Proxicom
Encyclopedia
Proxicom, Inc. was an interactive agency that develops custom-tailored interactive and web-enabled solutions for Global 1000 organizations. Founded in 1991 by American
entrepreneur
and philanthropist Raul Fernandez (entrepreneur)
, Proxicom was one of the original interactive professional services organizations from the dot com
era. Proxicom provided creative, strategic, technical, analytical and marketing solution
s across a number of industries including: Automotive, Financial Services
, Retail & Consumer Goods (CPG
), Healthcare, Technology
& Media
, Government
, Energy
& Utilities, and Industrial Materials & Goods.
. The original founder and CEO was Raul Fernandez. During the mid- and late nineties, Proxicom focused on the design and development of websites for companies including MCI
, America Online, Marriott
, Prudential
, Morgan Stanley
, and ExxonMobil
.
In 1998, Proxicom purchased two organizations based on the west coast of the United States. The first acquisition was Ibis Consulting, a technical integration firm located in San Francisco, California
. The second purchase was a user experience and creative design boutique entitled Ad Hoc based in Sausalito, California
. With these additions, Proxicom had a nationwide presence with 7 office locations and more than 1,500 personnel.
On April 14, 1999, Proxicom became a publicly traded organization listed on the NASDAQ
stock exchange under the trading symbol PXCM. This IPO netted Proxicom investors $58.5 million and Proxicom became known as one of the “little five” — competing against MarchFirst
/CKS-Web, Sapient, Scient
, and Viant
— within the interactive consulting arena.
Proxicom had more than $200 million in revenues in 2000 with approximately 1,700 workers.
.
, purchased Proxicom from Dimension Data. In 2005, Proxicom expanded its industry offerings through the purchase of a healthcare services firm, Daou Systems, Inc. Through diligent management and financial oversight, Proxicom leadership and the Gores Group successfully navigated the hurdles of the .com era to reestablish Proxicom within the interactive agency space.
and industry insights, end-user scenarios and testing, prioritized business requirements, and measurable analytics
.
and development, creative/interface/web design
, rich internet application
/Flash
design, information architecture
, interface usability
analysis and testing, online ad design, and marketing integration.
(SEO), search engine marketing
(SEM), online media, planning and buying, emerging technologies development and execution, affiliate program development, and e-mail
campaign creation/management.
(s), coding techniques, content management systems (CMS), databases, security protocols, hardware
, and third party tools.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
and philanthropist Raul Fernandez (entrepreneur)
Raul Fernandez (entrepreneur)
Raul J. Fernandez is an American entrepreneur. He is currently Chairman and CEO of ObjectVideo, and co-owner of the NHL Washington Capitals, the NBA Washington Wizards, and the WNBA Washington Mystics.- Historic roots :...
, Proxicom was one of the original interactive professional services organizations from the dot com
Dot-com bubble
The dot-com bubble was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2000 during which stock markets in industrialized nations saw their equity value rise rapidly from growth in the more...
era. Proxicom provided creative, strategic, technical, analytical and marketing solution
Solution
In chemistry, a solution is a homogeneous mixture composed of only one phase. In such a mixture, a solute is dissolved in another substance, known as a solvent. The solvent does the dissolving.- Types of solutions :...
s across a number of industries including: Automotive, Financial Services
Financial services
Financial services refer to services provided by the finance industry. The finance industry encompasses a broad range of organizations that deal with the management of money. Among these organizations are credit unions, banks, credit card companies, insurance companies, consumer finance companies,...
, Retail & Consumer Goods (CPG
Fast Moving Consumer Goods
Fast moving consumer goods or Consumer Packaged Goods are products that are sold quickly and at relatively low cost. Examples include non-durable goods such as soft drinks, toiletries, and grocery items...
), Healthcare, Technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
& Media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
, Government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
, Energy
Energy
In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...
& Utilities, and Industrial Materials & Goods.
Overview
Proxicom, originally known as Proxima, was a systems integrator based in Reston, VirginiaReston, Virginia
Reston is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, within the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The population was 58,404, at the 2010 Census and 56,407 at the 2000 census...
. The original founder and CEO was Raul Fernandez. During the mid- and late nineties, Proxicom focused on the design and development of websites for companies including MCI
MCI Communications
MCI Communications Corp. was an American telecommunications company that was instrumental in legal and regulatory changes that led to the breakup of the AT&T monopoly of American telephony and ushered in the competitive long-distance telephone industry. It was headquartered in Washington,...
, America Online, Marriott
Marriott International
Marriott International, Inc. is a worldwide operator and franchisor of a broad portfolio of hotels and related lodging facilities. Founded by J. Willard Marriott, the company is now led by son J.W. Marriott, Jr...
, Prudential
Prudential Financial
The Prudential Insurance Company of America , also known as Prudential Financial, Inc., is a Fortune Global 500 and Fortune 500 company whose subsidiaries provide insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services to both retail and institutional customers throughout the...
, Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City serving a diversified group of corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. Morgan Stanley also operates in 36 countries around the world, with over 600 offices and a workforce of over 60,000....
, and ExxonMobil
ExxonMobil
Exxon Mobil Corporation or ExxonMobil, is an American multinational oil and gas corporation. It is a direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil company, and was formed on November 30, 1999, by the merger of Exxon and Mobil. Its headquarters are in Irving, Texas...
.
In 1998, Proxicom purchased two organizations based on the west coast of the United States. The first acquisition was Ibis Consulting, a technical integration firm located in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. The second purchase was a user experience and creative design boutique entitled Ad Hoc based in Sausalito, California
Sausalito, California
Sausalito is a San Francisco Bay Area city, in Marin County, California, United States. Sausalito is south-southeast of San Rafael, at an elevation of 13 feet . The population was 7,061 as of the 2010 census. The community is situated near the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge, and prior to...
. With these additions, Proxicom had a nationwide presence with 7 office locations and more than 1,500 personnel.
On April 14, 1999, Proxicom became a publicly traded organization listed on the NASDAQ
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
stock exchange under the trading symbol PXCM. This IPO netted Proxicom investors $58.5 million and Proxicom became known as one of the “little five” — competing against MarchFirst
MarchFirst
marchFIRST, Inc. was a short-lived international systems integrator and internet consulting company at the tail end of the dot-com boom. marchFIRST was a Nasdaq traded public company whose peak stock price reached $52...
/CKS-Web, Sapient, Scient
Scient
Scient was a San Francisco-based Internet consulting company, founded in 1997, that was one of the large American consulting firms during the dot-com bubble. The company was founded by Eric Greenberg, who had previously founded its competitor, Viant. Its CEO was Robert Howe, the former head of IBM...
, and Viant
Viant
Viant Inc. was a San Francisco-based Internet consulting firm, founded in April 1996, that became one of the most successful web consulting firms during the early stages of the Internet era.-History:...
— within the interactive consulting arena.
Proxicom had more than $200 million in revenues in 2000 with approximately 1,700 workers.
The Dot Com Bubble
In April 2001, Proxicom was purchased by Dimension Data, a South African based networking services company. Dimension Data focused on the design, development, and construction of networking systems for global organizations. The goal of the Proxicom purchase was to quickly establish a services practice and brand presence within the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The Rebirth
The year 2004 brought new life to Proxicom as The Gores Group LLC (Gores' Web Site), a privately held investment firm based in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, purchased Proxicom from Dimension Data. In 2005, Proxicom expanded its industry offerings through the purchase of a healthcare services firm, Daou Systems, Inc. Through diligent management and financial oversight, Proxicom leadership and the Gores Group successfully navigated the hurdles of the .com era to reestablish Proxicom within the interactive agency space.
Today
Proxicom was acquired by iCrossing in mid-2007. The Proxicom brand has been once again retired.Interactive Strategy & Optimization
Proxicom provides strategic services using a combination of marketingMarketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
and industry insights, end-user scenarios and testing, prioritized business requirements, and measurable analytics
Analytics
Analytics is the application of computer technology, operational research, and statistics to solve problems in business and industry. Analytics is carried out within an information system: while, in the past, statistics and mathematics could be studied without computers and software, analytics has...
.
Creative Design & User Experience
Proxicom offers a number of services focused around brand strategy, brand designDesign
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
and development, creative/interface/web design
Web design
Web design is the process of planning and creating a website. Text, images, digital media and interactive elements are used by web designers to produce the page seen on the web browser...
, rich internet application
Rich Internet application
A Rich Internet Application is a Web application that has many of the characteristics of desktop application software, typically delivered either by way of a site-specific browser, via a browser plug-in, independent sandboxes, extensive use of JavaScript, or virtual machines...
/Flash
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
design, information architecture
Information Architecture
Information architecture is the art of expressing a model or concept of information used in activities that require explicit details of complex systems. Among these activities are library systems, Content Management Systems, web development, user interactions, database development, programming,...
, interface usability
Usability
Usability is the ease of use and learnability of a human-made object. The object of use can be a software application, website, book, tool, machine, process, or anything a human interacts with. A usability study may be conducted as a primary job function by a usability analyst or as a secondary job...
analysis and testing, online ad design, and marketing integration.
Marketing Services
Proxicom claims to offer services like search engine optimizationSearch engine optimization
Search engine optimization is the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in search engines via the "natural" or un-paid search results...
(SEO), search engine marketing
Search engine marketing
Search engine marketing, , is a form of Internet marketing that seeks to promote websites by increasing their visibility in search engine result pages through the use of paid placement, contextual advertising, and paid inclusion...
(SEM), online media, planning and buying, emerging technologies development and execution, affiliate program development, and e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
campaign creation/management.
Technology, Development & Systems Integration
Proxicom designs, builds, integrates and maintains applications. These solutions are developed through the use of technologies encompassing the latest technical architectureTechnical architecture
Technical architecture is one of several architecture domains that form the pillars of an enterprise architecture or solution architecture. It describes the structure and behaviour of the technology infrastructure of an enterprise, solution or system...
(s), coding techniques, content management systems (CMS), databases, security protocols, hardware
Hardware
Hardware is a general term for equipment such as keys, locks, hinges, latches, handles, wire, chains, plumbing supplies, tools, utensils, cutlery and machine parts. Household hardware is typically sold in hardware stores....
, and third party tools.
Sample of Clients
Automotive
Financial Services
Retail & Consumer Goods
Healthcare
|
Technology & Media
Government
Energy & Utilities
Industrial Materials & Goods
|
External links
- Daou - Daou's Home Page
- The Gores Group - The Gores Group Home Page