EPC Spotlights... Data Projections 

Data Projections, Inc. initially entered the industry as a technical communications marketer for Texas-based schools and has since continued to expand and enhance its service offerings. Data Projections has since evolved into a full-service provider of advanced visual communications products, services and technology solutions while providing more than 100 lines of equipment including plasma/LCD displays, document cameras, video streaming and video conferencing, audio systems, projectors and interactive whiteboards.

Earning top sales and service honors from several leading manufacturers, Data Projections has also been honored by local, regional and national business publications for its impressive sales growth and outstanding customer service. These awards include: Working Woman magazine’s Top 500 Women-Owned Businesses, one of Houston’s 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies, Houston Business Journal’s Top 50 Woman-Owned Businesses, Blue Chip Enterprise Initiative Award, and Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year.

Today, with more than 100 employees in offices in the cities of Austin, Boise, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, Data Projections continues to innovate and lead the way by providing expert engineering, design and integration, support services and technology education.

Data Projections has been an active supporter of TxDLA since 2002 and was recently recognized as a TxDLA Gold Partner and awarded the Outstanding Corporate Commitment to Service award at the 2008 TxDLA Conference. 

In this interview, we speak with Matt Zaleski, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Data Projections. Matt shares his insights on some crucial issues facing Data Projections and, in general, distance education. Interviewing Zaleski is TxDLA CIO, Bennie Tschoerner.

BT: I noticed when browsing your website that the name Zaleski kept coming up. Is there a story there?

MZ: My parents, Linda and Bill Zaleski, began the company in 1987 by selling LCD projectors to schools and universities. Linda was involved in education and Bill in technology so they basically merged what they had been doing and created Data Projections. Since then the company has expanded tremendously in size, services and scope of client audiences. Linda remains the CEO of Data Projections, my brother, Billy, is President and I am the Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

BT: Data Projections appears to concentrate its efforts in Texas… BUT the only office you have outside Texas is in Boise, Idaho. Boise?? Why there?

MZ: We are concentrated in Texas with offices in Austin, San Antonio, Dallas and our corporate office in Houston but we do have an office in Boise, Idaho. The Boise office was initiated by a partnership with the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation, an organization committed to positive educational change in Idaho. We met a contact from the foundation at a tradeshow who was seeking a company partner that could supply schools with distance learning capabilities. In order for us to join this innovative technology initiative we had to have an office in Boise to provide the best service to our clients. We knew this was a great opportunity and thus, opened our Boise office. 

BT: Recently you have changed your logo and overall look of your website. What initiated this change? How do you think this change will be an advantage to your current business? 

MZ: As our company has changed over time we knew our overall look needed to change as well. Our previous website did not clearly communicate all of the services we offer and all of the clients that we have the capacity to serve. We really wanted to see how we could improve our message about who we are and the services we provide. Our new logo shows how we are the driving force that allows our clients to simply connect, bringing together our clients with their customers and employees. Our website enables us to better communicate the value added benefits that we bring to our clients such as service plans and equipment training.

BT: What do you (or your organization) perceive as your organization’s biggest challenge in the marketplace (or in Texas)? 

MZ: The biggest challenge I believe, is employing high-quality, knowledgeable people that are customer-oriented and willing to continually educate themselves. Data Projections has been able to bring on people with these qualities and we pride ourselves on having such a great group of people that are here to learn, willing to adapt to change in the market place and provide the best possible service to our clients. It can be a challenge, though, to find the right people that can meet these qualities. 

Another challenge we face is making sure we clearly understand our clients’ needs and expectations, specify all the equipment and components involved, make sure all of these parts work together and troubleshoot any issues there may be with compatibility and ease of use. This becomes increasingly difficult when you look at the multiple manufacturers we work with to provide a variety of solutions and equipment to our clients. 

BT: What do you (or your organization) see as major issues in distance learning in Texas? And what are your objectives to overcome those challenges? 

MZ: Overall, the challenges are customer knowledge of equipment and usage and making sure we educate them properly on how to utilize the equipment efficiently. The key added-benefits we offer to meet these challenges are comprehensive training and service agreements.

BT: What does the future hold for Data Projections? Anything new coming up that you’d want to share?  

MZ: We are implementing a new customer relationship management system which will definitely help us stay connected to our customers, allow for ongoing communications with them and easily access project information to better serve our clients. Continuing to educate ourselves is also key as more and more new products are introduced each year and we strive to provide the best fit for our clients. 

BT: Describe a distance learning success you (or your organization) have experienced. 

MZ: For the past two years we have sponsored and provided support and resources for the 123 VC!!! Jazzing Up Your Curriculum with Videoconferencing workshop, http://www.123vc.net . We believe that immersion programs, such as this one, help educators truly understand the power of videoconferencing and web 2.0 tools. We also consider our active involvement and partnerships in both the Texas Distance Learning Association and the United States Distance Learning Association as great achievements and are honored to be the 2008 TxDLA Corporate Commitment to Service award recipient. 

BT: Is there something your company does that you think keeps you a step above the rest of your competitors? 

MZ: Several of our employees come to us with work experience in the education arena. This allows our staff to go into schools with the knowledge of how the school system works, what the needs are of the teachers and how we need to adapt our products and services to meet their needs. 

Another key aspect of our customer service is that we don’t subcontract any of our work. We’re there from beginning to end. We have the capability to help our clients with design, engineering, installation and integration, training and ongoing support. 

BT: Matt.. in conclusion, how would you summarize the services you provide to your clients?

MZ: Our customers desire simplicity. From the products they use to the systems they support, we keep our customers “simply connected". At Data Projections, we combine our domain knowledge with industry expertise to provide reliable integrated A|V solutions that create the right connections for our customers. From our engineering expertise to our training and support, we provide our customers with the tools and knowledge they need to make things simple for their organizations and in short, simply connect.
  

TxDLA thanks Matt Zaleski for taking his valuable time to respond to this interview. We would also like to thank Wendy Stanley, Marketing Manager-Data Projections, Inc.,  for her invaluable support in the writing of this article.

The EPC Spotlight profiles one Executive Partnership Council member organization each month. EPC members have given substantially of their time and resources to support TxDLA. For additional information about becoming an EPC member, contact Kevin Eason, EPC Chair at epc@txdla.org .