Cutting Edge Trio

These three companies exemplify the drive that makes the region an innovation capital

Integrated Data Corp.

Innovation: Technology that allows the military to compress and send information via satellite to soldiers’ hand-held PDAs or vehicle computers in remote locations throughout the world. The technology is currently focused on technical information for such applications as vehicle repairs and maintenance manuals. “If you stacked up the manuals for the M1 tank, it would be taller than you are,” said retired Army Gen. Jim Ross, an IDC director. The technology also allows updates and revisions to be sent without retransmitting an entire technical document. Transmissions that used to take more than 10 hours can take less than one minute using this method, saving the military millions of dollars in satellite transmission time and freeing up bandwidth for other uses. Every manual or piece of equipment can be cataloged so that if a soldier identifies a broken part, the order can be transmitted through the software to ensure the correct piece arrives. “It’s everything from the coffeemaker on a submarine to a nuclear reactor,” said Chief Executive David Gomes.

Genesis: While working on his first venture, Gomes learned that the Marines are the largest purchaser of carbon copy paper in the country. That gave him the idea to focus the business on the military sector, where there was a need to send and update thousands of pages of technical information. IDC created an electronic catalog of technical manuals, 7 million national stock numbers and 13 million part numbers for equipment and supplies used by the Department of Defense.

Development history: Gomes started the project in L.A. with two software engineers in 1999. The company was formed in 2001 when IDC received a $100,000 Navy contract to prove that its technology could be used for cataloging and transmitting technical data for submarines on topics such as “How to clean, repair and maintain a torpedo tube.”

Obstacles overcome: Gomes started his first company in the mid-’90s. It was called eManuals, a dot-com originally conceived as an online source for all types of technical manuals. Later, when he shifted focus to the military, the challenge was standing out among thousands of defense and technology companies. Gaining access to Pentagon decision-makers was one of the most daunting tasks and Gomes, who does not have a military background, had to learn how to gain credibility. The “proof of concept” contract didn’t cover costs and IDC ran through cash and lost money on the deal. Leery of venture capital because he wanted to maintain control, Gomes funded the company himself and raised money from friends and family.

Spinoff uses: The company is moving into maps and other strategic information support for the Navy and Army. Map update transmission also has an application in the auto industry, which is now installing GPS navigation systems. Data compression and transmission technology could be used in financial transactions and legal documents, with applications for other industries that involve data transmission to remote locations.