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The speed at which information flows continues to accelerate. The pressure to accomplish tasks, manage data, and transact business at a faster pace is unrelenting. The COVID-19 pandemic had a multiplier impact on the expectation for speed and compounded this expectation by introducing the need for a remote (or hybrid) workforce.
The need to operate at increased speeds and to do so in a remote or hybrid environment is daunting. However, the practice of “Digital Transformation” has emerged as a leading framework for meeting these needs.
In its simplest form, Digital Transformation is the adoption of technology and practices that transform services by replacing non-digital or manual processes with digital processes. In other words, Digital Transformation allows organizations to go faster without having to have staff located in a centralized location. Stria specializes in Digital Transformations services and many corporations, school districts and government agencies turned to Stria to help them digitally transform their processes.
Since their inception in 2005, Stria has assisted hundreds of clients with their digital transformation journey. From going paperless to automated workflows, to system integration to data analytics, Stria continues to evolve with their clients’ everchanging needs. One of the core technology platforms that Stria uses in their Digital Transformation work is the DocuSign Agreement Cloud (DAC).
Stria is a certified Gold DocuSign SI Partner (SI = System Integrator) that has partnered with DocuSign on scores of DocuSign CLM implementations. As a Gold partner, Stria partners with DocuSign Account Executives (AEs) to deliver fully integrated DocuSign Agreement Cloud (DAC) solutions to corporations, school districts, non-profits and government agencies throughout the U.S.
DocuSign AEs often initially contact Stria to partner with them on a new DocuSign CLM implementation, data migration, workflow design and systems integration. Delivering exceptional service and a high-quality customer solution often leads to ongoing monthly managed services. “I enjoy helping our clients operate more efficiently and effectively by helping them apply the optimal mix of people, process, and technology,” says Jim Damian, Founder, and CEO at Stria. “Happy clients buy more services”, Damian added.
Jim Damian is a renowned tech entrepreneur and two-time Ironman triathlon finisher. When we hear the stories of renowned tech entrepreneurs the journey often starts from a garage, but for Jim, the story began at the child protective services (CPS) office. In 2000, Jim worked for UC Berkeley, as a social welfare intern with an aim to save the world, one child, at a time. However, saving the kids needed Jim to first locate the kids to rescue them. This is when he found himself searching the cabinets of the child welfare office, with often the quest ending empty-handed because physical folders were either lost, missing, or damaged. He adds, “After what seemed like a million instances of paperwork foiling my attempts to save the world, I decided that technology was part of the answer.”
In 2005, after ideating, building, and deploying technology solutions for several public welfare agencies, Jim had the Eureka moment when he made the decision of taking the entrepreneurial leap and starting his own company. “My youthful hubris and naivety quelled, I did not believe that I, nor my new company, could save the world or anyone in it,” asserts Jim. However, the next mission was to start a company and make a difference in the lives and livelihoods of staff and customers. This mission was accompanied by a couple of goals i.e., to create a great workplace for the employees and create exceptional technical solutions that make work more enjoyable for both the staff and customers. “I love that I get the opportunity to positively impact lives and livelihoods every day that I come to work. I thrive on being an entrepreneur that creates jobs so our employees can provide for themselves and their families,” happily asserts Jim.
Over the years, Stria’s solutions have helped reunite families, locate missing vital records and increase customer productivity via workflow automation. This loyal customer base often leaves touching client testimonials and among the many positive feedbacks, the one that is Jim’s favourite client quote is from an international agriculture company that hired Stria to design, build and support a custom information management platform, quoting, “The solutions that you are building are literally changing our lives!”
Apart from being an exceptional leader at Stria, Jim is a seasoned public speaker and is considered a regional thought leader in the areas of entrepreneurialism and cloud computing. He is president-elect of the Rotary Club of Bakersfield where Jim chairs the membership committee, serves on the Waterman Foundation Board, and is a Paul Harris Fellow. He is also chairperson of Stewards, Inc and active with the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce. Furthermore, Jim serves on two Executive Advisory Councils at California State University, Bakersfield (School of Business and Public Administration and School of Arts and Humanities).
With the vaccination drive, we are hoping to return to normalcy and envision the post-COVID world. Pandemic forced companies and organizations to operate remotely through a digital platform. In this unprecedented business climate, Stria was already positioned as a Digital Transformation company and the pandemic accelerated the demand for its services. This digital trend is here to stay for the long term—even beyond the pandemic.
The crucial part in the digital world is steering clear from hackers and malice—especially for legal processes which are no longer safe from disruption. Stria being backed by DocuSign uniquely positions the company to thrive in this post-pandemic world. Jim outlines an example for better understanding, “In the last 90 days we have used the DocuSign Agreement Cloud to eliminate paper-based processes for customers in agriculture, healthcare, education, government and energy.”
Despite returning to normalcy, companies in the post-pandemic world will have unlimited needs while being constrained by finite resources. This hints towards giving access to innovative solutions that are cost-effective as well. “We are living in a digital world. From redlining and signing contracts to filing documents for permanent storage and retrieval to processing invoices…the expected timespan for doing work is rapidly compressing. The way in which organizations support and administer their work platforms must similarly evolve,” explained Jim.
To meet client expectations and their goals to thrive in the post-pandemic world, Stria will be launching an industry-first monthly managed service called Acceleration Plus. This program is focused on implementing, integrating, administrating, supporting, enhancing, and servicing applications such as DocuSign CLM, eSignature, Insight, Analyzer, and all of the solutions included in the best-in-class platform, comprehensively known as the DocuSign Agreement Cloud.
