Critigen

Interview with Jeff Akers, CEO, Critigen

Our vision is to develop on our strong heritage and domain expertise, while continuing to serve as the quintessential technology resource for the critical infrastructure industry, says Jeff Akers, CEO, Critigen.

Tell us about the post spin-off business relations between CH2M HILL and Critigen?
Critigen was divested from CH2M HILL on September 16th, 2009 and purchased by Golden Gate Capital, a private-equity firm with $8 billion under management. Our partnership with Golden Gate Capital provides Critigen with the strategic focus, resources, and growth opportunities needed to maximize the value of our business going forward. They will help us apply our expertise in the areas of integrated security, spatial solutions, collaboration solutions, managed services, and domain capabilities in support of technology approaches that will best meet client requirements.

For at least the next three years, Critigen will be CH2M HILL’s preferred provider for information management technology. As Critigen’s largest client to date, CH2M HILL and Critigen are in sync with providing technology infrastructure for some of the most prestigious and progressive clients in the world.

What are the critical requirements in development, monitoring and maintenance of infrastructure? How is Critigen gearing up to meet them?
The legacy of Critigen allows us to understand this better than most. What we have learned through hundreds of engagements is that understanding the data requirements and building an enterprise spatial, data, security and management plan from day one is as critical as designing the next large piece of infrastructure for the world. By creating visual and management architectures and including the possibilities of sensoring, monitoring and management from inception in all design and construction planning, the world has the capability to manage all infrastructure more efficiently and productively than in the past. Critigen is at the forefront of this architectural enterprise thinking and delivery of the 21st century.

Crisis management and security are the top priority these days. How do you address these market requirements?
Improved transportation and communication methods have greatly benefited the world in many ways. However, these improvements bring a greater potential for harmful crisis and security breaches as well.

Critigen’s security and preparedness capabilities protect critical infrastructure and mitigate risk for the most impregnable public and private agencies in the world. Whether safely securing nuclear material for the U.S. Government, performing vulnerability assessments and implementing upgrades for our nation's critical infrastructure, or providing critical response to natural disasters, Critigen’s security and emergency management expertise spans business types, time zones, and countries.

What solutions do you offer for businesses to become more streamlined, efficient and cost effective during this economic turmoil? 
Critigen’s capabilities are grounded by a consultative approach that is unparalleled in the critical infrastructure space. Through our extensive experience on work as complex as integrating terabytes of geospatial data for defense clients or as rewarding as activating adoption of alternative energy through solar maps, Critigen has fine tuned market-driven approaches that create more cost-effective options for our clients. Specifically, we have packaged asset management, program management and integrated spatial information into turnkey solutions called Visual AM, Visual PM and Visual OnDemand respectively. Visual AM and Visual PM create comprehensive work management such as monitoring street and sidewalk inventory or tracking and reporting on stimulus funding to the federal government. Visual OnDemand is relevant to smaller municipalities providing one integrated view of city infrastructure including planning & development, property assessments, public safety, utilities and public works. While all of our engagements are effective for long-term return on investments, these specifically create cost-efficiencies for those with more challenges in this economic climate.

There is a growing concern over climate change and global warming worldwide. How do your products help in dealing with these issues?
Inherent in many of our technology-based approaches is an eye towards environmental responsibility and stewardship. Providing alternative energy assessments and cleantech methods as ways to create more cost-effective and long-term growth of communities, we have specifically focused on carbon management tracking and have deployed integrated spatial and managed service technologies for several of our clients worldwide. Our benefits also mirror the growing needs in both smart grid and water supply/re-use initiatives. While the trend is more mainstream in media, Critigen has been involved in providing clients environmentally impactful information for many years.

Tell us about your global market? What is the significance of Asia in that?
Our global market includes today all of North America, Europe and the Middle East. We have a focused approach in Asia at this point, our geographic location is driven by our clients presence and we also using talent to offset some of our demand. But, at this point we do not believe that what we do in most of consulting areas is translated to any major off-shoring models. In our managed services delivery, we have critical focus as do many Asian companies, but many of our clients expect to be handled on shore and as long as we show them the productivity and economic benefit of doing business here with Critigen, we tend to win against those models.

What are your growth and expansion plans?
We think the perfect storm of critical infrastructure evolution, stimulus funding and market inflection points that we are experiencing in our services all allows us to plan on developing acquisitions along the geographic and service solutions we lead today and plan on leading in the future.

What is your vision for Critigen?
Our vision is to expand upon our strong heritage and our domain expertise while continuing to serve as the quintessential technology resource for the critical infrastructure industry. We truly believe we are the catalyst to modernise critical infrastructure by positively and radically impacting our clients’ societal, economic, and financial decisions.

Our strategy to achieve our vision is to enhance our world-class delivery competencies through continued investment in tools, technology, and training. We will also continue to invest in our primary asset: our talent - as it’s this talent that will continue to define Critigen against our competition.