People that love computers, really love computers, and it’s that passion that creates some of the best modern business success stories. Bill Gates, the world’s richest man and the chairman of Microsoft, started as a computer whiz, and turned a good idea into an empire. Steve Jobs­­ created Apple, revolutionized personal computing, and is now an industry leader and Microsoft’s biggest threat. Google cofounder Larry Page grew up in our own backyard, with computer savvy parents who instilled the notion that technology is king. The list could go on and on, people who have pioneered the information revolution that’s catapulting us into the 21^st century.

Growing up in this digital age, Scott McAuley fostered a love for computers. He grew up fixing his friends’ computers, the big clunky kind that dotted the early ’80s landscape. He’d tinker with them for hours on end, teaching himself as much as he could along the way. This curiosity would lead him to continue working in the field, and eventually to develop what is now MC Squared Technology Group.

The business started in late 2005, when McAuley and then-partner Duane McGill (Get it? “Mc” squared?) began with a focus in IT, or information technology. IT is basically the setting up of computer and information systems. “I would go out and install networks, maintain networks and keep hardware running,” McAuley explained. “Eventually, we started doing websites.” As evolution would have it, McGill ended up leaving the business, and McAuley brought in a new partner, Marc Francouer. The two share a background in training, so with new energy they turned the company in another direction.

“Marc has been instrumental in developing the UAW/Ford program,” McAuley said, referring to what now takes up most of the time for this young business. MC Squared Technology Group is now in the training game, designing and producing software and material for companies like Ford who need to teach their workers new computer skills. “The majority of our work is with UAW/Ford, teaching hourly employees personal enrichment courses,” McAuley said. “We are responsible for developing courseware, scheduling, marketing and delivering classes at Ford plants.”

But McAuley stated he and his partners (they’ve also added Willis Semens II to manage the Web side of the business) noticed a gap in the market. There were all kinds of programs to teach basic computer skills, but not enough companies offering a custom product. With that they branched further with software called Edge. “We can do scenario-based training, soft skills training, custom marketing,” McAuley said, “any type of communication a company wants to share with its employees, customers, vendors or everyone they ‘touch’…. We also have the ability to develop quizzes, questionnaires or exams based upon the customer’s needs.”

Edge also utilizes the convenience of virtual, on-demand training. “The feature that excites us is deliverability,” McAuley said. “This product can be delivered across the Web, [by] CD or DVD.” Because of this, it’s available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whenever a client might want it.

That convenience factor will continue to steer technology. “The Internet will allow us to do business around the world regardless of location,” McAuley said. “I firmly believe the world is shrinking as technology expands. We will be able to do more with less as we leverage technology to help us daily.”

McAuley stated MC Squared Technology Group will be expanding during the next year as well. With 12 employees in all, he said they will likely add another three to four more.

McAuley and people like him will continue to spearhead the digital age, and drive where technology will take us. “I get excited when we think of new ways to use technology to help solve our problems,” he added. Combing a passion for computers with an entrepreneurial spirit is usually a winning combination.

Author: Kate Carolan Reed
Photography: Roger Boettcher