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Anjali Ann Ramakumaran, Founder and CEO of Ampcus Inc. (Ampcus), is a technology savvy entrepreneur with more than 18 years of contribution towards the design, development and delivery of leading edge Technology Solutions and Human Capital Management across the globe..
Women Leadership magazine recently sat down with Ann Ramakumaran of Ampcus Inc. Amcus is a ISO 20000, ISO 27000, ISO 9001, CMMI DEV/3 SM and CMMI SVC/3 SM certified global provider of a broad range of Technology and Business consulting services. From strategy to execution, our disciplined yet flexible approach starts and ends with our clients. By listening hard and working harder, client goals become our goals. Their success is our satisfaction. It’s why our clients sleep well at night. Ampcus consultants have significant business, engineering and technology experience. Our consultants have over twenty years of business experience and an average of more than six years of engineering and technology experience. This means that the project team not only understands how systems works, they also understand how the technology impacts the business processes of organizations.
WLM: How did Ampcus get started and who are your customers?
Ann: My passion for entrepreneurship, strong business acumen and excitement for technology motivated me to ultimately start my own business. Ampcus was founded in 2004 during a time when many corporations were just beginning to implement Supplier Diversity programs and those that had programs were working to increase spend. During this same time, companies were going through various rationalization efforts and were looking for partners that understood the business side of things while also having the technical aptitude and experience to deliver innovative technology solutions that would ultimately resolve their complex business problems. The timing really couldn’t have been better. We brought in resources that had industry experience, functional knowledge and strong technical capabilities across a wide variety of disciplines. Fast forward to today, Ampcus is a global, award-winning, Minority, Women-Owned Business providing a diverse portfolio of Technology Solutions, Business Consulting and Human Capital Management Services. With Global Headquarters in Chantilly VA and over 16 customer support offices in the US, Global Delivery Centers and Innovation Labs, we support over 50 of the Fortune 50-2000 companies, along with key Federal, State, Local and Non-Profit customers.
WLM: IT is ever evolving. In what areas do you specialize and how do you maintain consistency?
Ann: Ampcus’ five core service areas include Digital Transformation & Intelligent Automation, Infrastructure Modernization, Cybersecurity & Risk Management, Testing & Independent Verification and Validation, and Human Capital Management (Staffing). We leverage expertise and insights across these service areas to address the complexity of today’s current technology, while preparing our clients to effectively meet the changing demands of tomorrow. We have a successful track record in helping our clients throughout their business and technology transformation journey by leveraging our Innovation Labs and the talent we have on staff. Our clients look to us as an extension of their own internal teams. Ampcus’ Innovation Labs provide a “safe place” for our clients to test new ideas and technologies where they can “ try and test” without threats from the outside or impact to their own IT infrastructure. It is imperative that we continually invest in our people, processes and technologies. Our unprecedented business and quality certifications drive confidence across our client portfolio.
WLM: Ampcus is relatively young. The company has won numerous awards and achieved significant growth. What has contributed to that growth?
Ann: Ampcus’ Business, Quality and Diversity Certifications have fueled our economic growth and facilitated meaningful dialog with major corporations, public sector entities and non-profits, many of which we now call our clients. Our revenue has grown on average 40 percent year-over-year which is a testament to our ability to provide relevant value to our clients and continuously deliver on our commitments. Organic growth has contributed to much of our success; however, in recent years we have made targeted acquisitions that are complementary to our core business. In 2019, we acquired a Cyber Security company that focused on IT Cybersecurity and Industrial Cyber Security. We felt their expertise complimented our existing Cyber practice and positioned us to provide incremental value to our clients. In addition, Ampcus also acquired iTech Solutions a IT Staffing and Solutions company in January of 2020. This acquisition allowed us to expand our geographical infrastructure, increase our employee base, expand our client portfolio and enhance our penetration within the Insurance, Financial, Utility and Government sectors.
WLM: How do employees play in role in the success of Ampcus?
Ann: It is important that Ampcus not only remain a supplier of choice for our clients but that we also remain an employer of choice. Our employees are very passionate, innovative and have the industry, business and technology experience. This have helped our clients solve their complex Business and Technology challenges across industry segments. We currently have over 1350 employees across the globe and maintain an average employee retention of 90%. Our employees are our most valuable asset and; therefore, we invest in them. It is important that we provide our employees with challenging work assignments, continued professional development and training in new and emerging technologies. Many of our employees have been with us since the beginning. Without them, we would not be where we are today.
WLM: What external influence has Ampcus garnered throughout the corporate journey?
Ann: We believe that corporations look to do business with suppliers that share in their core values. Our company was built on a foundation of honesty, integrity and performance excellence. We always strive to be a great partner and operate on the principle that our customer’s success is our success. We face challenges head on and work to solve our client’s complex problems as if they are our own. We strive to be socially responsible and believe in doing well by doing good.
WLM: Diversity plays a significant role in business success. You mention the focus on a diverse employee base. How has that diversity influenced Ampcus?
Ann: Diversity and Inclusion is fundamental to our company culture. I’m very proud to say that 70% of our employees are Diverse and 48% of our employees are Women. We have worked to hire individuals from varying disciplines with experience across a wide variety of different industries. This allows us to have a broader understanding of our client’s needs while becoming that trusted partner they can rely on. We believe that a diverse employee base drives innovation, creativity and a perspective that assists our organization in driving meaningful value for our clients.
WLM: There are lot of players in this space. Along with the diverse culture what else sets Ampcus apart in the marketplace.
Ann: You are correct, there are many great companies like Ampcus working to solve complex technology and business challenges for clients across the globe. While I’m likely a bit biased, there are many differentiators that set Ampcus apart from others. First and foremost, I feel we have an amazing team of professionals that work tirelessly for our clients each and every day. Our emphasis on process and quality offer tangible benefits for every client engagement. At Ampcus, we have invested in numerous business and quality certifications to include ISO 9001, ISO 20000, ISO 27001, CMMi ML-3 (Development and Services) which I believe is unprecedented among companies in our industry. We’ve built an amazing infrastructure to support our growth, again having our own Innovation Labs and the talent to develop Proofs of Concept/Proofs of Value for our clients that have grown into major project implementations, which again clearly differentiates Ampcus from others in our industry. We will continue to invest in our company and remain relevant for our clients.
WLM: What is an ideal customer for Ampcus?
Ann: We have a very diverse portfolio of clients that are very important to our business. Our clients span across a variety of different industry segments and often have a global footprint. Regardless of the size, we value each and every client. We immerse ourselves into their business, develop a strong understanding of their needs and utilize our talent and infrastructure to deliver tangible value while working to establish a trusted partnership. This has served us well and we’ll continue to follow this model as we cultivate new relationships.
WLM: What advice do you have for someone on the journey to entrepreneurship?
Ann: It is important to stay focused, remain patient and be persistent. You will be faced with challenges, but remain confident, even in the face of adversity. Be prepared to work hard and surround yourself with like-minded trustworthy people who support your vision. Always believe in yourself, your people and your business.
WLM: In consideration of women’s history, where are we from a diversity perspective?
Ann: Clearly we’ve made much progress but there is always more to be done. As Ampcus’ CEO, I believe in developing other future business leaders, mentoring young female entrepreneurs and sharing many of the lessons learned throughout my career as it will help to pave the future for those that follow. Within Ampcus, we always strive to utilize diverse owned business for products and services purchased by our company. We must stand together and drive change by demonstrating that diversity inspires innovation and generates value.