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VARBusiness, August 22, 2005
by Steven Lang, VARBusiness
Jeskell's got its game on. The VARBusiness 500's 2005 Ascension Award winner enjoyed the biggest leap among all 500 players, moving up 137 spots over last year's list to No. 244. Sales during the year climbed from $40 million to nearly $86 million. Javed Khan, president of the Sunnyvale, California-based solution provider, tells us how he did it.
How did Jeskell get so powerful in the past year? It was a combination of factors. First, we hired a senior rep and a senior engineer in the Pacific Northwest to expand there. We also made a serious investment in Sunnyvale, [including] $2 million in IBM equipment for one of the biggest IBM solutions centers...The third thing was [to] expand our presence in the D.C. area. Our federal sales used to be $2 million; now they're $25 million. That's not a fluke. It's about the right marketplaces.
What's your game plan for the government space? For starters, we partner with the big guys. If Northrop wins, they source the IBM equipment part of the job to us. Same with Lockheed. And we've tried to develop our DoD classified business. We have people with special clearances. Jeskell is also involved in direct business with some major agencies, including the USDA and DOE Labs.
How is your entrée into the commercial sector going? The commercial business is very different than government. It's based primarily on solutions and relationships. In fact, the federal business comes down to bids, so relationships don't count a lot. Our business was too lopsided toward government, so I'm trying to create a balanced portfolio...We would like to grow our commercial portfolio in Colorado, Arizona, Washington, Texas and Washington, D.C.
What are your plans for the future of the company? We have to grow revenue in all segments. We finished our year with $115 million in sales and a $17 million backlog. I look at companies like Mainline and Sirius with $500 million in sales. Jeskell can go up to that level with the right execution.
How has your life changed since the company received its VARBusiness 500 award? Our visibility has gone up. We've received calls from IBM executives and other people in the business. I'm sure we will get business from it. Once you have recognition and visibility, the sales team gets motivated because they feel they are working for a great company. Then they sell more. It increases everybody's confidence.
