Philipsburg’s TMMData draws from regional IT talent

Editor’s note: The following is part of the Business Matters special section.

Bob Selfridge, co-founder and chief operating officer of Philipsburg’s TMMData, has nearly two decades of experience developing software, engineering and managing IT systems, maintaining data security and integrating information infrastructures across organizations that have spanned a diverse range of industries.

As co-founder and COO, Selfridge leads product, engineering and technology development strategies for TMMData’s flexible data management software, bolstering its position as a leading provider of intelligent data software as a service for clients including Comcast, FedEx, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Penn State, among others.

According to the company, TMMData has increased its workforce significantly over the past three years, landing the company on Inc. Magazine’s 2015 list of the fastest-growing private companies in America, in addition to receiving a regional Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Q: What does TMMData do?

A: In a nutshell, we provide tailored data management solutions to any business that has data management problems. TMMData is a leading provider of flexible data management software that enables organizations of all sizes, from mid-level to enterprise-scale, to easily access, manipulate and normalize data from nearly any source.

Q: What makes TMMData’s software unique?

A: TMMData’s software drives nimble decision making and organizational efficiency, giving businesses the tools they need to operationalize data by automating the otherwise productivity-sapping tasks of finding, standardizing and aggregating information from multiple sources across an organization. In a nutshell, we provide tailored data management solutions to any business that has data management problems.

Q: How does TMMData cater to its clients’ technological needs?

A: As a technology company, we are always on the look out for new technologies that will benefit our business and our clients’ business or give us a competitive edge. We tend to focus on best-in-class, open-source technologies. And if we can’t find a technology to fill a business need, we build it.

Q: Philipsburg-Osceola is a rural area; why are you operating there?

A: There are several benefits and challenges associated with running a business in this area. Benefits include lower overhead costs and a lower cost of living. Finding great staff is both a challenge and a benefit, as we look to find local IT rock stars that want to work with big businesses, but want to live in a small town. There is a great pool of IT talent that exists in the area; the challenge is finding them.

Q: How does operating in the Philipsburg-Osceola area benefit your company?

A: Cloud Computing is a great equalizer for small companies in the area that can now compete with the larger companies in the big city. First it was the Internet, but now cloud technologies allow businesses to operate fully “in the cloud” without the need for a server room, administrators or network cabling. Now, all you really need is a DSL line to operate a business from any location — evening the playing field for companies like ours that run in a rural setting.

Q: You tell your clients they need three things to implement your systems: acknowledgment of the need, champion in leadership and willingness to change. What do each of those mean?

A: Acknowledgment of the need: change for the sake of the change, or the latest and greatest or the coolest new tools, is not a very valuable proposition for employees on the front lines. If those doing the day-to-day operational work don’t see a need, then implementation will be very difficult. Champion in leadership: once accepted by the employees on the front lines, you need a champion in a decision-making role to support the change. This shows the larger organization how important these new technologies are to the leadership. Willingness to change: Some organizations embrace change or at least “go with the flow,” however many struggle with any kind of organizational change. When selling change though, it’s essential to demonstrate the value and benefits to those most affected.

Q: Can you tell us a story where your company has made an impact?

A: At a conference last year, a woman came up to our booth and explained how she was told no one could help her. She went on to explain that other vendors told her that she was looking for something that doesn’t exist, like a unicorn. After she detailed what her business needs were, that she needed one system that could pull her data from a wide-range of sources into one report, I explained that we were her unicorn since our data management software does just that.

Q: What is the goal of TMMData?

A: We strive to be the company that accomplishes what others say isn’t possible and bridges the gaps of what other company’s simply can’t provide.

This story was originally published February 9, 2016 at 3:08 PM with the headline "Philipsburg’s TMMData draws from regional IT talent."