“Only connect.” When E.M. Forster wrote these words as a preface to his novel Howard’s End in 1910, he never could have imagined just how connected the world would someday become. E-mail, IM, Internet, user interface, platforms, servers, infrastructure, websites, database, software, hardware, applications, portals … a newly coined lexicon for a rapidly and inexorably advancing technology. It’s a whole new world, literally at our fingertips. But it well may be that 10 years from now we’ll have a hard time remembering the technology that seems so cutting edge today; the extraordinarily rapid pace of technological advances can be dizzying. Fortunately, there are organizations like Artemis Solutions that can sort it all out for the business community and help us stay up to date, on course and keeping pace.

Ten years ago, John Gilkey founded Artemis Solutions. Initially, the company was focused on software development but soon added the IT consulting and development it has become noted for. For small and mid-sized companies, outsourcing IT functions makes good business sense. Artemis can provide technology solutions that give clients improved productivity, communication and marketing. By streamlining workflow, minimizing expenses, improving customer service and enabling growth, Artemis can ensure a high return on investment, and ROI (return on investment) is what it’s all about in today’s competitive business climate.

Gilkey’s interest in computers started young—very young. By the age of five, he was playing around with his family’s computer; his fascination with IT continued through his years at Holt High School and Eastern Michigan University. Self-employed since high school, it was only natural that his entrepreneurial spirit would lead him to establish his own business.

Soon after Artemis Solutions was launched, Bunmi Akinyemiju, now vice president and director of software development, joined the young company. Akinyemiju was born in Lansing when his parents were studying for their PhDs at Michigan State University, but the family moved back to their home in Nigeria when Akinyemiju was very young. At the age of 21, he returned to MSU to study. He said, “My second week here, as soon as I had registered for classes, I knew I had to find a job. I looked up IT companies in the phone book; Artemis was listed first. I called them, was immediately hired and have been with the company ever since.”

Gilkey considers his company to be an “e-business solution provider.” Working closely and cooperatively with clients to customize services, Artemis can leverage information technology and offer competitive advantages to its customers, resulting in increased market share within existing markets, growth into new markets, reduced operational costs and expanded service offerings.

Artemis Services offers both website and software development capabilities. Website development might include Internet marketing to help a business improve its presence online; website design to create a professional look and feel and strengthen brand identity; content management, allowing the client to easily add content to the website; and portals, both intranet, a private space for employees, and customer portals, allowing both customers and employees access to updated information. Software development includes e-business consulting, assisting clients to develop a technology plan best suited to their business; custom development, building custom components to automate manual tasks; business intelligence and reporting; and e-commerce, helping Artemis clients convert viewers into buyers. The preferred platform is Microsoft which they consider the most innovative with the widest range of technology. In 2005, Artemis received the Microsoft Gold Partner certification which indicated that the company has passed the highest level of requirements from Microsoft. The Artemis Solutions website gives more information on the particulars of all their highly evolved services.

According to Gilkey, “Our employees are skilled at working with clients to build exactly what they need for their particular situation. We bring technical expertise and years of experience as well as boundless creativity to our work. By building relationships with clients and working collaboratively to arrive at solutions, we ensure that the customers are getting exactly what they need. Within Artemis, our employees work both alone and in teams to bring to a project the cumulative knowledge and imagination of all our employees.”

Akinyemiju added, “The people who are part of Artemis Solutions are passionate about what we do. To us, information technology isn’t just a job. The people we hire here need more than a good education; they need to share our passion for the work. I think it’s safe to say that you’ll find that when our employees leave ‘work,’ they go home to their own computers to continue learning and growing.”

“IT is constantly changing. Every day brings new technology; six months from now, we’ll be working with technologies that are unknown today.”

Gilkey added, “We keep up with the latest and greatest so our clients don’t have to. By continually growing our own expertise, we bring state-of-the-art solutions to our customers. Without funding and supporting an in-house IT staff themselves, they still have access to the best technology going. We continue to work with them as long as necessary after the implementation to make sure everything works smoothly and gives them the best results.

“I hate being told ‘you can’t do it.’ I take that as a challenge. Artemis will figure out a way to deliver a technological solution for every need.”

Partnering with Artemis Solutions is Nuwave Technology, a company based in Kalamazoo and focused on telecommunications. Founded by Rick Paalman 30 years ago, he and his sons Chad and Kyle bring a wealth of experience in business telephone systems. The joint venture brings the cumulative knowledge of highly specialized but interwoven technologies together for the benefit of the business client.

Gilkey anticipates that Artemis will continue to flourish; last year the growth rate was over 40 percent, and he sees that same kind of growth continuing into the future. Their client list currently includes such local and statewide entities as BEANER’S®, Common Ground Festival, General Motors Renaissance Center, Michigan Education Trust Fund, Lansing Center, Douglas J Salon and the Greater Lansing Center & Visitors Bureau, among many other recognizable names.

In an increasingly connected world, Artemis Solutions keeps its finger on the pulse of progress and is positioned to provide a customized and elegant blue print for an organization’s technological needs.

Author: Jane Whittington
Photography: Roger Boettcher