Author Archives: Megan Carnes

We’re excited to share our Vertical Spotlight Blog Series! Our vertical this month is Financial Services.

For this blog, we’re featuring Frank O’Brien, Strategic Account Executive, Private Equity (PE), to discuss our Private Equity Portfolio Engagement Services, which are available at every stage of the investment lifecycle. Thrive’s seasoned leadership team with 120 years of combined experience can help PE firms and PE-backed companies address technology advancements and risk mitigation, ensuring security, compliance, and performance.

At Thrive, Frank works to accelerate the growth of the private equity investment community through relationship management, identification of the customers’ technical needs, and his ability to align services and solutions. He utilizes his deep understanding of the financial industry and current trends to aid his clients in operating proactively and reactively.

Here are his insights on how Thrive’s Private Equity Portfolio Engagement Services can provide a competitive advantage for PE firms and their portfolio companies (portcos), creating enterprise value that will foster future growth.

What are the biggest technology enablement challenges that portcos are facing today?

Many of our portco’s are quite large with hundreds of employees and dozens of sites. Our goal is to get them to migrate to our Financial Operations Platform, so Thrive can provide better and consistent service, both technologically and financially. Right now, we’re looking to create a baseline for all of these portcos. Operationally, they differ greatly from one another (Some with CIO and CTOs at the helm and others do not). So, our interaction with each one varies, but the idea is to service the entire client base and improve that service level.

How does Thrive help these companies overcome obstacles, specifically with product and service uses?  How do you help them achieve technology enablement?

These PE businesses are constantly investing or divesting in new portcos. Therefore, our first action is to conduct an assessment of the portco’s IT environment, and then, we work against that baseline, specifically with regards to cyber security. We want to ensure there are no security gaps and to mitigate any potential breaches that can happen down the road, working closely with either the CFO, COO, CTO, or CIO. Ultimately, our goal is to become a trusted partner and IT advisor to them moving forward.

I understand that Thrive’s PE Portfolio Engagement program has various lifecycle stages, and every client is at a different part of the journey. Can you provide a high-level explanation of what this program looks like?

Working on behalf of our PE customers, Thrive’s first action with all our portcos is to conduct a baseline assessment. With this assessment, we can understand the portco’s current IT environment and make recommendations on how to improve it for the PE firm. Again, our primary focuses are around cyber security and data transformation, both areas in which Thrive excels.

These portcos can specialize in different verticals, but the key is for us to offer our baseline assessment findings and advise on any necessary changes to ensure the portco has a clean scorecard when presented to the PE firm.

What are the benefits for customers utilizing Thrive’s Portfolio Engagement Services? What is the competitive advantage?

The advantage to any company, not only portcos, is the breadth and scope of what an MSP like Thrive can bring to the table. We can provide a variety of disciplines, including our cyber security services, our Security Operations Center (SOC), and our dedicated systems, network operations,24/7 help desk support teams. It’s next to impossible to find another service provider to cover all these disciplines under one roof. Thrive never sleeps. We’re always awake, monitoring, managing, and patching your environment to be ahead of any potential threats.

For example, a company looking to have these offerings in-house, even one on a large scale with 1,600 employees and 100 sites, can find it difficult. To hire and bring on individuals that have this type of technology skillset is next to impossible. However, when you outsource it to a company like Thrive, we already offer all the resources you need and provide immediate access to them. We take care of all the blocking and tackling, allowing more time for the CTO or CIO to focus on strategic business matters. Additionally, we provide detailed reporting, so the PE firm, the investor in the portcos, will know what is happening and when it’s happening.

What are some examples of how Thrive’s Portfolio Engagement Services have helped companies optimize their business?

So, without mentioning names, the PE firm that I’m currently working with has just completed a new acquisition. We’ve done our baseline assessment and found the security gaps within the acquired portco environment. Now, because of our capabilities and manpower, we can access their environment to remediate those gaps, bringing the portco to a secure place for the PE firm. We’ll also ensure all the required regulations are met.

Overall, what I’m seeing so far from these portcos, is that they come to us behind the times in regards to technology. Their environments are outdated and not secure due to the end-of-life operating systems used. We not only conduct the baseline assessments but also present our findings to the PE firm, detailing exactly how to remediate the issues we’ve uncovered. As a result, the PE firm can be comfortable investing in the chosen portco because their environment has been vetted and secured from a technology standpoint. Moreover, the fact that Thrive has an integrated SOC, in addition to our other MSSP offerings, allows us to outshine the other service providers these PE firms can use.

So, if there are portcos that are behind the times and choose to not upgrade their internal operations to secure their environment, what would be the result? What if they decide to not better their technology with Thrive?

Besides profitability and functionality and all of those technology offerings that support the portco in case of an outage or a security breach, I think the reputational value is what the PE firm would be concerned with. For instance, if a portco is breached and investors hear about this happening, it’s going to result in a reputational punch that the business may not be able to recover from. These PE firms would be thinking — if you can’t manage your IT, how are you going to successfully manage my and client’s money. Reputational value is so important that you do not want to be in the news as having been breached if you are a financial firm — period. Portcos need to ensure they make their IT environment a priority to see longevity in the marketplace going forward. This is where Thrive can step in and help with our portfolio engagement services.

Are you interested in learning more about Thrive’s NextGen IT for Financial Services? 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 “Vertical Spotlight” series.

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

Our featured Thrive Executive is John Holland, Chief Revenue Officer.

John oversees all sales, marketing, and customer success efforts at Thrive. He works with each of Thrive’s regions in New England, New York and the Mid-Atlantic to streamline sales processes; in turn, easing the process of delivering superior NextGen managed services to Thrive’s clients. His focus points at Thrive include increasing organic growth in revenue through geographical expansion, the further development of Thrive’s channel sales team, and establishing the Thrive brand as a key player in the MSP space.

John has lived in and around the greater Boston area for his entire life, but he currently resides in Bedford, Massachusetts with his wife, Kara, two daughters, Grace and Faith, and the family dog, Daisy. 

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

I have worked within the IT space for over 25 years, leading sales organizations and building the most effective solutions for our customers and prospects sold directly and through channel partners. Before working at Thrive, I was the SVP of Sales at TierPoint for over nine years, where I became part of the company through the acquisition of Xand, a cloud and data center provider. I came to Thrive based on many of the relationships I built through the years with employees at Xand (who are now at Thrive), including its founder and our current CEO, Rob Stephenson.

Where did you go to school or get training?

I attended Boston College High School like many other Thrive employees. I attended Saint Anselm College, where I majored in Business. Most of my training came from working with amazing sales engineers and mentors.

What do you like most about working at Thrive?

It may sound cliché, but it truly is the people. A great deal of the people who work at Thrive I’ve known and worked with for many years. They are the main reason why I came here. I believe if you get the right group of people who are passionate about their work, you can build a great company no matter what that company does.

Tell us what you like to do in your free time.

My time is mostly spent with my family and watching my daughters grow up (too fast, if you ask me). I like to travel and explore new life experiences while breaking away for a round of golf with friends. I make sure to watch the hometown teams win more championships. What’s a Sunday without sports?

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…

CHALLENGE

A prominent Private Equity (PE) firm, investing in critical components of the global energy transition, was losing its IT Director to another company on short notice and needed an immediate solution to manage its IT infrastructure and resources.

SOLUTION

The PE company needed Thrive to move fast, not just from a sales perspective, but to commit to an accelerated onboarding. Thrive presented a time-sensitive outsourcing solution to handle all of their IT needs and keep operations moving without interruption. The company chose Thrive because of its comprehensive and speedy solution, but also because of Thrive’s proven and deep understanding of the private equity industry. The Thrive team quickly activated and onboarded a full suite of IT management and Cyber Security solutions, including End-User Support (Microsoft O365, Azure Active Directory and Microsoft Intune), Managed Azure Server, Vulnerability Scanning, Dedicated Technical Account Management, and ServiceNow.

RESULT

The Thrive team implemented the outsourced IT management and Cyber Security solutions in less than a week. The project management and IT managed services deployed quickly to ensure there was no gap in service delivery with the departure of the company’s IT employee.

How can Thrive help your business?

Thrive is a leading provider of outsourced IT Infrastructure designed to drive successful business outcomes with our talented engineering teams and suite of Cloud-First, NextGen Managed Services.

To learn more about our services, CONTACT US

CHALLENGE

The investment and wealth management company recently acquired a new company, doubling its employees. As a result, the firm needed a robust, secure, and collaborative IT infrastructure that could accommodate the growth while keeping valuable assets and data secure.

SOLUTION

The investment and wealth management firm turned to Thrive, a trusted managed services provider, to address technology advancements and risk mitigation for its continued growth. Thrive implemented several solutions that met a wide range of stringent compliance requirements while also protecting the firm with cutting-edge cybersecurity measures. After the one-time consolidation/acquisition strategy, Thrive created a roadmap and delivered Office 365 Management, NextGen Infrastructure, NextGen Cybersecurity, End-User Security Bundle, and End-User Support.

RESULT

The comprehensive Office 365 infrastructure and cybersecurity bundles delivered by Thrive create a future-proofed, compliant, and secure environment to accommodate the company’s new growth. The firm also leverages Thrive’s expert consultants to assist at every stage of the investment lifecycle.

How can Thrive help your business?

Thrive is a leading provider of outsourced IT Infrastructure designed to drive successful business outcomes with our talented engineering teams and suite of Cloud-First, NextGen Managed Services.

To learn more about our services, CONTACT US

CHALLENGE

A major manufacturer and marketer of family entertainment products, specializing in games, children’s puzzles, toys, activities and teaching tools, was accelerating its growth with several acquisitions. However, the company’s IT infrastructure, staff and resources were not able to sustain the expansions.

SOLUTION

The manufacturing company reached out to Thrive to provide enhanced IT security, management and support. The Thrive team of experts evaluated the company’s current state and future growth strategy. After a comprehensive assessment, Thrive simplified the company’s IT support structure with an outsourcing model to reduce the strain on its in-house IT staff and resources. Thrive engineers implemented a full-service IT management solution, including Managed IT, Managed Azure, Managed Microsoft 365, Managed Networking, Managed Workstation and Security, and Technical Account Management.

RESULT

By outsourcing their IT operations to Thrive, the manufacturer was able to migrate its IT operations to an operational expense versus a capital expense to optimize budgets. The additional IT management and support provided by Thrive enabled the manufacturing company to continue its growth trajectory, meeting the IT needs of today and tomorrow. In addition, the enhanced IT security gives the company peace of mind that it is meeting all compliance and safeguards to protect its valuable data and assets.

How can Thrive help your business?

Thrive is a leading provider of outsourced IT Infrastructure designed to drive successful business outcomes with our talented engineering teams and suite of Cloud-First, NextGen Managed Services.

To learn more about our services, CONTACT US

CHALLENGE

A large life sciences company needed ongoing enablement to support its Microsoft 365 tools and did not want to hire/maintain those resources in-house. The company sold half of its existing business to form a new organization and needed assistance migrating and setting up the new services to support digital transformation initiatives.

SOLUTION

The life sciences company vetted other vendors, but chose Thrive because of its proven reputation of helping other life sciences organizations and offering unique service/support solutions. Thrive’s fixed price Center of Excellence and unrivaled support stood out from other vendors the company was considering. With Thrive, the company could eliminate using multiple vendors, reducing its risk and dependencies. Thrive implemented its Microsoft Collaboration support team, 24×7 regulatory department document support, and a Center of Excellence for ongoing strategy, design, training and rollouts.

RESULT

In the beginning, pricing and allocation were challenging. However, Thrive provided a custom solution that was cost-effective with more hours devoted to the company’s IT infrastructure needs. After the project was completed, the company was thrilled and credited Thrive for successfully implementing regulatory protocols and driving IT initiatives forward. The company continued working with Thrive by adding a major project to divest a sizable portion of its data into two additional organizations.

How can Thrive help your business?

Thrive is a leading provider of outsourced IT Infrastructure designed to drive successful business outcomes with our talented engineering teams and suite of Cloud-First, NextGen Managed Services.

To learn more about our services, CONTACT US

The InCare Partnership will extend Thrive’s NextGen Cloud & Cybersecurity Managed Services Platform to Clients in the Southern United States

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – January 6, 2022 – Thrive, a premier provider of NextGen Managed Services, announces today that it has acquired InCare Technologies, a nationally recognized information technology managed services provider known for its work with healthcare, local governments, education, and other SMB businesses. The acquisition provides Thrive with a strong regional provider in the South, enabling it to better deliver and support its managed Cybersecurity, collaboration, and Cloud services across the country.

Based in Birmingham, Alabama, with offices in Tennessee and Mississippi, InCare Technologies provides award-winning managed services which include proactive IT support, Cybersecurity, networking, total technology outsourced management and more.

“InCare Technologies is one of the best-run MSPs that we’ve had the privilege of working with.  Their operational maturity, management team, employee technical acumen and commitment to customer service make them the perfect partner for Thrive to anchor our Southern expansion,” said Rob Stephenson, CEO of Thrive. “Thrive’s ServiceNow platform, sophisticated 24x7x365 Security Operations Center (SOC) practice and Public, Private & Hybrid Cloud solutions will undoubtedly benefit InCare’s loyal clientele and attract future prospects within the region.”

“Since our inception, InCare Technologies has been dedicated to helping our customers stay productive and secure as they look to streamline their IT operations,” said Brian Walker, CEO of InCare Technologies. “By partnering with Thrive, we’ll advance that cause even further by improving the way we service our clients via advanced technologies, innovation and improved efficiencies. Our team has been impressed by Thrive’s people, processes, and platform, but most importantly by their commitment to customer service and their own employees.  This makes them a perfect match to continue our legacy and workplace culture as a leader in our market.”

Working with some of the top companies across multiple industries, Thrive delivers comprehensive NextGen managed services and unmatched expertise to drive digital transformation efficiencies with advanced Cybersecurity best practices.

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.

Thrive: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram

MEDIA CONTACT:

Stephanie Farrell

VP of Marketing

617-952-0289 | sfarrell@thrivenextgen.com

About InCare Technologies

InCare Technologies is an SMB-focused managed service provider headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, with offices in Montgomery, Alabama; Jackson, Mississippi; and Memphis, Tennessee. InCare offers leading-edge IT managed services and local support; InShield, a comprehensive cybersecurity service; and InCare 360, the ultimate in managed services, comprising all aspects of a company’s IT needs.

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

Our featured Thrive Employee is Kristy Randazzo. Kristy is the Senior Finance and Operations Manager at Thrive.

Kristy oversees integral directives for Thrive’s Finance and Operations Departments. She has helped to streamline complex acquisition and consolidation efforts, as well as key financial transactions. She also works alongside accounts payable in vendor relations.

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

I joined Thrive as part of the Apex IT Group acquisition in January 2021. During my time at Apex, I served as the Finance Manager and was responsible for bookkeeping, accounts payable, accounts receivable, vendor management, as well as human resources. I loved this role: pulling disparate pieces of a puzzle together to create a unified vision. It also gave me the opportunity to assist with the professional development of my peers. During the transition to Thrive I was concerned about losing that “small company” feel. However, I have found that Thrive is not just another big, corporate MSP – the collaboration between teams makes it feel more like a family.

Where did you go to school or get training? 

I am a graduate of Camden County College in Blackwood, New Jersey.

What do you most enjoy about working for Thrive?

It has been refreshing to find that many of my new colleagues at Thrive share similar values. I am excited for the future, knowing that Thrive is doing something good and empowering people to be great within their roles.

Also, Thrive has given me the opportunity to have a voice and be heard. Not just as an employee, but as a human. I truly think that Thrive does this for everyone. It is a pleasure to work among talented, positive, and encouraging peers

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

I am thrilled to get our vendor management automated and streamlined! It is exciting to see progress toward gains in efficiency and ease of use.

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…

CHALLENGE

The farm-to-doorstep produce delivery service was ramping up operations, but its IT infrastructure was not in place to accommodate the growth. The company searched for a partner to create a strategic IT operations roadmap, deliver firewall and security threat detection, and provide reliable end-user support.

SOLUTION

The food delivery service company turned to Thrive — a trusted IT security operations partner of many industries, including distributing and manufacturing. Thrive implemented its Managed Endpoint Security and Response service, providing proactive, real-time, fully automated security with an orchestrated incident response across all devices covering current and legacy operating systems. Thrive also established patching management to repair the company’s IT systems vulnerabilities and set up a managed firewall, switches, and wireless access points (WAPs) across its entire network infrastructure.

RESULT

In addition to the physical security and IT infrastructure components, Thrive implemented a dedicated Technical Account Manager with 24x7x365 end-user support to make the infrastructure upgrades and transitions as seamless as possible and avoid downtime without burdening the company. Thrive’s experts are committed to the company’s success by being readily available to answer questions and provide guidance.

How can Thrive help your business?

Thrive is a leading provider of outsourced IT Infrastructure designed to drive successful business outcomes with our talented engineering teams and suite of Cloud-First, NextGen Managed Services.

To learn more about our services, CONTACT US

Thrive has been named to the HFM US Technology Awards 2022 shortlist in the categories of Best IT Managed Service and Best Cloud Service.

The HFM US Technology Awards celebrate the best and brightest technology firms serving the US hedge fund sector, demonstrating excellent client service, innovation, and strong and sustainable business growth over the previous 12 months.

The Thrive team brings years of experience meeting the strategic IT needs of hedge funds and alternative investment companies. By combining NextGen Cloud, cyber security, and digital transformation capabilities with experts that are positioned in New York, Boston, and across the Northeast, Thrive is the trusted partner hedge funds need to outperform the competition.

Congratulations to all shortlisted for the HFM US Tech Awards 2022!

The awards ceremony will be held on January 20, 2022, in New York City.

For more information on Thrive’s NextGen IT solutions for hedge funds, click here.