TIG is a remarkable small company providing IT services on a global basis. Though its services are technology based, its focus is on people.Technology Integration Group (TIG) offers professional and managed services in just about every technology area. Calling itself an IT systems integrator, TIG is committed to innovation, value creation, and cost efficiency for its customers. Though considered a small business, it is clear this is a company to be reckoned with. Unlike many companies twice its size, TIG has managed to become a CorporatePlus member of the National Minority Supplier Development Council, has established 23 physical offices in the United States, and a cloud and office in China. This remarkable company is guided by an equally remarkable founder, President and CEO, Bruce A. Geier.
TIG is a minority owned firm that had an unusual start. Over 31 years ago, Geier was working for Ernst & Whitney, long before technology had embedded itself into all business operations. He ran a unit that was responsible for writing software and then adapting it for implementation in customer businesses. Working 60 hours a week, he asked for a color monitor, an odd request back then. The manager partner at the time did not understand the need for the monitor, and that was all it took to convince Bruce it was time to move on. Right at that moment TIG, for all intents and purposes, was born because he was told that he could take his customers with him, giving the new business a head start.
The technology supplier and solutions provider grew step-by-step, beginning with an office in San Diego and then Los Angeles and then San Francisco and so on. However, as the company grew, so did the services it offered because its customers wanted to do business with a scalable diverse company. To grow in capacity and breadth of services offered, TIG has used a variety of business growth strategies, including mergers, acquisitions, strategic alliances, and joint ventures. A good example is TIG’s acquisition of Obsidian Technology in June 2012, which added a higher level of expertise in IP Communication solutions to its current menu of offerings and represented TIG’s fourteenth acquisition. As Geier explains, “As a company, we have to accept change because we sell change.”
The numerous acquisitions and strategic alliances over the years have significantly contributed to TIG’s comprehensive product and service offerings, which reads like a who’s-who of technology. TIG offers IT infrastructure design and implementation, systems upgrading, network design and management, systems engineering and consulting, assessments, outsourced help desk, enterprise data storage solutions, IT security, wireless solutions, managed print services, web developing and hosting, UC/mobility, project management services, contract manufacturing, virtualization, and asset management. The long list of products and services reflects TIG’s commitment to provide the “highest level of service, value, and advanced technology” to power strategic customer goals.
It is apparent that TIG is not complacent, despite its stunning success. Technology changes so fast, that a company like TIG cannot afford a moment of complacency. As Geier describes it, “We sell state-of-the-art, leaning (not leading) edge technology. What we implement for the customer are ways to get more functionality out of their business to make them more competitive and to grow more efficient.” In his eyes, an example of a simple job was helping Costco pharmacies choose pharmacy software, implement standalone networks, and integrate the networks into the corporate entity.
Though TIG sells hardware, it has particular expertise in offering customized services on a global basis. Recently, TIG built a data center for a big law firm in Hong Kong, having already established data centers in Singapore, Korea, and Great Britain. TIG’s ability to help clients interested in expanding on a global basis surely poises it for sustained growth. However, TIG not only works with global customers, it has gone global itself. In May 2012, TIG entered a joint partnership with Longsky Software, Inc., a woman owned business, and launched TIG Cloud in the high-tech city of Jiangyin, China. TIG Cloud forms strategic partnerships with clients in enterprise, education and government entities in China. TIG has also opened an office in Shanghai, China, and is a leading exporter of technology solutions to Southeast Asia.
An International Footprint
One of the drivers of TIG’s innovation is manufacturers like Dell, IBM, Apple and HP. TIG has hundreds of manufacturing alliances in place, and that is just smart business. Geier explains, “It is through their creativity and ability to create new hardware and software solutions that we get the opportunities to grab fantastic tools we can implement to make client lives smoother. Clients may want a more reliable network, hacker intrusion protection, faster network processing, data maximization, or any of a hundred other services.”
Expanding the company’s footprint internationally has been a strategic goal for many years. TIG China works with clients emerging in the Asia Pacific Region, including Korea, India, Japan, and of course, China. TIG now has the ability to provide global solutions through TIG offices, TIG managed affiliates, and a global partner network. A natural question is, how did TIG choose China, which can be a difficult country to do business in? Geier’s answer makes such perfect sense, it’s a wonder why more businesses are not pursuing the Chinese market. “China has three to four times the population of the U.S., and not highly automated. Automation is set to expand in China like it did in the U.S. in the 1990s. There is a huge potential for us.”
China is an excellent business opportunity, but actually entering the market is a whole different proposition. TIG leadership went on a mission to China sponsored by the National Minority Supplier Diversity Council, and the company was encouraged by large manufacturers like Dell to enter the market. Ying McGuire, Vice President of International Business and a native of China, who knew someone who knew someone, so to speak, helped TIG get the introductions to local officials.
The joint venture with the local Chinese software development company made sense. TIG could share American technology, expertise, and experience. Longsky Software could share its software, but just as importantly, the company has relationships with people in the government that a U.S. firm would be hard pressed to develop. That is critical to doing business in China. Now that the cloud is launched, Geier recently made presentations to governors of two provinces, and was pleased to note that national government representatives were at the meetings. There are unlimited possibilities for growth because China’s data center infrastructure remains underdeveloped, and the cloud opens up access to applications anywhere and on any device.
While most people would find expanding into China a daunting proposition, Geier surprisingly says, “It is no different than when we started in the U.S. In the beginning, you didn’t know if the business will grow or how big it would grow. You have to learn about taxes, contracts, human resources, and everything else that goes along with starting a business. The same is true for China. The main barrier is language.”
Good For Society
Geier is full of surprises. While most think of the technology industry as fast paced and extremely competitive, he does not worry about competition. The technology industry is very diverse, and each segment has its own direct competitors. What he does worry about is whether TIG is doing the right thing. The right thing for TIG is growing the diverse side of the business. “It’s good for society,” he explains in simple terms.
To give back to the community, the TIG Alliances Program (TAP) was established. It is a novel approach to helping certified minority and women owned businesses grow. TIG brings small businesses into projects and aligns them with partners. The partnerships are carefully planned so the diverse firms are bringing something the customers want, whether it is software maintenance or development, hardware, networking solutions, and so on. TIG has developed a pool of diverse partners and each business is utilized as needed.
Bruce Geier started with little and is passionate about giving back to the community. The company is active in the community, hosting golf tournaments that raise money for charities like Children’s Hospital. Geier is a member of the Rotary Club, so TIG is a major donor. The Rotary Club supports local charities but also does a lot internationally, like sending doctors to Mexico to do surgery on cleft palates. In China, TIG is the founder and sponsor of a Minority Supplier Diversity Council.
Despite all the talk about technology, the true sense of Geier’s makeup is found in how he personally measures success. He looks first to his family with joy. Then he looks to his staff. “Many people in my company are friends and more like family. My goal is to continue providing for all the staff and their families. I want to help them achieve their aspirations.” Asked how he could achieve the accomplishments TIG can claim, he simply says, “It’s not me. It’s my staff. Without them there would not be a TIG, and I would be just another person.”
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