencies, financial institutions, and more to innovate, extract value, and trust their technology investments.
Based in Baltimore, MD, Ciphent utilises OpenAir's project management capabilities and integrations into salesforce.com and QuickBooks in order to run their entire consulting business.
"OpenAir has increased our operational productivity 10 fold by providing easy-to-use tools to schedule and manage resources related to our different projects and engagements," said Andrew Eye, COO of Ciphent.
Portal Solutions (www.portalsolutions.net)
Established in 2002 and based in Rockville, MD, Portal Solutions has quickly become one of the top Microsoft SharePoint consulting firms in the Washington, D.C. metro area. The company's mission, from its inception, has been to significantly enhance the overall organisational performance of its clients through the design and implementation of industry-leading knowledge optimisation solutions. Portal Solutions is widely regarded as a pioneer and leader in this important new industry sector, due to its exclusive focus, its unmatched expertise in the technology, and its efficient design and delivery process.
"We need to know what projects our resources are scheduled to work on during any given day as well as where they actually were on those days," said Daniel Cohen-Dumani, CEO of Portal Solutions. "With OpenAir we can compare planned vs. actual figures and discover discrepancies. This powerful data enables Portal Solutions to become better planners and forecasters of its resource needs."
AuthSec (www.authsec.com)
AuthSec is a market-leading consulting firm specialising in authoritative, authentication and authorisation security solutions. The company is based in Columbia, MD in the Baltimore-Washington D.C. business corridor, and has large contracts with the Transportation Security Administration, the Department of Energy, and the Federal Aviation Administration.
AuthSec relies on OpenAir to track all of its critical time and expense data. Utilising OpenAir's projects, timesheets and expense modules, executives have a clear look into the work of their consultants, the progress of projects and key metrics to run their business.
"With OpenAir, I have all the metrics I need right at my fingertips," said Marion Bishoff, President of AuthSec. "When I log in, I can instantly see all of my timesheet and expense data, compared to sifting through spreadsheets and stacks of files."
American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO (www.aft.org)
The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) was founded in 1916 to represent the economic, social and professional interests of classroom teachers. It is an affiliated international union of the AFL-CIO.
AFT leans heavily on OpenAir to assist their employees in locations throughout the country process their expenses quickly and in accordance with AFT, IRS and Department of Labor compliance rules.
"Through our evaluation it was clear that OpenAir was on the right track in terms of their business model and level of commitment to customer service," said Kim Harness Jerome, AFT Manager of Accounting. "OpenAir has quickly and efficiently proven its worth. By automating, we have eliminated many days in the approval process and the system has proven that it is worth its weight in gold to our employees who work remotely."
AcuTech Consulting Group (www.acutech-consulting.com)
The AcuTech Consulting Group, based in Alexandria, VA, is a global consulting company offering a full range of management and technical consulting, training services, and software products to assist companies and federal agencies with chemical process security, risk management, and process safety and security management. AcuTech offers a unique background in chemical process safety and security, design, operations, inherent safety, fire protection, and security.
Leveraging OpenAir's customisable features and easy internet access to manage its geographically dispersed staffs, AcuTech utilises OpenAir's automated time and expense approvals and integrated project management modules to monitor project progress and key financial metrics, thereby allowing its project managers to focus their efforts on the delivery of services to their clients.
"Since migration to OpenAir, our project managers have access to real-time project data, and can make the decisions necessary to maximise project funding in the delivery of products that have a direct effect on client security and life safety," said David Moore, President and CEO of AcuTech Consulting Group.
Information Experts (www.informationexperts.com)
A certified woman-owned business headquartered in Washington, D.C. and serving clients in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East, Information Experts is an award-winning strategic consulting firm offering integrated communication solutions to commercial, public sector and not-for-profit organisations. Its services help clients bridge the gap between vision and mission fulfilment through all facets of internal and external communications including branding, messaging, education, websites and outreach materials.
"When Information Experts set an aggressive client growth strategy, it was not without its challenges," said Grant Connell, Senior Vice President, Information Experts. "We had the people, the capabilities and the contract incentives to compete with industry leaders, and we knew we had them beat when it came to offering personal, creative and flexible solutions. But we lacked the tools to consistently manage projects, set and track metrics, and deliver ROI data to our high-profile clients. OpenAir was our solution.
"Through OpenAir, our project managers generate earned-value based, real-time reports to track project scope, cost, schedule and quality, to better meet the customer's need for detailed reporting. When it comes to achieving our company goals, OpenAir differentiates us from others in the marketplace. It has exceeded our ROI expectations, and to our customers, it quantifies Information Experts' ROI for them."
About OpenAir
OpenAir, Inc., a NetSuite Inc. company, is a leading provider of Software as Service (SaaS) services automation software. Offering both professional services automation (PSA) and project portfolio management (PPM) solutions, OpenAir provides project-based organisations and firms the tools they need to grow their businesses quickly and profitably. Providing enterprise-level functionality for businesses of all sizes, OpenAir has more than 42,000 active users at over 300 world-class firms using the software to better capture billable time, manage projects and resources and bill customers. Coupled with a team of highly experienced consultants from some of the world's leading services firms, OpenAir's services automation solutions drive higher profits through improved utilisation, visibility and data collection. To learn more, please visit www.openair.com.