GRANDVILLE ? Cloud computing solutions that allow access to data anytime, anywhere, from any device will be the focus of Trivalent Group’s Seventh Annual Solutions Expo June 16 at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. Cloud computing is just the latest technology offered by the privately held IT services provider that has posted 72 consecutive months of profitability, despite the fierce Michigan recession.

Majority owner and CEO Larry Andrus said Trivalent posted $22.5 million in revenue last year from more than 700 clients, with no end in sight. Andrus said the second quarter looks promising and the current pipeline is the best it has been in the last three years. The company employs 65 at offices in Grandville, Mt. Pleasant, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek.

?We have worked together as a team to establish a culture with an open dialogue that has led a recurring revenue model that rewards performance,? he said . ?This collaborative approach has enabled us to gang up on the issues and not on each other.?

Andrus acquired controlling interest of Trivalent in 2002 ? he had provided leasing through another company to the original Trivalent, formed from the rollup of six different technology companies in Michigan with roots back to 1971. He renamed the company Trivalent Group.

At the time, the Sparta, Michigan, native was already a 30-year technology business veteran. He spent the first decade after college with the Burroughs Corp in Michigan. Then, with a group of Burroughs alumni, became one of the 40 original investors in a computer leasing company acquired by AT&T Capital, later acquired by CIT Financial Services.

He continues to keep his eyes open for great companies that provide a strategic fit. Andrus said he looked at no less than 21 potential ?companies of interest? to continue to expand Trivalent?s footprint and service offerings. This look-see led to the acquisition two months ago of Innovative Software Strategies, a reputable and well-established Battle Creek-based IT services company. The deal allowed Trivalent to expand its product solutions and integrated services further into Southern Michigan.

There is a real word in Trivalent Group, Andrus said. From the scientific ?valence? it loosely means made of three bonded substances. In chemistry, this implies not only the state of being so, but also the potential for such. By design, ?trivalent? represents the relationship between the company?s clients, people, and partners.

The tri-theme is carried over to Trivalent?s three functional divisions connected to its central Services:

Communications ? Vendor independent B2B Telecommunications; Wide Area Network Services; Voice Services, including PRI and VOIP; Telecom System Support and Project Management; ISP, both dial-up and DSL, with the requisite security and spam filters connected to two separate data centers.

Capital ? Lease financing; syndication for large projects; alternative sources for technology equipment; remarketing services for clients.

Systems ? Provides B2B vendor independent tech products; MAPS technology products and services to business requirements; Network Services; Managed Services, including co-location and disaster recovery; Data Services; and Virtualization.

At the center is the Services Division providing engineering and project management, managed services (including Cloud and SasS); Help desk, technology consulting and Assessment Services to the other three.

Andrus said Trivalent?s sales sweet spot is companies with 25 to 250 seats.

Client Cherry Street Health Services, however, falls beyond the ?typical client? criteria into the major customer category. Ken Brower, MIS Manager for the community healthcare center in Grand Rapids said he supports 700 employees, in 27 locations with some 130 servers hosted by Trivalent on its secure network.

?We?ve been working with them since the mid-1990s,? Brower said. ?We?ve used Trivalent for strategic planning, and some of our project implementation. Now we use them for help desk services. Recently I have brought on staff one of their senior tech support managers to work with me for the next nine months to help implement electronic medical records at another location, part of Cherry Street that we support.?

Brower said he usually brings in Trivalent on a sub-project basis.

?They have always done a good job,? he said. ?They aren?t a VAR (Value-Added Reseller) selling products. We look at the future together and have developed a strong business relationship.?

If you?d like to attend the Seventh Annual Solutions Expo June 16 in Grand Rapid and learn more about Trivalent, contact Max Trierweiler via email at [email protected] or click on contra.cc/trivalentexpo

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