Datatek Applications, Inc. is a New Jersey based small business provider of custom software and hardware solutions for military, medical, commercial and telecommunications customers worldwide. It has decades of experience in providing solutions for large-scale networks, and intellectual property investigation expertise that encompasses many classes of the technology industry.

In business for over eight years, the company contacted Randy Harmon, NJSBDC’s Technology Consultant, in May of 2005, to help them strategize a way to diversify beyond its traditional customer base. The telecom business in New Jersey was declining, resulting in a 50 percent reduction in Datetek’s sales and staff. Datatek was interested in exploring business with the military, particularly the U.S. Army at Ft. Monmouth.

Through Randy, Datatek received training and assistance for SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) Phases I & II. SBIR is a highly competitive program that encourages small business to explore their technological potential and provides the incentive to profit from its commercialization. Datatek won its award by promoting the notion of using Ft. Monmouth as an IPv6 Center of Excellence. IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) is the basis for “the next Internet”. Even though Ft. Monmouth is slated to close in 2011 as a result of the Department of Defense’s Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) decision, establishing an IPv6 Center of Excellence there would promote high tech job growth in an area that will experience massive job loss. The IPv6 Center of Excellence would be New Jersey’s answer to Silicon Valley and could help establish whole new industries, products and services based on IPv6.

Datetek’s new lease on life represents another classic tale of combining business intuition with NJSBDC insight to achieve desired and sustainable results. “Randy Harmon and the NJSBDC provided valuable resources in terms of course materials, coaching and very experienced personnel to guide us in our pursuit of a SBIR grant. Randy encouraged us at every step along the way and facilitated a two-day course with the Greenwoods, professional SBIR consultants who provided their extensive experience and course materials as well as free proposal evaluation services to us. It was their expertise that also gave us the edge in writing a winning proposal.” Likewise, Randy credits Datatek for aggressively pursuing “SBIR training in order to reverse its declining business.” The dedicated management team saw new opportunities and markets in this pursuit. They are on their way to creating products for new markets that will enable the transition… to the next-generation Internet.”

Datatek also has the distinction of being part of the Applied Communications and Information Networking program (ACIN), a collaboration between the U.S. Army and Drexel University to rapidly deploy technologies to enable growth in military and commercial channels.