JANUARY 2026 SMALL BUSINESS OF THE MONTH: ARCEM BUSINESS SOLUTIONS

By the time ARCEM Solutions was brought in to manage the IT systems of a local county government in 2018, their client had already lived through years of gradual workarounds. Nothing was failing all at once. Things just required more effort than they should have.

ARCEM’s first move was not to change anything. Instead, Eric George, the founder of ARCEM, and his team spent a full year learning how the existing systems were used, where the pressure points were and what would happen if something failed. Over time, ARCEM upgraded the systems, and the working relationship deepened into a long-term partnership.

Eric founded ARCEM in 2012 while working at the Purdue Research Foundation, where he saw the same pattern repeat itself. Technology wasn’t something businesses planned for. It was something they dealt with after it broke. Systems were patched together, security was inconsistent and downtime was accepted as inevitable.

“My approach was to get my living expense as minimal as possible with enough resources to weather the storms of a startup,” Eric said. “I didn’t know the full extent of the challenges a startup business faced but I have really enjoyed all phases of our growth.”

When ARCEM first opened its doors, most of its clients had simpler systems and fewer risks to manage. Small businesses now face the same cybersecurity threats as large enterprises but with a fraction of the resources. Recent industry data shows that 75% of small businesses experienced at least one cyberattack in the past year. For many, a single successful attack means closure — 60% of small businesses that suffer a cyberattack shut down within six months.

Eric understood this vulnerability and built his business on the premise that small and mid-sized organizations relying on technology need the same level of protection as Fortune 500 companies.

"Many business owners feel uneasy about technology simply because they do not work in it every day," George says. "Our role is to close that gap — to answer questions plainly and as often as needed and to remind clients that their systems and data belong to them."

That same emphasis on avoiding surprises carries over into how the business gets paid. ARCEM charges a flat monthly rate. More importantly, they take on the risk. If systems fail, ARCEM pays to fix them. They make money by keeping things running, not by billing for repairs.

ARCEM grew by changing how the work got done. As the company added clients, it moved away from manual fixes and built systems that could handle routine tasks across many organizations at once. Software upgrades that once required technicians to update computers one by one are now scheduled and rolled out in stages, cutting down on errors and interruptions.

Eric also credits the Greater Lafayette as part of what made that growth possible, pointing to a strong network of local businesses and continued investment by both city and county governments to attract new employers — conditions that help small companies expand alongside larger ones.

“There are plenty of opportunities for a business to grow and be sustainable in Greater Lafayette if they have integrity and good work ethic,” Eric said.

ARCEM recently purchased a new office at Ninth and Main Street and is also preparing to open a second office in the Indianapolis area, while keeping its core operations rooted in Greater Lafayette.

For him, ARCEM remains personal. He speaks openly about the realities of building a company.

“You have to be willing to work nights and weekends, get paid last, and figure out solutions to all sorts of issues,” he said. “We’re always learning and investing in a better ARCEM while trying to grow the business.”