rockITdata shoots for success with SBA’s pandemic programs
Marlene (Marlie) Andersch is the founder/CEO of rockITdata, a remote company headquartered in Philadelphia. Founded in 2019, rockITdata is an Asian-Pacific American minority-, woman-, and service-disabled veteran-owned small business, providing IT consulting services and mission support/training to the government and commercial sectors.
rockITdata is an AWS (Amazon Web Services) Advanced Tier Partner and Public Sector Service Provider in the cloud integration market. Focusing on AWS and Salesforce capabilities, rockITdata uses advanced AI (Artificial Intelligence) & ML (Machine Learning) capabilities and has developed their own proprietary contact center as a service (CCaaS) solution, rockITCX. The company's innovative solutions elevate customer support experiences for public sector agencies of all sizes, while delivering cloud infrastructure scalability. In addition, rockITdata has a talent acquisition team to meet their clients’ needs.
Marlie, an Air Force Veteran with over 30 years of technology experience, climbed the corporate ladder at other technology companies before working with a Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to start her own business. The SBDC helped in the development of a business plan.
In 2019 rockITdata started with a handful of employees in two states, growing to 113 employees in 24 different states in three years. The company has seen exponential increases in annual revenue and was able to weather the pandemic through the help of SBA’s emergency capital Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan. After 2020, the company saw a 280% increase in revenue coming in at over $6 million in 2021 revenue.
Andersch developed a Rookie Program at rockITdata to provide veterans and military spouses technical skillsets to equip them for flexible careers. The cohort provides training and hands-on experience in the fast-paced and growing industry of Salesforce and AWS technologies and was recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor as a 2022 Platinum HIRE Vets Medallion Award Recipient. The award recognizes an organization’s commitment to recruiting, employing, and retaining veterans.
“It’s a privilege to recognize the achievements of leading veteran-owned Eastern Pennsylvania tech businesses like rockITdata,” said Steve Dixel, SBA Eastern Pennsylvania District Director. “Marlie and her company have experienced tremendous growth through the pursuit of prime opportunities and subcontract teaming. I’m proud of the role her local Small Business Development Center played in helping her start her business as well as the SBA COVID-19 relief program that helped sustain rockITdata and its employees during the pandemic.”
“The SBDC’s counseling helped start the business and the SBA’s PPP loan helped sustain it,” said Marlene Andersch, Founder/CEO, rockITdata. “As a service-disabled veteran, I am proud my company employs veterans and supports their career goals.”
Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) are the most comprehensive small business assistance network in the United States and its territories with a mission is to help start and grow small businesses. SBDCs are hosted by leading universities, colleges, state economic development agencies and private partners, and funded in part through a partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration. There are nearly 1,000 local centers available to provide no-cost business consulting and low-cost training to new and existing businesses. Learn more about SBDCs at https://americassbdc.org/.