Apex’s first logo circa 1988 before the company was incorporated under the name of Apex CoVantage in 2003.
When Apex was founded in 1988, it was in the business of data conversion: helping companies with large amounts of data convert it from physical to digital. This was a time before personal computers were mainstream and before even the internet existed. A time when “file transfer” meant loading a tiny amount of data onto a giant floppy disk and shipping it by the postal service because FedEx wasn’t a big thing yet, either.
Apex was at the forefront of what would become a booming industry, but it was so much more than just a business. From day one, Apex has lived by a set of core values. And while many things have changed, there are a few things that have remained constant.
Built on values
Cofounder and President, Shashikant “Shashi” Gupta lovingly refers to Apex as a “social experiment” because rather than focusing solely on profit, Apex was built on a set of values that still live within the company today.
OUR VALUES
Both Shashi and Apex’s cofounder and COO, Margaret Gupta, believed business could be a force for good and that as a result, profit would follow. As the company has grown over the course of thirty years, they were right.
Driven by relationships
Members of Apex Content & Media Solutions pose for a picture at the Herndon, VA headquarters office: (left to right) Joel Mills, Director of Business Development; Prabhanjan Mattam, Senior Project Manager; Margaret Gupta, COO; Greg Suprock, Head of Solutions Architecture; Pardha Karamsetty, President; and Balaji Polamuri, Director of Technology.
It is proven in the strength of relationships we’ve built with our customers, some of which have been with us for ten, fifteen, even twenty years. As we celebrate Apex’s 30th anniversary, we also are celebrating our 20th anniversary working with JSTOR.
Apex often boasts we have the best people, and we certainly believe it to be true. Both across our American and Indian offices, it is common to celebrate five, ten, fifteen, and twenty-year anniversaries. True to our values, we believe in excellence as a habit and our staff live it every day.
Always thinking one solution ahead
Continuous innovation has also been a core driver within Apex. We cannot sit still when there is a better way to approach a problem or provide a solution.
Apex launched its first propriety software solution in 1988, Data Expert, to drive more efficient data conversion and we haven’t stopped since. Apex has created over a dozen in-house solutions. As technology advances, consumer demands change, and our customers’ needs change, our software has evolved right along with them. IZAAC, ProACT, ProTRAK, and ProField are just a few of the solutions our clients have come to know and love.
Finding the perfect balance for maximum efficiency
While conversion services are still a core part of the business, Apex has taken on a number of industries well outside of that scope. In 1989 we took on GIS (Geographic Information Systems) solutions. In 2004 our publishing division was launched followed by call centers, aerial mapping, mechanical engineering and plumbing, and smart grid solutions.
They seem disparate, but every industry was dealing with a specific challenge that lended itself to Apex’s strength of balancing the processing power of the computer with the cognitive power of the human mind. Through a combination of process, technology, and people, we helped organizations within these unique industries streamline their business and find better ways to overcome ongoing challenges.
Here’s to the next thirty
All of these qualities have remained constant within the Apex culture amidst the many changes we’ve experienced over three decades. It has been an amazing journey. One that would not have been possible without the support of our customers, partners, and employees.
From all of us at Apex, thank you for making this journey possible! We look forward to what exciting adventures the next thirty years will bring.
