After attending Carnegie-Mellon from 1998 to 2000, Joe Ordia left school to start his first company, The Ordia Corporation, providing peer-to-peer collaboration technology to enterprise customers.  When the company ran out of money in 2002, Ordia began working as Lead Engineer with MAYA Viz (now part of General Dynamics C4 Systems) on the "Command Post of the Future" (CPOF) program.  His expertise ultimately led him to Baghdad to work on the fielding of CPOF to deployed Army and Marine Corps units.

On their return from Iraq, Joe and his partner Pedro Martinez formed Ordia Solutions to bring CPOF technology to the law enforcement, public safety, and emergency response communities.  Amplifier Network recently spoke with Joe about his company and its future. 

Amplifier:   When did you start your company?

Ordia:   In 2005. After spending most of 2004-2005 in Baghdad deploying Command Post of the Future technology to the US Army and Marine Corps, we formed Ordia Solutions to bring similar capabilities to serve the mission of public safety.

Amplifier:  What does your company do? 

Ordia:  Ordia Solutions is the pioneer and leading provider of mobile command & control systems for public safety agencies. Our Mobile Tactical Collaboration System™ (MTCS) is a next-generation web-based wireless-enabled software application that allows public safety officers to communicate and collaborate visually in real-time using tactical graphics, digital maps, and shared workspaces to enable highly effective command & control without ever having to setup a physical command post.  We recently expanded the product portfolio to include an integrated tracking solution, AdvanTraq™ GPS, which provides real-time situational unit locations for operational commanders and their tactical operators in the field.

Amplifier:  What problem does it solve?

Ordia:    Local, state, and federal law enforcement officers, as well as other first responders, are able to share data, maps, and images with each other in real time, allowing tactical decisions to be made and implemented quickly and effectively.

Amplifier:   How do they share this information?

Ordia:   The software is in place in the command center, in vehicle-mounted laptops, and in ultra mobile handheld computers.

Amplifier:  What’s unique about your company?

Ordia:   Because a picture is worth a thousand words, this technology innovation will be as revolutionary for public safety communication as the introduction of the television set was for mass media communication.  My co-founder Pedro Martinez and I are veterans of the U.S. Army’s CPOF program. As Lead Engineer of the program, I am a subject matter expert in modern command & control systems.

Amplifier: How have you funded the company to date?

Ordia:   A combination of founders' bootstrapping, debt financing, and a private angel investment.

Amplifier:  At what stage of development is your company?

Ordia:   The product is completed and ready for sale.  We've conducted several successful pilot installations with large jurisdictions, and now we’re waiting through the government purchasing cycle.

Amplifier:  What’s your biggest current challenge?

Ordia:   Continuing to operate the business and maintain an aggressive pace of research and development and marketing while we wait out the long government sales cycle, which can take 6 to 18 months.

Amplifier:  What would you be doing if you weren't an entrepreneur?

Ordia:   Running for or serving in public office as a legislator or executive.