Page 16 - Westchester County Economic Development Guide 2013

lanes, trains and automobiles move people
and products that are necessary for a
company’s success, but business growth also
depends on more intangible connections.
In Westchester, both the bricks-and-mortar
infrastructure and the networks of people and services
are solid.
Ted Miller, President of DataKey Consulting, LLC,
a management consulting company that he runs
with his Silicon Valley-based business partner Amie
Gray, appreciates the ability to travel easily between
Westchester, New York City and beyond, thanks
to the MTA Metro-North Railroad and convenient
Westchester Airport. The Metro-North combines
with another vital component of Westchester’s
infrastructure – lightning-fast Internet and data
connections – to allow commuters to use their
smartphones or computers to check train departure
times, along with destination, track assignment and
real-time status for the next 12 trains departing from
their chosen station.
But the network of personal connections is equally
important. “There’s a whole business structure
inside of Westchester, and I could not run my
business without that,” Miller says. He credits two
groups – the 1,000 companies within The Business
Council of Westchester and the Westchester County
Association – as well as numerous smaller Chambers
of Commerce with creating an infrastructure of
business resources.
“That infrastructure is essential for businesses to
work,” Miller says. “Whatever connections there
are within it, there are subsets inside of that, and
synergy groups naturally form and pass business to
one another.”
In Westchester, DataKey focuses on midsize
companies, functioning as “business scientists,” first
analyzing businesses and then helping them design
and implement strategies, goals and improvements.
Regionally and nationally, DataKey has worked with
hundreds of companies across some 50+ different
industries. “We have a good handle on best business
practices, and we bring to the table that expertise
in everything from strategy to business process to
human resources management to technology, all the
essential components that businesses need to run,”
Miller says.
A Michigan native, Miller based DataKey in
Westchester because his wife grew up here, but he
quickly discovered its positive business climate.
“All of those networks are extraordinary,” he says.
“I love Westchester. I kind of didn’t get it, not
being from here – now I get it. The fact that we are
moving forward with the new Tappan Zee Bridge
infrastructure investment [see the related article]
is a huge positive signal for this region that will
dramatically impact business for decades to come.”
Infrastructure
Photo by Cathy Pinsky, 2011 Ted Miller, DataKey Consulting
Business Assets
14 | Westchester County Economic Development Guide