Time Compression Strategies: Dedicated to Helping Great Organizations Break out of the Limitations of Existing Technology

The Silicon Review

Modern supply chains are expected to respond rapidly, effectively and efficiently to changes in the marketplace. Simultaneously there is the drive to achieve world-class customer service levels coupled with minimum reasonable inventory (MRI). We thus have the classic conflict of interests between marketing, production and materials management. Marketing wants the complete product range available off-the-shelf; production is still, all too often, looking to manufacture in economic batch quantities so as to achieve economies of scale; and materials management is trying to minimize storage and distribution costs which, in turn, requires that a total systems MRI policy be adopted. Time compression at all stages in the chain is seen as the way to respond to these challenges.

In view of the above mentioned, we are thrilled to present Time Compression Strategies Corporation – management and IT consultants specializing in manufacturing and supply chain efficiency improvement.

The firm is on the innovative forefront in the development of fast, big, complex real-time system solutions. It has been involved with leading in-memory database development and provides an opportunity for the ‘right’ investor to support the market entry of a business that has unique and patented industry-leading design.

Interview Excerpt: John Layden, CEO

Why was the company set up? How did you select the vertical and decide to be a part of the global platform?

We started the quest for extreme database performance because we were unable to find tools to support our application development vision. Our manufacturing, telecom, and other designs far exceeded the capabilities of any available technology. So in 2003, we decided to build our own.

The current generation of the Ancelus database delivers performance that is orders of magnitude faster and many years ahead of any other technology platform. This is allowing us to develop applications never tried by other developers. Most are stuck in the world of “…everyone knows that’s impossible.”

We are at the early revenue stage in our development. Our first customers have helped us focus on building the tools of greatest value to their business. We are now at the point of a broad-based launch into the general market.

In 20 years all applications will operate on the Ancelus DB and development platform, or one like it.

Tell us about your first product that was launched.

The first beta test bed for the Ancelus database was the 2005 DARPA grand challenge robot project. Its performance was the primary factor in the successful sensor integration from 40 sensors, inertial navigation systems, multiple GPS systems and 20 computers doing portions of the autonomous vehicle task management. This project provided extensive feedback from the 125 engineers on how to improve the development environment to support faster application delivery.

How successful was your first project roll on? Share the experience.

The project was a great success. The technology developed was commercialized and sold to a fortune 500 company. More importantly, it led to the current version that includes protections against many of the development problems that consume developers’ time. In the evolution, we were able to automate or eliminate 15 development tasks from the typical software project.

What challenges did you face in your initial years? What can your peers learn from it?

Funding was a problem for such a grand vision. We needed to fund it internally. Since the industry was obsessively focused on easing the developer’s integration efforts, our obsession with correcting a half-century old decision was not shared by those looking for a 3-5 year profit.

But if you are sure of your vision, stick with it, even if it requires a reversal of ‘received wisdom’.

What were the grounds on which you have expanded your company and its offerings over the years?

After a long trek getting a radical new concept operational, we are now at the stage of building groundbreaking applications on the Ancelus technology. The first release is a real-time tracking and traceability system that increases customer order velocity in job shop manufacturing, an especially difficult operating environment. In 2018 we will see the release of two extreme performance systems. The first will be a new platform for supply chain operations that will support a reversal of the erosion of durable goods supply chain performance of the last decade. The second will be a new streaming analytics platform that will ensure full real-time visibility for the massive data sets needed for several application areas.

What types of companies are using your services today?

Most of what we have done from the standpoint of the business process concepts have been in manufacturing, distribution and supply chain management. The database that emerged also captured significant attention in the arena of telecom switching systems and network management. We are probably the most widely installed software company that you have never heard of. The idea of integrating a new business process with the technology to make it happen is mostly seen in manufacturing where the time delays, customer delivery performance, and profitability all need to compete on the same playing field in a complex flow environment. You can’t optimize on a single dimension and be successful

Our award-winning manufacturing, supply-chain, and telecom systems are just a few examples. A revolution is now forming in big data analytics, retail category management, cyber-security, health care and more. Our methods are centered on our obsession: Competing with time. The new business methods made possible by these systems transform every measure of performance and deliver new paths to profitability; when you are ready to improve performance, there’s a new option. Learn what the next 50 years will look like. Think in terms of Fedex and Amazon, rather than the US Postal Service and Sears. Emphasis on velocity changes the business dynamic and requires new technology.

Where do you see your company a couple of years from now?

Our next goal is to launch a marketing campaign to get the word out on Ancelus and its applications. Within a couple of years, there will be the beginning of a movement to transition to algorithmic database methods and away from structured data storage. We plan to lead that revolution.

The Brains behind the Picture

John Layden, CEO: John Layden brings over 20 years experience as a manufacturing executive and board member of Fortune 200 companies, and another 20 years as CEO or senior executive with world-leading quality control and ERP software companies. Most recently he served as VP – Supply Chain Management with SAP.

David Layden, CTO: David Layden has a background in high-reliability military software, and has pioneered the development and evolution of extreme performance database technology for almost 30 years. He holds the seminal patents in the field and is the primary inventor of the US and international patents on the Ancelus database.