Doran Jones co-CEO Keith Klain began forming visions of creating an outsourcing powerhouse on the banks of the Harlem River as he flew from New York City to places like India, Eastern Europe and Singapore to visit offshore software consulting company vendors. Why travel halfway around the world, he wondered, when you can set up a facility a mere seven miles from midtown, where many of the company’s financial-services clients’ offices are?
And so Doran Jones—named after co-founders Glenn Jones (who has since left the firm) and current co-CEO Matt Doran—set up its technology hub in a warehouse on East 138th Street. From this location, directly across the East River from Rikers Island, Doran Jones is reimagining the idea of offshore staffing by running a profitable business using local employees.
“We want to be the onshore outsourcing alternative to India,” says Klain.
In September, Doran Jones opened its 15,000-square-foot IT facility in partnership with Per Scholas Inc., a national nonprofit that teaches tech skills to people in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. The office has the feel of a tech startup: open-plan seating, TVs for webcasting, whiteboards and a Playstation in the break room.
Read Complete Article