October 5, 2000
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Today, John Gilliom, Ph.D., president, announced the formation of a new software solutions company, Municipal Software Solutions, Inc., M2SI. M2SI will develop, market and distribute a suite of software products called eWacker.
This software suite is aimed at the local municipal government markets, offering greater efficiency in permitting, bill paying, vendor relations, collections and other functions of local governments
The first product introduction from the suite will be a software package called PermitWacker. According to company CEO, Paul Thibodaux, PermitWacker brings the permitting and inspection processes into the 21st century by using state-of-the-art software technology to streamline those functions. “PermitWacker literally ‘wacks’ red tape and time consuming activities out of the permitting process,” Thibodaux said. “Further, this will be the first time software of this caliber and quality will be available to local governments and permitting authorities at an affordable price.”
The software will be introduced into the market with a cost of $5,000 for an average sized municipality. Beta testing will begin within 30 days and product availability is expected within 90 days. Pre-launch sales began today.
When asked why the need for a new company and a new suite of software for local governments, Gilliom said, “Municipal governments are under intense pressure to improve their level of service and responsiveness. The benchmark of today’s top municipal governments is their efforts to provide quality services along with quality of life for the citizens they serve. Successful communities are often also communities of rapid growth that places even more pressure on municipal services. Finding more efficient and cost effective ways to provide services is an ever-growing challenge. Private industry has long discovered investing in computer-based information systems is more efficient in every way than merely increasing staff. Progressive municipal governments need the right software solutions at affordable prices from a company that will offer them quality support to allow them to excel in this new environment. Our company will do that. And we’ll do it better at less cost than any other company yet in the market.”
While the first product from M2SI’s eWacker suite is the PermitWacker software package, other products will follow. Future additions will include software that facilitates and streamlines billing, collections and vendor interactions for municipalities.
There are four principals in the newly formed company. John Gilliom, president of M2SI, is a PhD from Purdue University having done major research in the area of auditory perception. His research required, among other things, the development of computer based control systems for sound. He was also with the University of Alabama faculty for 10 years where he conducted human engineering research and taught. Gilliom has formed and successfully operated several companies including one as a traditional computer value-added reseller and most recently, an information systems consulting firm.
Paul Thibodaux, M2SI’s chief executive officer, was formerly with Diebold, Inc., a banking equipment and technology leader. He headed training, evaluation and technical support in the southern U.S. He was also previously with Trans Union Corporation as a project and technologies director for two of their acquisitions companies, and senior manager of technologies for their flood determination division.
Doug Murdock is the executive director of regional operations for M2SI. Originally from Massachusetts, Murdock has worked in municipal government for 19 years. He was recently named Building Official of the Year for the state of Florida at their annual conference in May of this year. He has been chairman of the Florida Board of Building Codes and Standards; vice chairman of the Florida Building Commission; chairman of the General Design Committee with Southern Building Code Congress International; member of the Wind load Design Committee; and the International Code Council Correlation Committee. He is the immediate past president of the Building Officials Association of Florida.
Tom Ashworth, executive director of technical support for M2SI has been developing and supporting municipal software for 15 years. Building on academic work completed at the University of Alabama, he is current in visual basic and SQL databases. He is formerly the assistant director of Computer Services for Southern Building Code Congress International. He has co-authored 13 separate data base applications for federal, state, and local governments in the Southeast and Midwest consisting of more than 1,000 different programs. Ashworth has also conducted quarterly training classes at the University of Alabama in Birmingham and taught yearly computer courses at Texas A & M University.
M2SI’s marketing strategy will include a product launch in the southeastern U.S. with rapid expansion to other national markets.
For more information contact:
JOHN GILLIOM, president @ 205.945.0094 ext 521