March 19, 2008 -- "No one wants to wait for information anymore," Lamb said. "People want the Web to do more technical things than your standardized e-commerce."
Demand for business intelligence could be PM&L Inc.'s big break for 2008.
A year ago, the Rochester-based software company launched a Web-based product that makes statistics easier to understand to help drive business growth.
"Everything gets measured, but if you don't have the tools you don't know how to increase efficiency," said Craig Lamb, the company's chief information officer.
PM&L is hoping to capitalize on last fall's acquisition by software giant SAP AG of Business Objects SA. That deal spurred interest in business intelligence as companies look to beef up their computer systems with more complex processes, allowing them to quickly track data and translate information.
PM&L, named for founders Mike Pullano, David Mastrella and Lamb, said it is the only service partner for Business Objects in western New York.
According to a 2007-08 trend report from the Society of Information Management, business intelligence was rated as one the top applications in technology development.
"No one wants to wait for information anymore," Lamb said. "People want the Web to do more technical things than your standardized e-commerce."
The company's product, webalect, is a software application that allows the user to create custom Web sites with basic computer skills, and compile statistical data that can interact with other Web-based programs.
Mark McMillan, owner and president of McMillan Marine on Irondequoit Bay, has used PM&L technology to redesign his site three times, but what he likes about webalect is that he can do everything himself.
"If you don't know what you're doing, you can get lost in that jungle," said McMillan, who plans to launch a new site later this week.
"The more I do, the more discoveries I make, which can help me better position my business on the Web," he said.
Depending on the types of intelligence features that the client needs, PM&L's software can start at $3,000 and jump to more than $50,000.
The primary users of the system are midsized organizations such as the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Pittsford Federal Credit Union and the Stafford Volunteer Fire Department in Genesee County. by Daniel Wallace • Staff writer •
But the majority of PM&L's business comes from downstate, stemming from contacts the partners made in starting the company in 1998.
In the last three years, the company has grown from six employees to 15. Lamb did not disclose revenues but said PM&L has grown each year.
When he thinks about the company's beginnings and how far it has come in its product offerings, he sounds a bit surprised.
"It wasn't supposed to go as well as it did," Lamb said.
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