November 16, 1998
For Aris, Boutique Is Bountiful
The Aris strategy is straightforward: Implement the latest software from the likes of Lotus, Microsoft, Oracle, and PeopleSoft, and then work with clients so they can use the technology on their own. "We really believe in establishing a lot of depth as a product authority," says Aris CEO Paul Song.
The strategy is paying off for the Seattle integrator. For the first nine months of 1998, the company's revenue was up 60% from the year-earlier period, to $85.9 million. Net income rose 67% to $2.5 million. Among the company's marquee clients are Boeing, the Internal Revenue Service, Nike, and Tektronix. Aris' $33 million acquisition earlier this year of human resources and payroll app specialist InTime Systems International Inc. also brought big-name clients Bayer Laboratories, CSX, Delta Air Lines, and 3M.
About half of Aris' projects--the vendor usually handles 30 to 40 jobs at a time with its team of more than 300 full-time consultants--come through referrals. Aris charged an average of $120 per hour in the third quarter, about 25% less than its biggest rivals, Song says.
Aris helped Tektronix replace 500 legacy applications in more than 23 countries with an integrated suite of Oracle financial apps, says Gary Allen, director of information systems, worldwide finance, and accounting applications at the electronics manufacturer. Allen says Tektronix couldn't have cultivated the required expertise in-house. "They really understood the applications," he says. "We weren't looking for a project manager."
Other factors that worked to Aris' benefit: The vendor was willing to transfer its ERP knowledge to Tektronix staffers; it customized the Oracle applications for Tektronix; and it didn't overpromise, Allen says.
On a recent project with MSNBC, the Microsoft-NBC joint venture, Aris developed a SQL database application that allowed for better archiving of news content, in large part so it could be shared with external clients. Aris is now studying other technologies and alliances--especially pertaining to ERP--that will help its clients link better with their suppliers and other business partners. Says Song, "The next generation of applications that are going to be developed are those that allow data to be deployed outside the corporate walls."
--Heather Clancy, Computer Reseller News
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