Last Thanksgiving weekend, while many were savoring turkey or planning a holiday shopping assault on local malls, Sacramento consulting firm M Corp was involved in a computer project complex enough to tax the brain of a pi-spouting mathematical genius.

The company was the primary contractor assisting in a massive database consolidation and conversion at the California Employment Development Department.

Its job: Combine 10 databases into one, converting 4 billion rows of data – some of it 30 years old – in the process. Claims records of more than 18 million people were in the mix.

Delivery of unemployment and disability benefits to more than 250,000 Californians the following week rode on the outcome … not to mention the public humiliation M Corp stood to absorb if it stumbled and benefits were cut off to needy households.

"Yeah, no pressure," recalled Chuck Czajkowski, one of M Corp's three founding partners. "But we had confidence in our people.

The confidence was well placed, it turns out. The long-weekend project came off without affecting the flow of benefits.

EDD spokesman Dan Stephens had praise for M Corp's effort, saying the company was effective at "resolving data issues and anomalies … among many other things."

The EDD conversion was just one of the highly complex information technology projects that have boosted M Corp's growth since its founding nine years ago.

In that time, employment has soared from a handful of people to more than 100. Annual revenue now tops $15 million.

A long list of state clients includes the California departments of Finance, Social Services, Health Care Services, Food and Agriculture, and Transportation.

Government entities are the bulk of M Corp's business, but the client list also includes the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op and Los Angeles-based energy giant Occidental Petroleum Corp.

M Corp says it can handle most anything from basic IT projects to the ultra-complex. It can recode, consolidate multiple databases into one, replace aging systems with state-of-the art systems, install compatible software, train staff and managers on the changes and offer management expertise to best deal with the changes.

Alex Castro, another M Corp partner, says "It's not easy to describe what we do, but if you had to boil it down, we solve problems. We create solutions. We can show you how to do your business better. And we can provide management (services)."

With the help of various high-tech partners and specialists, M Corp projects have included upgrading In-Home Supportive Services Program systems, streamlining in-state child immunization records and modernizing the California Leafy Green Marketing Agreement food-safety field audits program.

The wide-ranging projects, typically obtained through a competitive bid process, are a far cry from M Corp's humble beginnings.

Like some storied technology firms, M Corp started in a garage. In this case, it was Czajkowski's.

There, Czajkowski, Castro and the third founding partner, Hung Lee, conceived the idea of a modern consulting firm that would tap into the local and state government technology market. All three had previous consulting experience in the Sacramento area.

In 2008, M Corp moved into its current offices on Enterprise Drive, off Howe Avenue. Even today, the renovated space is small, about what you'd expect at a small used-car operation.

Czajkowski said square footage is not a high priority: "Most of our (workers) are on-site with our clients. That's where they need to be … We meet here and some off-site work is done here, but most of the important work is done on-site."

The headquarters' look is laid-back modern, but not lavish. The atmosphere is informal but professional. The partners say they have poured a sizable portion of revenue back into the company.

"We've tried to maintain our culture," said Lee, who added that "most of our business still comes from word of mouth."

New York-based marketing and branding expert Peter Schaub characterized the M Corp business model as "virtually bulletproof … Governments and businesses are under increasing pressure to develop better systems that can do more and do it quicker. So you have high demand … then the bonus of providing IT expertise to manage the systems.

"And, of course, those same systems will need to be upgraded over the years … That adds up to a steady flow of business."

The M Corp partners also say they've benefited from a staff of veteran consultants. Castro said that M Corp consultants have worked together on various projects for six to seven years – a veritable eternity in the notoriously transient high-tech consulting business.

"That's big," Czajkowski said. "We feel like we have the best people and to have them working together for that long is really a plus for us."

The partners anticipate continued growth over the next 10 years, with further expansion into national and international markets.

There are no plans to move.

"We live and work here. We love Sacramento," Czajkowski said.

That's good news for an area that has seen other companies – including multibillion-dollar Folsom trash hauler and recycler Waste Connections Inc. – move to other locales.

Schaub and other analysts characterized complex information technology as a growth industry nationwide, particularly in seats of government looking to install or upgrade computerized systems while holding the line on personnel costs.

INFORMATIONTECHNOLOGY

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