Guidance Solutions

Infobox company
company_name = Guidance Solutions, Inc.
company_
company_type = Private
foundation = California, USA (1993)
location_city = 4134 Del Rey Ave.,
Marina del Rey, CA
location_country = USA
key_people = Jason Meugniot, CEO & Owner
Jon Provisor, CTO & Owner
Anna Kennedy, Exec. Vice President
Jon Larsen, Vice President
industry = IT & Internet Services
services = eCommerce
Social commerce
Web development
Hosting & Managed Services
eMarketing
homepage = [http://www.guidance.com/ www.guidance.com]
footnotes =

Guidance Solutions, Inc., abbreviated Guidance, is an eCommerce development company that builds and maintains online stores. Headquartered in Marina del Rey, Calif., Guidance specializes in all three layers of the eCommerce experience – user interface, order management and order fulfillment – providing fully integrated and customized eCommerce solutions.

Guidance clients include Foot Locker, Relax The Back, Hyundai, Bentley Prince Street, Z Gallerie and A.C. Moore.

History

Beginnings

Guidance was founded in Hawthorne, California in 1993 by Joe Tang, Pillan Thirumalaisamy and Vijay Kotrappa. The company was initially launched as a systems integrator rooted in enterprise technology, delivering custom business solutions using client-server technology. [" [http://www.guidance.com/about.asp About Guidance] ." Guidance. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.] [" [http://www.guidance.com/history.asp Company History] ." Guidance. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.] Within three years, the company established itself as an eBusiness developer for Fortune 1000 and mid-market clients.

From 1995 to 1998, the company focused strictly on Internet technology, and achieved early market recognition for its web application development. During this time, the company launched some of the first eCommerce sites - including that of international sports apparel retailer, Foot Locker - and began offering managed services for application support.

In 1999, the company raised more than $46 million led by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice [" [http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/12-30-1999/0001105472&EDATE= Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Fund Completes Investment in Guidance Solutions] ." [http://www.prnewswire.com "PR Newswire"] , (1999-12-30).] and began taking equity in joint ventures with clients. Later that year, the company built its Marina del Rey Campus - a converted warehouse retrofitted with modern architecture and open pod seating, created by the same firm that designed MTV’s L.A. offices, Felderman Keatinge + Associates.

By 2003, Guidance earned the Microsoft’s Managed Partner distinction and in 2006 it achieved the Microsoft Gold Certified Partner status. [" [http://www.guidance.com/press.asp?release=20060131 Guidance Attains Gold Certified Partner Status in Microsoft Partner Program] ." Guidance, (2006-01-31).] During this time, the company became nationally recognized as a leader of Lotus Notes migrations to Microsoft platform, and focused on eCommerce, content management solutions, hosting and managed services, and business intelligence.

Present Day

In February 2008, Guidance employees purchased the company back from its founders. [" [http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS136285+20-Feb-2008+BW20080220 Guidance Employees Purchase Company from Founders] ." [http://www.reuters.com "Reuters"] ] , (2008-02-20).] The company is currently owned by Jason Meugniot, Guidance’s CEO, and Jon Provisor, the company’s CTO.

Guidance has now centered its focus on eCommerce solutions and has become one of the first to develop, support and promote social commerce, a subset of eCommerce in which the active participation of customers and their personal relationships are at the forefront.

ervices

eCommerce

Since 1997, Guidance has specialized in eCommerce development, offering a variety of services and solutions to design and develop online retail sites, including: [" [http://www.guidance.com/ecommerce.asp eCommerce] ." Guidance. Retrieved on 2008-06-10.]

* "Site Definition" – user interface, software architecture, database architecture, external system integration, system and network architecture, implementation planning, hosting and managed services recommendations
* "Site Development" - user experience development, infrastructure set-up, code implementation, testing and certification
* "Application and System Support" - production monitoring, application and database management, ongoing enhancements, issue resolution, stress testing
* "Reporting" - website traffic reports, order conversion, cart abandonment, repeat customer analysis
* "Hosting & Managed Services" - care and feeding of websites
* "eMarketing" - search engine optimization (SEO), email marketing, merchandising, affiliate marketing

ocial Commerce

To address the increase in popularity of social networking sites [" [http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=906 Social Networking Sites Continue to Attract Record Numbers as Myspace.Com Surpasses 50 Million U.S. Visitors in May] ." [http://www.comscore.com "comScore"] ] , 2006-06-15.] and acceptance of social software, Guidance worked with clients like Skwibble to acquire experience in social technology development. In early 2008, the company began testing the integration of social applications and eCommerce to develop social commerce solutions, which allow online retail sites to provide shoppers with the ability to interact and share information with other shoppers.

Other Services

The company also specializes in Business Intelligence [" [http://www.guidance.com/business.asp Business Intelligence] ." Guidance. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.] , and .NET integration and customization [" [http://www.guidance.com/netintegration.asp .NET Integration and Customization] ." Guidance. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.] .

Corporate Affairs

Current Executives

Current members of Guidance’s executive team are: [" [http://www.guidance.com/management.asp Company Management] ." Guidance. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.]

* Jason Meugniot, CEO & Owner
* Jon Provisor, CTO & Owner
* Anna Kennedy, Executive Vice President
* Jon Larsen, Vice President

Logos

Guidance Green

In March 2007, Guidance created Guidance Green, a committee formed by Guidance employees who value the importance of living and working in a healthy planet. [Espinosa, Alejandra. [http://guidancegreen.blogspot.com/2008/04/earth-day-20-years-in-making.html "Earth Day: 20 Years in the Making"] . [http://www.guidancegreen.org "Guidance Green"] . (2008-04-22)] The committee was established to help the company meet a specific goal: to operate as an environmentally aware, 100% carbon-neutral company by 2009. In January 2008, Guidance Green announced that the company achieved carbon-neutrality in 2007, a full 18 months ahead of its goal. [" [http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS139809+16-Jan-2008+BW20080116 Guidance Achieves Carbon Neutrality, Marks Several Green Milestones in 2007] ." "Reuters", (2008-01-16).]

Guidance Green was inspired by one of its clients, Bentley Prince Street, a U.S. manufacturer of broadloom and carpet tile products for commercial interiors. Bentley Prince Street supports environmental practices through its Mission Zero™ goal of eliminating any negative impact it has on the environment by the year 2020. [" [http://www.bpsrugs.com/MissionZero.aspx Bentley Prince Street’s Mission Zero™ Promise] ." [http://www.bpsrugs.com Bentley Prince Street] . Retrieved on 2008-06-05.]

Guidance Green continues its mission to help Guidance operate as an environmentally conscious company and now seeks to spread the word among clients, partners and the community in general in support of eco-friendly practices. In February 2008, the company published an online environmental toolkit titled "How To Operate as an Environmentally Aware Organization and Reduce or Eliminate Your Carbon Footprint". [" [http://www.guidance.com/press.asp?release=20080206 Guidance Offers Best-Practices Guide to Help Companies Go Green] ." Guidance, (2008-02-06).]

ee also

* eCommerce
* Social commerce
* Web development
* Web hosting service
* eMarketing

References and footnotes

External links

* [http://www.guidance.com/ Guidance official website]
* [http://www.meugniot.com/ Guidance CEO - Jason Meugniot's official blog]
* [http://www.guidancegreen.org/ Guidance Green official website]
* [http://www.guidancegreen.blogspot.com// Guidance Green's official blog]
* [http://www.guidance.com/images/green/guidance_green_toolkit.pdf Guidance Green Toolkit]