by Jodi Juretich,
Chief Financial Officer

Have you ever been through a hurricane or a blizzard or maybe just a really bad thunderstorm? I’ve been through them all and when the storm finally passes, we all go outside, assess the damage and immediately start cleaning up and rebuilding. Not too different from the economic storm of 2008-2009.

As a kid growing up in Florida, I remember boarding up windows, stocking-piling supplies, making sure the generator worked and everyone was accounted for. When the storm passed, it was always interesting to see which neighbors emerged defeated and ready to pack up and move out of the state and which neighbors emerged feeling victorious and ready to get right back in the game.

Like most companies across the world, Cimetrix was not spared the pounding forces of the recession. However, before the recession hit, we tightened up the ship and hunkered down, then licked our wounds after the storm passed and emerged feeling stronger and more determined than ever to rebuild and make Cimetrix, once again, VICTORIOUS! We are off to a good start by posting two consecutive quarters of POSTIVE NET INCOME in the last two quarters and 2009. The forecast for 2010 is Bright and Sunny!

When you are faced with rebuilding, it’s a good opportunity to assess what you can do differently to improve operations, generate growth and increase shareholder value. One of the many changes Cimetrix recently implemented was to our IT operations. In November, 2009, Cimetrix made the brave move to outsource all of our IT operations. There was some resistance at first and I even paused at the idea before fully embracing it. After all, it is so nice to call your on-site guy to your computer, at the drop of a hat, to retrieve your missing icon or re-configuring your dual monitor or some of those other voo-doo things that they do!

We selected a local and reputable company and they are virtually available 24 x 7 and can be on-site in minutes, if need be. To my surprise, the transition of not having someone physically present at my computer when I have an issue has not been as traumatic as I expected. Their team of dedicated IT professionals can directly remote in to my computer (with my permission, of course) and do all they need to do without leaving their office. Some of the other advantages of replacing a one-man on-site IT shop are the expanded wealth of knowledge a TEAM of people bring to the operations rather than a single source. Since partnering with ITNow.net, we’ve outsourced and upgraded our email, upgraded numerous aging engineering hardware and software, consolidated hardware for more efficient performance, reduced down-time with monitoring equipment and redundant back ups which all leads to increased efficiencies through out the entire organization. Increased efficiencies translates into reduced costs, revenue growth and ultimately, increased shareholder value!

So if you are looking for opportunities to make improvements to your company’s infrastructure, make sure IT outsourcing is on your list to consider.