dbaDIRECT’s co-founder and chief executive officer, John Bostick knows how to cook up business… literally. A trained culinary artist, Bostick has been known to invite potential clients or new hires to the Jungle Jim’s demonstration kitchen in Fairfield, OH where he occasionally teaches a cooking class to help build trust in his company as well as close a few deals.
This spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship has helped dbaDIRECT build itself into a world leader in the field of remote database administration (RDA). RDA is essentially the management, upkeep and support of the massive gigabytes of sensitive information that runs through the world’s databases every minute of every day. dbaDIRECT was one of the first companies to understand that remote management of those systems was going to be essential to the global market and staked its place as an industry leader early on.
Founded in 1999, dbaDIRECT now has over 100 customers and manages over 3,000 databases worldwide with additional global operations centers in Hamilton, Ohio, Banglaore, India and Schenzhen, China. Drawn to Northern Kentucky because of its proximity to higher education resources, a global airport and favorable cost of living, the company has continued to thrive creating a bevy of high paying jobs (the company employs over 130 highly skilled workers) as well as serving as an anchor to the region’s growing technology sector.
dbaDIRECT’s success comes through collaboration. CEO and founder, John Bostick’s close relationship with Northern Kentucky University President, James Vortruba resulted in the creation of the Infrastructure Management Institute, a collaborative research and learning center designed to promote innovative IT management solutions specifically surrounding security, IT Operations, service and network management and emerging technology.
“NKU realizes that its long term survival is dependent on the value it contributes to the community and they work hard at it,” says dbaDIRECT spokesperson Brian Hennigan. “The formation of the Institute helped to start the attraction of high-tech sectors into this area.”
dbaDIRECT’s connection with the Institute has helped in retaining a strong talent pool in the region. “The Institute at NKU, as well as their College of Informatics ties the curriculum to what local companies may need graduates to be familiar with,” says Hennigan. This specialized knowledge leads to internships and new hires coming from dbaDIRECT’s own back yard. “We hire a lot of NKU alum out of the College of Informatics. It’s one of the best ways to find the next wave of talent.”
And how successful is it to have a CEO in the kitchen? If the timing works out and a potential client or new hire is in town when Bostick is teaching, you can bet they are going to have a front row seat to his demonstration. Not only is this an innovative approach to relationship building, it also results in a well fed customer. As Hennigan remarks, “It’s all about having a good idea that attracts talent and money."