Information technology at its best: how to build a flourishing IT enterprise in a competitive market.

Building a thriving business in the fast-paced, highly competitive information technology market is more demanding than ever. Many entrepreneurs struggle to find answers to help them compete. But Christian D'Andrade, the force behind CBX Technologies Inc., has built a solid reputation of implementing customized IT solutions with a single focus: to make the customer experience a positive one.

D'Andrade, 57, states that any firm can provide services, but establishing a solid reputation requires more. The president and CEO adds, "CBX remains competitive and our clients continue to come back because we adhere to a simple guideline--to consistently offer quality products and professional services at a value."

Started in 1998, CBX customizes hardware and services for telecommunication and IT business needs ranging from basic operating system requirements to savvy IT end-users and complicated corporate structures.

Today, CBX services more than 100 business and government clients, including the Department of Justice and the City of San Francisco. The 20-employee firm, which generated $5.5 million in 2006, has four satellite offices: three in California and one in Washington, D.C. Several service packages CBX offers include network design, Web-based applications, eSurveys and online statistics, e-commerce storefronts, and SQL databases.

CBX Technologies is not only securing contracts with a growing number of small to mid-sized companies, but also garnering partnerships with many of the industry's giants, including IBM, Cisco Systems, NEC, Nortel, and OKI.

So what does it take to flourish in a competitive technology market? D'Andrade explains how he applied key principles to establish his foothold in the IT arena:

1 Meet industry standards. In keeping with its commitment to deliver quality service, CBX s in the process of implementing the ISO 20000:2005, an industry standard created specifically for IT service management systems by the International Standards Organization. It will further differentiate CBX by enabling the firm to effectively streamline its process and deliver better business solutions to customers.

2 Provide superior customer service. Jerry Green, director of the Castro Valley Adult School in East Bay, California, has been a client of CBX since 1998. Green states, "I continue to do business with CBX after all these years because Chris offers superior customer service, quality products, affordable prices, and he will settle for nothing less."

Larry Stringer, superintendent of the Bureau of Street Environmental Services for the San Francisco Department of Public Works, says that working with CBX was a smart move: "I am very pleased with their work. The crew was professional, responsive, and communicative. They kept me abreast of every phase of the project,"

3 Conduct thorough research. The company's resiliency was recently put to the test when it agreed to help the City of San Francisco eliminate illegal dumping by contractors and haulers. The city's hilly terrain, weather conditions, and the need for multilevel technology made this project particularly difficult.

In preparation, the firm conducted numerous surveys and gathered extensive pre-assessment data. CBX's solution was to install eight wireless surveillance cameras throughout the Bayview Hunters Point district to successfully gather footage of illegal dumpers.