A 30-year-old software company in Tampa wasn't exactly a prime candidate for creating innovation in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
But Steve Wilson was.
Wilson, the president of OnTask, a subset of software giant Accusoft, has created a platform allowing employers to keep up with the ever-changing mandates regarding the Covid-19 vaccine.
"I've been with the company for 13 years, but left for two to launch my own company," Wilson said. "My CEO told me to come back and wanted me to help launch new products. I've always had an entrepreneurial itch."
What started as a document and form automation platform eventually extended to liability waivers and later added health screenings.
"We were reacting to our customers; as you start to see a pattern, then we can release features specific to the customer," Wilson said.
It's paid off. OnTask now has multiple contracts, including Wagner College, a New York City-based liberal arts college, Denver-based Investigation Law Group and the New Jersey Bankers Association.
"Higher ed has a really good use case and foothold," Wilson said, adding students can scan a QR code as they enter into the dining hall, for example, and upload their vaccination cards. "But from a digital marketing standpoint, we have a large number of other industries coming in, from construction to large sports organizations. They all have similar challenges of trying to adapt and change to these mandates."
The mandate Wilson refers to is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's recent ruling that companies with over 100 employees need to implement a mandatory vaccination policy or have employees be tested often.
OnTask's platform automates the requests in one dashboard, allowing someone's vaccination status to be easily found by chosen officials or send out weekly reminders to upload a negative Covid-19 test.
"One higher ed facility had spreadsheets and vaccination cards printed out on desks, which is a huge liability, not to mention they can't track it all in one place," Wilson said. "Our selling point is the automation aspect, the routing and approval of all the requests coming in."
OnTask has seen 300% growth in the last 12 months, according to Wilson, and plans to continue to expand offerings as regulations evolve.
"We’re just really listening to what our customers need," he said, adding they're working on better reporting capability. "And obviously we're keeping an eye on things like boosters and can continue to monitor those things."
