Meet the PAC: Juan Salazar, President, Quantum Data Systems

Juan Salazar of the Partner Advisory Council (PAC)

In 2012, Progress established its inaugural Partner Advisory Council (PAC). The PAC serves as a way for Progress Partners to collaborate regularly, and helps us identify and respond to the needs of our most important stakeholders, our customers. The PAC comprises the leaders of many companies you’ve seen or heard about at events and in our case studies. In this new monthly Q&A blog series, “Meet the PAC,” you’ll learn about each PAC member and what’s driving his or her business.

First up is Juan Salazar, President of Quantum Data Systems. Quantum Data Systems, located in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, is a Progress® OpenEdge® reseller that offers consulting, remote DBA support and cloud-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) for subject matter experts (SMEs) specializing in the poultry and distribution business. The company has been a Progress Partner for seven years.

Juan sits on the Board of Directors of Distrisagi, a consumer goods distribution company in Colombia. Prior to Quantum, he spent more than 10 years in the finance industry, where he held several positions including Programmer, Business Analyst and Product Manager.

Q: From a technical and/or business perspective, what projects or initiatives are you looking forward to most over the next 12 months?  

A: Our first major initiative in 2015 is to finish modernizing our ERP system, including its web, mobile and BPM components.

Our other major initiative, which I’m really excited about, is to create a Quantum cloud, where we will offer a development platform and a marketplace of small satellite applications for the enterprise such as a specialized ERP, cash flow management and meeting organization apps.

Q: What is the next "big thing" that you see happening in your market space, and what are you doing to prepare for it?

A: We see a lot of opportunities in the business process management (BPM) space and are preparing to show Progress® OpenEdge® BPM as a leader in the space. We are also seeing opportunities to migrate our customers to the cloud.

Q: What are your thoughts on the recent additions of Modulus™ and Telerik® app dev tools to the Progress portfolio?  

A: I am very excited about Progress’s acquisition of Telerik. It opens up great opportunities in the application development space for Progress and for our company as a Progress partner. I am still learning about Modulus, but it looks like the opportunities are exploding on that front, as well.

Q: What is your advice for a new developer starting out with an amazing idea, and wanting to build a business?

A: The best thing a new developer can do is to develop a proof-of-concept (POC quickly), and with the minimum investment possible. Then, test the market, and if it reacts as expected, build a team and start looking for funding. Develop a concept that you know can grow organically, instead of a concept that may need an ecosystem to flourish.

Q: Tell us about you: what was your most innovative career moment?

A: The most innovative moment in my career was when I developed WISH, a mobile app that allows consumers to make offers for goods and services they want, at the price they want, to the vendor they want. I built the concept and, along with my team, filed the patent, developed the business plan, wrote the elevator pitch and executed the technical solution. Developing WISH allowed me to use all the skills I have accumulated throughout my life.

To learn more about Quantum Data Systems, visit the website. Interested in becoming a member of the Progress Partner Advisory Council? Contact Kimberly King at kiking@progress.com.

Stay tuned for our next Meet the PAC post coming in February.