Biddeford tech consultant sees rapid growth in mid-market demand

The founding partners of ATX Advisory Services are posing at a counter.

Photo/ Courtesy ATX Advisory Services Mark DiGiovanni and Brendan Abbott started ATX in 2013.

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Since it launched in 2013, a full-service technology consulting firm has seen 30% year-over-year revenue growth and an accompanying increase in its workforce.

To accommodate the expansion, ATX Advisory Services bought a 10,812-square-foot office building at 43 Landry St. in Biddeford from Biddeford Investment Partners LLC for $1 million.

The transaction was arranged on behalf of the seller by Drew Sigfridson and Reese McFarlane of the Boulos Co. and on behalf of the buyer by Dan Roche of Kennebunk Beach Realty.

“We continue to hire,” said Mark DiGiovanni, who started the company with his business partner Brendan Abbott. “We have four people since we’ve been in the space which is two months now. We anticipate we’ll grow our team to about 50 people over the next two years.”

ATX is a full-service technology consulting firm that collaborates with businesses to define strategy and deliver on technology needs.

The exterior of ATX's new building is a nice brick facade.

Photo/ Courtesy ATX Advisory Services

ATX Advisory Services moved to 43 Landry St. in Biddeford to accommodate a fast-growing team.

Services include helping clients to identify and implement the right technology and software specific to their needs. It provides data warehousing, analytics, support services, project management and more.

Maxed out

DiGiovanni has over 25 years of experience in the field. With Abbott, his goal was to create “a nimble, full-service consulting firm that works collaboratively with dynamic mid-market businesses” through “personal, small-company service and relationships.”

Each had worked with larger firms before starting ATX.

“We grew slowly at the beginning,” he said. “It was just the two of us the first two or three years.”

Both worked virtually from their homes, DiGiovanni in Kennebunk and Abbott in Wrentham, Mass.

They added two or three hires incrementally, then opened a small office in Wells.

The number continued to grow.

Today the firm numbers just over 30 employees. Even with some working remotely, the team outgrew its office at 118 Alfred St.

“It was a pretty small office but it allowed us to hire people in Maine and start to develop more of a team,” he said

The office maxed out at about six people, so ATX moved in 2019 to 118 Alfred St. in Biddeford.

“That space was great for us,” he said. “We had a little more room for up to 12 or 15 people with staggered schedules. That worked okay.”

Today, the staff is a little over 30 people.

Repeat business

DiGiovanni credits the growth rate to strong client relationships and a lot of repeat business. The clientele is spread out nationally, with about half in the Northeast and several in other countries.

Client companies range in size from 50 to 500 employees.

“They usually come to us when they need to make a major technology investment,” he said. “A common example would be when someone decides to overhaul their technology environment. Knowing what’s out there for software, how to integrate it with their systems, how to get their team onboard — we help them manage the change.”

The interior of ATX's new location has desks and conference rooms.

Photo/ Courtesy ATX Advisory Services

Fit-up included new paint, carpeting and ceiling tiles and updating the break room, training room and conference rooms.

By early 2023, the partners decided to look for a larger location that would allow their growing team to be in the office for at least some of the time, with the idea of providing a desk for those who want one but expecting that some employees would still want to work remotely.

More hiring planned

Search priorities included a building of over 5,000 square feet with parking. The size would accommodate individual desk space plus collaborative space such as conference rooms.

They wanted to be in or near Biddeford.

“We didn’t want to change people’s commutes significantly,” he said.

The 43 Landry St. single-story office building, on 2.14 acres, dates to 1986 and has 120 parking spaces. It’s about half a mile from Exit 32 off I-95.

The building was in nice shape but needed some fit-up for ATX to move in. That included installing new paint, carpeting and ceiling tiles and updating the breakroom, training room, and conference rooms. Two EV chargers were added and more are planned. The company is looking into adding a rooftop solar array. The investment has been in excess of $200,000. The acquisition and rehab were financed by the sale of 118 Alfred St. and a loan through Maine Community Bank.

The staff moved in while work was underway and a ribbon-cutting was held May 30. More hiring is planned, said DiGiovanni, and the company recently added a third partner.

A lot of it is about helping businesses and nonprofits to navigate the complexities of the information technology environment.

“Our team is half technical and it’s half business-process-oriented individuals,” he said. “We try to make that translation: We understand the business process and we understand the technology.”