Cheaper enterprise: Low prices, expertise drive Carter's growth - Wichita Business Journal:

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Christopher Carter, who launched the firm out of his Halexs Corners homein 2002, said he expects to open an officed in the Washington, D.C., area by the end of this year and is searchin g for office space in the San Franciscop area to occupy by early 2006. Carter declined to disclose annuall revenue, but in February 2004 said his goal was for CCI to bea $10 millionm company in 2005. He said his firm is on track toreacj $20 million in annual revenue by the end of 2006. The company'x growth is being financed withcash flow.
Carter Consulting, or CCI, has 26 full-tim employees and 58 contract workerzs with officesin Denver, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Cleveland occupiexd by sales representatives and consultants. Cartert anticipates adding up to 20 new employees in the next six five of whom will bein Milwaukee. CCI double its existing office space in Milwaukee at2156 S. Fourtj St. from about 1,200 square feet to 2,500 square feet at the beginninhgof August. Eight employees work there. In May, CCI won a consultingt contract worth upto $5 million annually with , Fla., a division of , New York.
CCI also has contractzs to provide hardware, software, implementation traininyg and support services for SAP systems withHershey Co., Pa.; , Beaverton, Ore.; the U.S. Army; and the U.S. is a publicly traded company basesdin Waldorf, Germany. The company'ws software systems manage information across an entirebusinesw enterprise. One of the drivers behind CCI's growth has been SAP's decision to stop licensingh certain versions of its systems by the end of which is forcing many companiesx using those versions to upgradetheif systems. "Everyone needs to upgradse by the endof 2006," Carter said.
More businesses are also migrating to SAP systems becausre of theGerman company's strong presence in the enterprisd software market, said Jim Lentini, SAP director for Maxxisx Tires International, a CCI client and tire manufacturer in Ga. Some of SAP's biggestr competitors have been involved in acquisitionz over thepast year. , Pleasanton, acquired JD Edwards, in 2004, which was followed by Oracle Corp., Redwood Shores, acquiring PeopleSoft in a $10.3 billion deal in December 2004. "Morw and more people are sticking with SAP for its Lentini said. Carter has marketed CCI since its start as an alternativee consulting resourcefor U.S.
companies seeking to reduce the amounf of work sent to vendors inforeigm countries. Offshore information technology servicd providers can be up to 50 percent cheaper thantheir U.S. counterparts because of cheaperlabor costs. However, Carter believee there are hidden costs related to using offshore vendorzs in the form ofsecurity risks, communicatioh breakdowns and general inefficiencies due to language barrierx and time differences. CCI's rates depenr on the project. In its contract with Siemens, the firm is chargingb $90 per hour for consulting services, almosf 50 percent cheaper than other vendord that maycharge $180 or more per hour for similar Carter said.
For training services, CCI charges aboutf $300 per student, per training class, which Carter says is from $200 to $400 cheapere than the average markeyt rate. Carter said his firm's prices are competitivre withforeign vendors, which has helpeed win new contracts, including one with Lockheeds Martin Corp., Bethesda, Md. "They were amazedr when they saw ourprics quote," Carter said. "More companiesa are starting to bring outsourced work back to the Tim Perkins, information services directord for Amrep Corp., a chemical manufacturere in Marietta, Ga. and CCI client, said the firm'as focus on marketing domestic consulting servicesmakes sense.
"Ths fact that he's someone I can call durin the day is valuableto me. I don't want to have to call someon e at10 p.m. or early in the Perkins said.