Company

Almeida & Associates had humble origins in 1995 as an institution to assist in the learning of the new Windows 95 & Office products, especially unlocking the many hidden features of Microsoft Word and Excel. A theme that has remained constant throughout the history of the company, provide technology help to the Southeastern Massachusetts community.

Stephen Almeida leveraged his already strong knowledge of computers and the Macintosh operating systems, and very quickly became proficient in Windows 95 and began conducting one on one and group training sessions. These training seminars very quickly began to attract greater numbers and in short order Mr. Almeida had a waiting list for his classes.

The training continued for several years through the very much anticipated Windows 98 release. At this time, it became clear that with this release Windows 98 was not going to be relegated solely to the home market. Many businesses, starved for affordable technology, were using Windows 98 in the business environment.

Right around this time, Mr. Almeida began to migrate the company from strictly a training enterprise into one that also offered hardware too. He began to offer custom built systems that met specific needs for end users. At this time, he brought on his first Associate.

The Millennium Bug & “The Dot Com Era” were both very influential to the firm. The hardware demands to fix some of the “bugs” that were possible in the year 2000, caused a shift in focus to the system building side. Training was still being offered, especially with the new releases of Windows NT 4.0 & Windows 2000, but was becoming a smaller part of the offerings.

More and more time was being spent showing businesses how to leverage a “network” and how to optimize these networks. Education was a key part in showing how an investment in a server could open the doors to so many additional offerings.

Education was a key part in showing how an investment in a server could open the doors to so many additional offerings.

At this point in time, a strategic shift was made to enter the emerging Technology Consulting market. Developing services for the small to midsized firms of Southeastern Massachusetts based on the models large firms had been employed. Mr. Almeida used his experience gained from consulting in the large firm arena to develop scaled down solutions for the small to midsized markets he was focusing on. He created offerings based on the HMO’s preventative care methodology, versus reacting to a crisis. He felt minimizing a company’s downtime was a far better investment in time than waiting for a client to be out of commission. At first this concept met with some resistance, but very quickly began to catch on. His roster of clients grew from only law firms, to an interesting mix of services, education, non-profit & manufacturing clients. This mix allowed Almeida & Associates to develop their unique vision of “Best Practice” offerings. These were hardware and software mixes that had been vetted for being essential, and cost effective.

Almeida & Associates was one of the leading firms to adopt the Open Source movement. The Open Source movement provided unique solutions that did not come from some of the high priced software manufacturers. Almeida & Associates training background helped create name brands for some of these unheard of companies. Many hours were focused on testing in their lab to ensure the software solutions were essential & the best for his clients. This concept is still in practice to this very day.

By the mid-2000’s clients began to request additional skill sets, so additional help was brought on. Some creative solutions were added: web site development, database creation and management, graphics & desktop publishing. These additions helped round out the team. Now with two fully integrated work streams, Almeida & Associates was able to internally offer leading edge Networking & IT infrastructure offerings, and also provide some creative solutions for companies. This added a nice mix of skill sets that has enabled Almeida & Associates to remain fresh and open to continuing trend changes in the industry.

Over the years the offerings have changed but the concepts are still the same: Offer quality service in areas that are internal strengths, partner with quality firms to deliver the additional services clients require.

Even though the company’s original training beginnings are not prominently featured, the fundamentals remain the same: Provide the best service, in a timely fashion; do not over-sell; do not compromise; ensure the client is happy; and always keep learning the new technologies coming down the pipe. This methodology has served the company, and their clients, well and will continue to set the benchmark for years to come.