Author Archives: Megan Carnes

Thrive, an MSP backed by private equity firm Court Square Capital Partners, has acquired Storagepipe, a cloud, data protection, managed services, and cybersecurity provider, for an undisclosed amount.

Thrive, a provider of cybersecurity, cloud and digital transformation managed services, has acquired cloud and data protection provider Storagepipe.

The acquisition of the Toronto & Ottawa based Cloud, Data Protection, Cybersecurity & Managed Services Provider expands Thrive’s NextGen operations in North America

FOXBOROUGH, MASS. – April 25, 2023 – Thrive, a premier provider of Cybersecurity, Cloud and Digital Transformation Managed Services, announced today that it has acquired Storagepipe, a world-class Cloud, Data Protection, Managed Services and Cybersecurity provider based in Toronto, Ontario. The acquisition will further expand Thrive’s global presence while allowing Storagepipe clients to leverage Thrive’s next-generation managed Cybersecurity and Cloud services, all powered by a proprietary automation platform.

Since 2001, Storagepipe has been a trusted global provider of IT Infrastructure Services with a scalable multi-tenant architecture delivered from data centers in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

“Thrive is excited to welcome Storagepipe to help accelerate our rapidly expanding international footprint, especially in Toronto as a key Financial Services Hub,” said Rob Stephenson, CEO of Thrive. “Storagepipe’s growing customer base across multiple industries in the Enterprise, Mid-Market and SMB will add tremendous value to Thrive’s Managed Services, Cloud and Cybersecurity offerings in the Canadian market.”

Storagepipe offers comprehensive Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS) and Disaster Recovery-as-a-Service (DRaaS) platforms, including Disaster Recovery for VMware and Hyper-V systems and IBM I (AS/400, iSeries). The company is a Microsoft Cloud Service Provider with an extensive portfolio of Microsoft 365 services. In 2020, Storagepipe was recognized as a Veeam Impact Partner – VCSP Growth Partner of the Year and in 2021 was recognized as Veeam Service Provider of the Year in Canada.

“Storagepipe is proud to have delivered highly flexible and responsive BaaS, DRaaS and Managed Services for 20+ years with outstanding value and service using state-of-the-art technology”, said Steven Rodin, CEO and President of Storagepipe. “We are excited to join Thrive and expand its NextGen portfolio with our innovative and extensive Cloud and Disaster Recovery solutions that focus on trust, responsiveness, reliability and scalability.”

Storagepipe is Thrive’s third acquisition based outside of the U.S. since 2021, further strengthening Thrive’s global position as a leading technology provider delivering end-to-end managed services to drive secure digital transformation for small to mid-sized enterprises across multiple industries.

For more information on Thrive, visit thrivenextgen.com.

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About Thrive

Thrive is a leading provider of NextGen managed services designed to drive business outcomes through application enablement and optimization. The company’s Thrive5 Methodology utilizes a unique combination of its Application Performance Platform and strategic services to ensure each business application achieves peak performance, scale, uptime, and the highest level of security. For more information, thrivenextgen.com.

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Stephanie Farrell

Thrive

VP of Marketing

sfarrell@thrivenextgen.com

617-952-0289

Welcome back to another installment of our “Thrive Spotlight” blog series.

Our featured Thrive employee is Jeff Boardman, Vice President of Technology, Integration at Thrive.

Jeff is responsible for integrating acquisitions onto the Thrive technology stack. Jeff is a lifelong technology guru. He has two decades of experience in information technology and service leadership, along with certifications in VMware, Microsoft and other technology platforms.

He lives in Palmetto, Florida, and enjoys spending time with his family, boating, fishing and checking out car shows.

Hi Jeff! Can you tell us about your background and how you came to Thrive?

I started as a field engineer at Corporate IT Solutions (CITS) and worked my way up through the company over 15 years to become the CTO and Co-owner. I architected the private Cloud infrastructure at CITS, which allowed us to become a regional leader in the space. Thrive merged with CITS in 2016, and we were able to incorporate a lot of what I built into the Thrive product set. Once at Thrive, I managed the Cloud and senior engineering teams and most recently moved onto the Integration Team to help Thrive integrate newly acquired companies onto the Thrive platform.

Where did you go to school or get training?

I graduated high school during the dot-com boom and entered the workforce. I gained years of hands-on experience through various roles within our organization, ranging from engineering to management.

What do you most enjoy about working for Thrive?

In my current role on the Integration team, I have traveled throughout the U.S. and abroad and had the opportunity to meet new members of the Thrive team.

Any recent exciting projects at Thrive that you can tell us about?

Over the past year, I have worked to integrate six companies which has been a fantastic learning experience. All the roles I have had throughout my years at CITS and Thrive have helped give me a foundation for training new companies on the Thrive Platform. The fast dynamic environment is what I THRIVE in. I enjoy connecting with the people from the acquisitions and shepherding them into the Thrive family.

Are you interested in learning more about Thrive? Click here!

And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn for the latest news and continue checking our blog for more in our “Thrive Employee Spotlight” series. Until next time…

Recently, the UK government outlined a new strategy to build cyber resilience in health and care organisations by the year 2030. The Cyber Futures programme takes the lead in bringing forward important Cybersecurity initiatives that protect health and adult social care services the nation relies on.

The comprehensive strategy for a cyber-resilient health and social care sector will ensure health services are better protected from cyber threats, further securing sensitive information and ensuring patients can continue accessing care safely. The plan includes strategies for identifying areas in the most vulnerable sector to utilise resources across the country to defend against cyber attacks.

Creating a cyber strategy of this magnitude would have been challenging for a large public sector giant like the NHS. As a result of this action plan, smaller private businesses are better equipped to follow this roadmap and adopt the same security mindset.

By embedding the same Cybersecurity framework and ideology of emerging technology as the NHS, other organisations can minimise the impact and recovery time of a cyber incident.

However, it’s not an easy road to go alone. That’s why it’s imperative to have a trusted Cybersecurity partner like Thrive to navigate the journey.

Here’s a breakdown of the five critical pillars of the UK government’s Cybersecurity strategy for the NHS that Thrive can also implement to fill in the gaps for your business.

1. Focus on the greatest risk and harm. Health and care organisations must be able to identify and secure their most vital assets and systems. This includes conducting regular risk assessments and implementing appropriate security controls. The first pillar focuses on identifying the areas of the sector where disruption would cause the most significant harm to patients, such as sensitive information being leaked or critical services being unable to function. Thrive conducts a Cybersecurity Risk Assessment led by Thrive’s (ISC)2 certified Strategic Consultants. The Thrive team reviews your organisation’s technology infrastructure and processes to identify potential vulnerabilities. Thrive then builds a strategic roadmap to future-proof your operations without compromising compliance.
2. Defend as one. The second pillar is uniting the sector to take advantage of its scale and benefit from national resources and expertise, enabling faster responses and minimising disruption. Health and care organisations must collaborate to share threat intelligence and best practices and develop coordinated incident response plans. The Thrive team is composed of technical and industry experts dedicated to ensuring that customers can optimise their business performance through the strategic design and implementation of a NextGen IT environment. Thrive’s unrivalled Cybersecurity services give you the experience, resources, and expertise to protect your essential data, SaaS apps, end users, and critical infrastructure.
3. People and culture. The third pillar engages leaders, grows and recognises the cyber workforce, and provides relevant cyber basics training to the general workforce. Health and care companies must foster a security culture with senior leaders actively engaged in cyber risk management. Additionally, organisations must invest in training and development for their staff, providing them with the knowledge and skills needed to identify and respond to cyber threats. Thrive’s Anti-Phishing and Security Awareness Training service provides ongoing security testing and training for your users to raise awareness of phishing, spear phishing, malware, ransomware, and social engineering attacks through targeted user campaigns and responsive training. Improving user awareness of these threats reduces the risk of human error resulting in security breaches and ransomware.
4. Build security for the future. The fourth pillar is embedding security into the framework of emerging technology to better protect it against cyber threats. Health and care organisations must be vigilant and adaptable to avoid cyber threats, with security measures continuously being monitored, tested and updated. To meet the highest security and compliance standards, health and care organisations must stay current on regulatory requirements and industry best practices. Thrive’s Managed Cybersecurity solutions leverage automation for speed and reactivity, experienced people for intelligent problem-solving, and durable solutions 24x7x365 from its Security Operations Centers (SOC). The Thrive security team builds and offers security solutions for the entire IT environment, from endpoints to the Cloud. Thrive’s customised Cybersecurity solutions protect customers’ systems and data end-to-end, relieving IT personnel.
5. Exemplary response and recovery. The fifth and final pillar is supporting every health and care organisation to minimise the impact and recovery time of a cyber incident. Hospitals, health systems, and doctor’s offices cannot afford critical infrastructure failure, security breaches or human error. Data backup and security and a disaster recovery plan (DRP) are essential. When networks go down or cyber attacks occur, Thrive offers NextGen IT business continuity solutions to resume your IT operations rapidly with minimal or no loss. Thrive’s Disaster Recovery-as-a-Service (DRaaS) protects your critical business technology infrastructure, meeting the most stringent Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPOs).

The Road to Cyber Resiliency with Thrive

By using the UK government’s five pillars, health and care organisations can significantly reduce cyber attack vulnerability and improve response and recovery. Working together and investing in the right people, processes, and technologies can create a cyber-resilient system that protects patient data and critical services.

As business systems grow in complexity, there is an increased risk of vulnerabilities, exploits and security breaches. Thrive’s comprehensive and customised holistic Cybersecurity solutions protect your business, uncover and mitigate risks and meet stringent regulatory requirements.

Thrive’s security-first Cloud approach is flexible and economical, provides specific, actionable information and is backed by a 24x7x365 Security Operations Center that monitors your operations with industry-leading security technology.

Contact the Thrive team today to learn more.

As countless waves of technological evolution sweep through the healthcare industry over the next decade, healthcare records and systems are transforming into patient-to-patient interactions with real-time access to medical data and information.

Many healthcare providers, patients, and companies have yet to tap into the full potential of the Cloud because of data, talent and budget obstacles. However, a strategic IT partner like Thrive can help you overcome those challenges and soar in the Cloud.

DOWNLOAD our industry brief today!

“It’s really now about the opportunity to build a cybersecurity program for customers,” shares Rob Stephenson, CEO, Thrive Networks, Inc. In today’s episode of “Sunny’s Silver Linings” podcast, Rob and Sunny chat about the state of the channel and the future potential of M&A and cybersecurity in the MSP space.

Looking for an affordable way to implement or upgrade your security services? IT By Design and Vijilan have bundled their respective services and offer competitive pricing that will prove extremely attractive to MSPs and their customers. Click here for more details.

While government agencies made strides during the pandemic, its leaders and elected officials are still struggling to keep up the pace of digital innovation. Changing political demands, digital disruptions and the increased threat of cybersecurity breaches loom over local and state government agencies operating on aging IT systems. When it comes to digital transformation, organizations face many challenges, so aligning with a partner who has a proven track record is crucial.

Thrive’s NextGen technology and managed services, including Cloud, Cybersecurity, Collaboration and more, optimize and protect critical technology ensuring government agencies are innovative, secure and efficient.

Take your organization to new heights with Thrive.

1. Reduced CapEx Spend Thrive’s NextGen technology and managed services are scalable and flexible to meet changing demands. We save your organization money by eliminating hidden operating costs and cutting upfront infrastructure and hardware costs with technology that reduces downtime and makes workflows efficient.
2. Efficiency Thrive’s decades of experience serving government agencies, combined with using digital collaboration platforms such as Microsoft 365, SharePoint and Microsoft Teams, will digitally transform your business from the ground up. Thrive’s secure Hybrid Cloud solutions are built to support the Cloud solution that best meets the needs of each organization’s compliance requirements.
3.  Enhanced Measures to Meet Compliance Requirements Thrive understands the unique complexities government organizations face. Thrive is uniquely positioned to meet this demand and future-proof your digital infrastructure operations, from industry-tailored Cloud and Cybersecurity services to a world-class IT platform.
4. Advanced Security As government IT systems grow in complexity, there is an increased risk of vulnerabilities, exploits and security breaches. Thrive’s Managed SIEM-as-a-Service (SIEMaaS), Disaster Recovery-as-a-Service (DRaaS) and Vulnerability Management with a 24x7x365 Security Operations Center protect your organization, uncover and mitigate risks and meet stringent regulatory requirements.

Thrive gives government organizations peace of mind with a comprehensive, proactive security strategy with technology solutions. Read more in our recent industry brief here. Click here to contact us today to solve and manage your organization’s Cybersecurity and Cloud needs.

Welcome back to another installment of our “Thrive Spotlight” blog series.

Our featured Thrive employee is Chris Moore, VP of Solutions Architecture.

Chris works with the sales team and prospective customers to determine how Thrive can bring our managed services to fill gaps or solve challenges technically or within their business. This support can span from traditional IT to Cybersecurity or Disaster Recovery. In addition to bringing new logos and customers to Thrive, he manages a growing team of five staff members.

He spent 20 years living in Boston, but now calls Sarasota, Florida, home. In his spare time, you’ll find him on the water, enjoying boating, fishing and the beach life.

Hi Chris! Can you tell us about your background and how you came to Thrive?

I’ve actually worked for Thrive twice. Fun fact – I was employee number 36 when I was at Thrive. From 2004 to 2008, I started with Thrive as a field engineer and moved up to managing other engineers and then running the consulting practice. I left after Staples acquired Thrive and held a number of IT operations leadership positions at a few different companies. Then, seven years ago, CEO Rob Stephenson wooed me back to Thrive. I jumped at the chance to return to this great company which has grown tremendously from when I was here before.

Where did you go to school or get training?

I earned a restaurant resort management degree from Colorado State University, but I only dabbled in the hospitality industry right after college. My true passion is in the technology and security industry.

What do you most enjoy about working for Thrive?

The people, the people, the people. We’re a big company but we still feel small because everyone is dedicated to doing the best job possible and working together as a team.

Any recent exciting projects at Thrive that you can tell us about?

It’s exciting that we can offer customers both MSP and MSSP services under one roof. Most customers go to multiple vendors to access both services, but with Thrive you can use one amazing team to get the job done.

The geographic expansion that’s happening is also game changing. We can provide services locally to a much larger set of customers. Even though we offer 24/7 remote support, customers enjoy working with our team that’s more regional to where they are physically sitting.

We service companies with multiple geographic locations and Thrive service are delivered globally.

Are you interested in learning more about Thrive? Click here!

And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn for the latest news, and continue checking our blog for more in our “Thrive Employee Spotlight” series. Until next time…

Thrive is committed to helping its partners leverage our technical expertise with our NextGen managed services. Our best-in-class channel partners are invited to access our evolving Education Platform featuring a technical curriculum that enables our team to expand the application of business-critical knowledge and experience across Thrive’s NextGen IT offerings. The curriculum is specifically focused on Cybersecurity, Cloud and Microsoft Collaboration.

Our comprehensive Partner Certification Program was developed by Thrive’s Consulting, Solutions Architecture and sales teams to help partners grow their business and achieve innovation goals by building competence and confidence in their technical abilities.

What do Thrive’s Partner Certifications Cover?

Thrive’s Partner Certifications are filled with high-level and technical training while guiding meaningful sales conversations with your customers that position each product/service.

Our certification courses include on-demand and in-depth training on our products, services and topics that impact your customers. Each training module will contain an educational video from a Thrive Subject Matter Expert (SME). When the lessons are completed, partners will answer a series of questions to assess their knowledge of a subject area/topic.

Once you earn your certification, show the world you mean business! Grow your career and your business by adding industry-recognized badges to your LinkedIn profile.

Thrive’s vCISO Partner Certification – Now Available!

We are pleased to offer Thrive’s Virtual Chief Information Security (vCISO) certification that enables partners to strategically help businesses fill the gap between strategy and security operations.

Thrive’s vCISO services are scalable and economical, providing information security program development for small to mid-sized businesses. This value-driven model also offers more traditional, full-service vCISO capabilities for mature organizations with stringent security regulatory or compliance obligations.

Thrive’s vCISO Partner Certification provides details on:

• How Thrive’s vCISO experts design, develop and maintain your customized Information Security Program.
• How Thrive’s vCISO leverages ISACA’s Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) Knowledge Domains (and associated Tasks) to determine what types of activities the vCISO will be responsible for.
• How to position Thrive’s vCISO services and features to provide peace of mind for customers as we meet your regulatory, audit, compliance and security obligations. Some of the competitive advantages covered in the training include:
  • Security Experts: With decades of experience protecting mission-critical infrastructure, Thrive’s Security Operations Centers (SOCs) are staffed by Certified Information Systems Security Professionals (CISSPs).
  • Flexible Solutions: You can create an unbundled managed service tailored to your exact needs, incorporating leading technology from Fortinet, Microsoft, Cisco, Mimecast, Arctic Wolf, Sophos, Tenable, and more.
  • SOC Monitoring: Threats never rest, and neither do we. For businesses around the world, Thrive’s 24×7 SOCs monitor core critical infrastructure and security threats.

About Thrive’s Partner Program

Our mission is to provide our valued customers with Enterprise-class solutions by partnering with leading technology vendors. Thrive tests all vendors to ensure they combine the best attributes of their technology sector with the cost efficiency and performance that our customers expect.

Click https://go.thrivenetworks.com/thrive-certification-program to get your Thrive vCISO Partner Certification today. Sign up to get notified about the next partner training.