The latest member of Architel Labs is a startup called TapMap. Headed by Philip McNamara, the company is helping to organize retail inventory and pricing in Europe. Working hand-in-hand with our ShopSavvy team, Philip is quickly becoming the largest aggregator of product pricing and inventory data in the European Union. Look for more information about the company in the near future.

Architel Labs was launched in 2005 to commercialize technology created and/or acquired by Architel. Over the past decade Architel has acquired several companies including MightyView (from Lockheed Martin), AtlasTG (a publicly traded company, BLive (a remote desktop company), ART (a regional managed service provider). From these acquisitions Architel has secured valuable intellectual property and software related to network and application management. Over the years, leverage these resources, we have launched various properties, initiatives and companies inside of Architel Labs including:

• SimpleTicket - open source trouble ticketing system.
• SuperNOC - networking monitoring platform.
• RoboCopy - online backup platform.
• Fancast - social networking property dedicated to audio and video content delivery and interaction (acquired by Comcast Interactive).
• ServiceGuy - telephone based contractor referral system.
• Big in Japan - mobile application development.
• ShopSavvy - uber-popular shopping application for iPhone and Android smartphones allowing users to scan barcodes to find the best local and online prices.
• SevenLayer - telecommunications business offering voice applications and features to small and medium-sized companies through a cloud model.
• TapMap - retail pricing and inventory data management for Europe.

Scott Ryan and I co-founded Architel in 2001. Today it is one of the largest managed service providers in North Texas. Serving more than 10,000 users the company is located in the Dallas INFOMART. We started the company because we believed the traditional “break-fix” approach to IT support was broken. By charging by the hour, IT support providers had a financial incentive to:

• Send the least qualified resource to the client’s location
• Take as long as possible to repair the problem
• Fail to take action to prevent future problems

We wondered, “Would it be possible to align the interests of business owners with those of their IT support providers?” We believe the Architel solution does just that. By charging a flat monthly fee for unlimited, “all you can eat” service, Architel’s Fractional IT Support ensures that both the service provider and the client have the same goals.

Specifically, if Architel can make a company’s IT systems run more smoothly intelligent decision-making and preventative maintenance, the client will require fewer service calls – and Architel makes money. On the other hand, if we make a mistake or fail to anticipate issues, Architel can end up losing money on the account. Either way, the business owner has predictable costs and the peace of mind of knowing that Architel is working to make their clients’ IT systems as efficient and trouble-free as possible.

Doing Well by Doing Good

Architel is a leading incubator of promising Metroplex technology ventures and a pillar of the Dallas community. Stewardship begins by seeing to the needs of the local community. The company’s philanthropy includes support for The Chiapas Project, TREC FightNight, and the Entrepreneurs Foundation of North Texas. We also sponsor Dallas Startup Happy Hour, the No. 1 networking event for area entrepreneurs.