News
March 2013
Costco Connection
Peer groups can help businesses get ahead
by Susan Hirshorn
Hearing Mike Kukol of Horizon Landscape & Irrigation Company talk about sharing his confidential business information with the owners of nine other landscaping companies, you might initially wonder if the owner of this Wyckoff, New Jersey, firm is a bit crazy.
Kukol and his fellow landscapers are members of a peer business adviser group, which is loosely defined as six to 12 business owners or executives who meet their companies’ challenges. With the help of a trained facilitator, the participants share their successes and obstacles, giving them opportunities to learn from others who’ve had similar experiences.
Kukol says he isn’t worried about spilling secrets to his competitors “because each member of my peer group operates in a different geographical market and we all signed agreements to the effect that what is said in the group says in the group,” he explains.
March 2013
Redmond Channel Partner
The hands-down best thing about joining a good IT community is the incredible people you get to meet and learn from. One of the best people I've met during my time serving one of those communities is Richard Losciale, owner of Premier Knowledge Solutions in St. Louis. Richard once noted that everybody in the world has the same favorite radio station: WIIFM, or "What's in It for Me?"
And when it comes to investing your time, your energy, your effort and your resources into anything, it's a question you have an absolute right -- in fact, a mandate -- to ask.
February 2013
HP.com
We are excited to announce that two of our Coffee Coaching videos have won awards from the Strategic Video Awards . The first, “Discover the new HP ProLiant ML350e Gen8 Server”, has won a Strategic Video Award in the category of Direct Marketing- B2B. Our other award winning video, “Extreme IT Makeover: Mission Arlington”, received an Honorable Mention in the category of Community Relations. These are not Coffee Coaching’s first SVA awards, last year Coffee Coaching’s Extreme IT Makeover program won the Community Relations Strategic Video Award for the video “Extreme IT Makeover: FEAT of Washington”.
Coffee Coaching, a joint HP-Microsoft program, is a social community where SMB resellers can learn and interact with Microsoft and HP subject matter experts. Coffee Coaching’s videos allow these industry experts to share information about the latest products and trends in the dynamic SMB IT business. In our winning Coffee Coaching session, “Discover the new HP ProLiant ML350e Gen8 Server”, Shab Madina, Worldwide Product Line Manager for the HP ProLiant ML Servers, discusses the new HP ProLiant ML350e Gen8 server and the Gen8 innovations, which make the ML350 one of the most complete servers in its category.
The Extreme IT Makeover program is another important piece of Coffee Coaching. The Extreme IT Makeover is a program created to help small, not for profit businesses improve their IT. In “Extreme IT Makeover: Mission Arlington” HP, Microsoft, Intel, Networking Results, and HTG Peer Groups, worked together to give Mission Arlington the perfect IT infrastructure. First, Networking Results, a longtime HTG member company based in Arlington, TX, analyzed Mission Arlington’s needs and designed the ideal IT architecture to meet their needs. HP, Microsoft, and Intel, donated the hardware and software, which Networking Results installed at Mission Arlington.
January 2013
PR.com
“We are excited about the expansion of MIS,” said McLane Intelligent Solutions President Skip Carruth. “Obtaining AgniTEK’s managed IT support services will launch MIS into a larger geographical market, creating synergies to meet the ever-increasing needs of our customers.”
MIS will increase its business leverage and services by implementing AgniTEK’s best practices into its own operations. MIS will in return add instant growth, skills, and stability to the structure of AgniTEK.
“Both MIS and AgniTEK will be enhanced through leadership expertise and customer growth,” Carruth said. “Bryan/College Station, Texas is one of the top growth opportunity areas in the U.S. over the next 10 years and we are eager to expand into this region.”
MIS was founded in 1999 as JC Technology Group (JCTG), a Temple, Texas, IT service group. JCTG was acquired by Drayton McLane Jr. in the summer of 2004 and named McLane Intelligent Solutions. Drayton McLane Jr. is the owner and founder of McLane Group, a holding company comprised of MIS and five other companies.
Read more: McLane Intelligent Solutions Acquires AgniTEK’s IT Managed Services Business
December 2012
InfinityNetworks.net
The Newton College and Career Academy was created to enhance academic achievement and provide today’s student with the knowledge and the skills needed to succeed throughout their post-secondary education and into the workforce. Infinity Network Solutions played a vital role in the build-out of the NCCA, helping create a solid I.T. foundation in which instruction and research are conducted.
21st Century Workplace Skills
Information Technology and computers are part of the 21st century student’s lifestyle and continue to play an increasingly important role in the day-to-day lives of virtually everyone throughout Middle Georgia and the world at large.
Today’s 21st century students are glowing examples of how important technology is and how connected we are. Smartphones, tablets and other computing devices are part of the life of a student today compared to how students learned ten years ago.
Read more: Infinity Network Solutions Helps Newton County Students Become Workplace Ready
November 2012
Cairo, GA - November 1, 2012 - The CompTIA Security Trustmark identifies solution providers that sonsistently follow security best practices by helping companies to identify regulatory compliance gaps and address problem areas in security policies, processes and planning.
"Earning the CompTIA Security Trustmark means increased efficiency and productivity" said Paul Blough, CEO of Blough Tech, "Customers know that businesses with the CompTIA Security Trustmark will keep their information safe by following best practices in personnel security, security training and infrastructure."
This vendor-neutral, business-level credential has been developed with the support of technology companies at the forefront of the IT security industry. The framework has been agreed upon by key vendors, solution providers, and end users in the IT industry.
Read more: Blough Tech receives CompTIA Security Trustmark Certification
October 2012
Myrecordjournal.com
WALLINGFORD — In the late 1980s, Joe Pannone was the only person in his dorm at Southern Connecticut State University with a personal computer.
“I used to let people type their essays on it, but I would charge them $5 a page to print,” he said.
After graduating from college in 1992, Pannone launched a startup technology company in his father’s garage. Today he is chief executive of Forza Technology Solutions, an information technology firm in Yalesville with 20 employees and about $2 million in annual revenue. Pannone was recently recognized in an industry publication as one of the top 250 in the field.
“It’s very rewarding, but our strength is in our employees,” Pannone said. “The Forza team continues to raise the bar in partnering with our clients to increase their profits through dependable and consistent technology.”
Read more: Tech fixation became occupation for Wallingford's Pannone
September 2012
MSPNews.com
When the internal IT director for a small healthcare provider in Georgia resigned, the company faced a challenge. Instead of hiring new personnel for the position, Secure Health Plans of Georgia opted to contract with a managed service provider (MSP) to meet their needs.
The 60-person company, based in Macon, decided to work with Infinity Network Solutions for outsourced IT support. The company met with Robb Morton, the CEO of Secure Health Plans, to explain how the MSP provides day-to-day IT solutions as an alternative to having a full-time IT person on staff.
Infinity recommended the I-SUPPORT program for Secure Health Plans and also conducted a technology assessment for the company. This process analyzes where a client is in their IT/technology landscape versus where they want to go. It also offered Infinity an overview of the technologies currently in place that the company would need to support.
Read more: Georgia Healthcare Provider Turns to MSP to Fill IT Director Vacancy
August 2012
Stores.org
Technology combo helps Pandora eliminate store-opening snags
With shoppers literally lining up outside of its stores, Pandora Jewelry cannot afford to have network connectivity unavailable when they are ready to make purchases. One Pandora store was able to avoid this with the help of a mobile high-speed broadband router, data modem and firewall that replaces hardwired Internet connections and provides continuous failover protection.
Founded in Denmark 30 years ago, Pandora made its way to North America in 2003. The company’s business model of affordable, customizable luxury has appealed so strongly to consumers that Pandora doubled its sales between 2009 and 2010. Besides selling merchandise at more than 3,000 retailers in North America, the company also has 242 franchised stores in the United States and will open 40 new locations by the end of the year. Worldwide, the brand is sold in 65 countries through 10,000 points of sale.
Network connectivity is a top priority when Pandora prepares for store openings. “The connection is critical in our credit and debit card processing, as well as our nightly polling from POS to our corporate offices,” says Jennifer Berkebile, Pandora’s IT trainer who previously served as retail project coordinator.
July 2012
Thriveon
SLEEPY EYE, MN – June 8, 2012– Connecting Point Technologies Inc., a consulting and managed IT service firm that focuses on helping organizations grow their business, announced today that it has rebranded itself as Thriveon, effective immediately. As part of the rebranding, the company have launched a new identity and a redesigned website: www.thriveon.co.
The new site prominently features the company’s business focus on IT support and managed IT services under the slogan “Time to grow your business.” The company’s ownership and staff have not changed.
Sam Bloedow, CEO, commented, “Changing our name to Thriveon formalizes a shift in corporate strategy that has been underway for several years. As part of our heavy focus on effectuating business change for our clients, our leadership team believed it was the appropriate time to rebrand our company to more specifically reflect what we do. This comes at a time when we have begun expanding our important Managed, Business Continuity, Strategic IT Planning and Cloud services.
Read more: Connecting Point Technologies Rebranded to Thriveon
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