LOCATION:
Holbrook, NY, US
YEAR:
2007
STATUS:
Laureate
CATEGORY:
Business and Related Services
NOMINATING COMPANY:
Tech Data
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ORGANIZATION:
Future Tech Enterprises Inc.
PROJECT NAME:
Insource America
Short Summary
Insource America provides Fortune 1000 companies with a competitive “on-shore” sourcing alternative to delegating IT Help Desk and Call Center functions. The program, launched in 2004 and located in New York, hosts a fully-staffed, centralized call center delivering 24x7x365 secure monitoring and support of an organization's complete IT infrastructure. In addition, Insource America’s innovative Help Desk training program, offers individuals receiving public assistance and students enrolled in cooperative/vocational programs, the life changing opportunity to achieve industry-recognized certification as a Level One Help Desk Technician. Through partnerships with leading technology vendors, state employment agencies and local universities, Insource America’s intense eight-month training program empowers graduates with the tools essential to a career in IT as well as the real-world experience needed to successfully meet today’s business demands.
Introductory Overview
At a time when the United States economy needed to be growing jobs, US companies began exporting jobs. Future Tech’s President and Founder, Bob Venero, was frustrated that American companies based in the United States, providing goods and services to the U.S. consumer economy -- were taking jobs in this country and sending them overseas to provide the same goods and services back to the U.S. economy.
Venero also took into consideration the fact that the welfare state was continuing to grow bigger than ever despite a decade of policies designed to wean poor people from public aid. According to a recent Associated Press analysis, nearly one in six people rely on some form of public assistance, a larger share than at any time since the government started measuring two decades ago.
Armed with this knowledge, Bob Venero set out to find a solution. Insource America was launched in 2004.
Future Tech’s Holbrook, N.Y. campus hosts a fully-staffed, centralized call center delivering 24x7x365 secure monitoring and support of an organization's complete IT infrastructure. Today, the Insource America Call Center, affectionately called the Homeland Help Desk, supports over 8,000 customers and over 10,000 desktops nationwide and managers over 7000 customer incidents - from issue to resolution each month.
Created as a competitive "on-shore" alternative to outsourcing, Future Tech's Insource America program delivers a superior level of IT Support and services at a price comparable to outsourcing overseas. At the same time, US companies utilizing this innovative program are rewarded for their commitment to providing new and better job opportunities to the capable and qualified professionals living here in the United States.
At the heart of Future Tech’s Insource America program lies the ingenuity and philanthropic efforts that resonate throughout Venero's company. A pillar of the community, Bob Venero knows the importance of giving back to the community. Like many philanthropists, Venero lives by the words of Winston Churchill who said "we make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give." Bob Venero realized there was an untapped talent pool just waiting for the opportunity that would change their lives. The Insource America program, in partnership with today’s leading technology vendors, state employment agencies and local universities, provides candidates - many receiving public assistance and/or enrolled in cooperative/vocational programs - with the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to begin a career in technology.
The Insource America Program offers a unique, eight month accelerated development program for successful candidates who have a passion for excellence, a drive for success, but lack access to job placement through mentoring programs. After the completion of an intense eight week education, students earn industry-recognized certification as a Level I Help Desk Technician. As part of the program, graduates commit the next six months to an internship program where they apply their newly acquired skills in real–world situations. In addition, Future Tech enables students to advance their education and careers beyond Level I Help Desk through technical certifications and advanced training in the areas of IT that are in high demand among today's US employers. The Insource America Program is all about building a solid foundation of IT experience that enables students to deliver results and provides a platform from which to launch their career.
Today, Insource America has certified and launched the Help Desk careers of over twenty people and counting. May 2007 will introduce five more graduates of the innovative program.
The Insource America Program is an equal opportunity program and is open to candidates irregardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin or economic resources.
Benefits
Has your project helped those it was designed to help? Yes
What new advantage or opportunity does your project provide to people?
Future Tech’s Insource America brings forth hope and opportunity to lives where it otherwise has dwindled.
In a nation where so many people rely on some form of public assistance to survive, Insource America is giving them a chance to change their lives, become self sufficient and free themselves from the financial limitations of poverty. The Program delivers the training, knowledge and skill set that allows graduates to not only grow their careers in IT, but enables them to flourish.
In a country where burgeoning costs have caused companies to look outside the United States for inexpensive labor to deliver goods and services to the American people, Insource America is providing the competitive “on-shore” alternative, strengthening the American economy and continuing to promote employment opportunities here in the United States versus off-shore, to a foreign country.
To the family who struggles each day to put a roof over their head and food on the table, Future Tech’s Insource America is giving them the opportunity at a better life and the advantage of training and experience in a field that will only continue to grow.
Has your project fundamentally changed how tasks are performed? Yes
How do you see your project's innovation benefiting other applications, organizations, or global communities?
Over 8,000 customers across the United States rely on Future Tech's Insource America to resolve the over 7,000 incidents that come through the call center each month. What does this mean? This means the demand for qualified, US-based IT support professionals is alive and well. With each passing day comes the realization by today's leading US employers that there are cost competitive "on-shore" alternatives to "off-shore outsourcing." Companies have begun to realize that the disadvantages (diminished management control, potential loss of information security and confidentiality) far outweigh the advantage of inexpensive labor. Insource America benefits many areas:
- The employers looking for cost effective ways to to business.
- The welfare agencies who are looking to encourage self sufficiency and promote employment opportunities among its recipients.
- The customers who call the Insource America Call Center every day and look forward to speaking with a courteous, capable fellow American who can quickly and efficiently resolve their technical issue in a timely fashion.
The Importance of Technology
How did the technology you used contribute to this project and why was it important?
As human beings, we are immersed in a technological world. Advancements in technology - in the way we live our lives and run our businesses -- continue to shape the world as we know it.
Future Tech's Insource America program recognizes the importance of world-class technical support as well as the need for knowledgeable IT support professionals. Our clients rely on technology to keep their business running optimally. When there is a lapse in the operations of that technology -- they seek resolution through their local Help Desk.
In addition, Future Tech's Insource America program monitors the employment opportunities within the technology industry and adjusts its learning and training programs according to the areas considered most desireable by employers and technology companies.
Technology is a enormous influence on the succcess of the training program and the call center.
Originality
What are the exceptional aspects of your project?
The Insource America program is a philantropic effort, by far. Every day, as an individual, community or organziation, we are given the opportunity to give back. Future Tech plays an integral role in contributing to and giving back to the community and country in which they do business. The United States is a country of limitless opportunity yet we have hundreds of thousands of people relying on public assistance to survive. Companies are looking to save money and in turn, look elsewhere for less expensive labor.
Look within and you will find the answer.
The opportunity to provide cost effective services, support and labor is right here in the United States.
How is it original?
Insource America is one-of-a-kind program that delivers candidates, specifically the underprivileged and disadvantaged, a second chance at a new beginning. For many Americans, public assistance is the only way they survive. Imagine then for a moment what it feels like graduate from a mentoring program to be self sufficient. Imagine what it feels like to have a career and a properous future in a booming industry. Imagine a country without a population reliant on welfare. Future Tech is bringing imagination to life. The mission of the Insource America program is to share our resources, technology and expertise to enrich the lives and well-being of our community.
Is it the first, the only, the best or the most effective application of its kind? All of the above
Success
Has your project achieved or exceeded its goals? Achieved
Is it fully operational? Yes
How many people benefit from it? Infinite
If possible, include an example of how the project has benefited a specific individual, enterprise or organization. Please include personal quotes from individuals who have directly benefited from your work.
Quote from Jenny Modello - a single mother of four on public assistance and a student in the Insource America program:
"This is a wonderful opportunity that I'm being given and I intend to make the most of it and build a better life for my family. I'm grateful to be a part of this"
Quote from Suffolk County, NY Executive - Steve Levy
"Insource America is a prime example of the type of innovations smart government can produce in partnering with the private sector," said Levy, who first announced the public/private partnership in his 2005 State of the County address. "Linking clients from the county Labor Department to this unique opportunity provides participants with invaluable skills and career opportunities while preventing the export of IT service jobs that so many companies are filling with overseas personnel."
Quote from Hofstra University: Insource America Call Center customer
"We have been extremely pleased with how the Insource America Help Desk has been supporting our faculty after hours,” said Robert Juckiewicz, Vice President for Information Technology. “From a price perspective and a quality assurance standpoint, it just made sense to roll this out to the student population as well. We benefit from excellent IT support for our faculty and students, and Hofstra is proud to be one of the very first organizations to support the Insource America effort and help keep these IT jobs here in the United States.”
How quickly has your targeted audience of users embraced your innovation? Or, how rapidly do you predict they will?
Future Tech's Insource America Call Center was an immediate success. Since its launch in 2004, the Help Desk has grown to over 100 IT professionals fielding over 7000 calls from over 8000 customers each month. Customers from all verticals and industries rely on Insource America to keep their business' IT operations running smoothly.
In addition, Future Tech's partners - leaders in technology and innovation - have embraced the training program and welcome the opportunity to be part of such a unique program. Our partners continue to supply the Insource America program with the latest in technology and contribute to the success of the program through the hiring of many of the Insource America graduates.
Insource America continues to work with many national employment agencies who utilize our program as source of talent for the many employment opportunities available throughout the United States.
Difficulty
What were the most important obstacles that had to be overcome in order for your work to be successful? Technical problems? Resources? Expertise? Organizational problems?
Creating a competitive "on-shore" solution to "off shore outsourcing" and launching a program to educate and train talent is a daunting task.
To begin - building a pipeline of customers: with so many companies looking outside the United States for inexpensive labor - convincing them that the solution was located on Long Island, NY - would be no easy task. Building the infrastructure, populating the center with capable talent, developing business processes and procedures, integrating the solution with Future Tech's existing business all became major hurdles. Add the Insource America training program, curriculum development, as well as acquiring industry recognized certification - and anyone would begin to question whether an end would be in sight.
The most important piece -- the candidates for the program -- would they be willing to continue to live on public assistance while attending the program? The most important obstacle to developing Insource America: ensuring a quality standard of living for the candidates in the program without jeopardizing their public assistance.
Often the most innovative projects encounter the greatest resistance when they are originally proposed. If you had to fight for approval or funding, please provide a summary of the objections you faced and how you overcame them.
N/A
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