Author Archives: Megan Carnes

The City of Moose Jaw partnered with Thrive to modernize its backup and disaster recovery solutions, addressing the unique needs of Canadian municipalities. By replacing its outdated, on premises systems with Thrive’s managed services, including Veeam Backup, Office 365 Backup, and Warmsite DRaaS, the city achieved significant cost savings, improved operational efficiency, and ensured business continuity for its citizens.

The City of Moose Jaw, located in southern Saskatchewan, Canada, has approximately 34,000 residents. Like many municipalities, it faces challenges balancing IT resources, ensuring efficient service delivery, and safeguarding critical data. When the city’s legacy backup system became insufficient to meet its growing needs, Ryan Nelson, Information Services Manager for the City of Moose Jaw, sought a partner who could provide a scalable, reliable, and cost-effective solution.

Why Thrive Was Chosen

The city’s previous backup system relied on outdated software and hardware, which was costly to maintain and offered limited functionality. Nelson wanted a partner, not just a vendor—someone who could provide a hands-on relationship, offer expertise, and ensure a seamless transition to a modern solution. Thrive stood out as the ideal choice.

For years, Moose Jaw’s IT team relied on a system that required constant attention and offered limited functionality. Backups were stored locally and replicated at a nearby site with no warm recovery capabilities, and the system placed a significant maintenance burden on the team. Nelson knew the city needed a company that could deliver more than just technology; they needed expertise and a relationship they could count on.

“I wanted to move away from being dependent on aging hardware and manual processes,” Nelson said. “But more importantly, I wanted a partner—not a corporation—who would understand our specific challenges and help us achieve our vision. Thrive stood out because they could deliver exactly what we needed and provided a personal, trustworthy approach,” said Nelson.

Thrive proved to be the ideal fit for the City of Moose Jaw by offering a hands-on, tailored service model. Their ability to provide a fully managed solution eliminated the need for the city’s IT team to manage complex licensing or invest in additional training.

Solutions Delivered

Thrive provided a comprehensive suite of solutions to modernize the City of Moose Jaw’s backup and disaster recovery processes. The cornerstone of the implementation was Veeam Backup and Recovery, a turnkey solution that allowed the city to securely back up its data while enabling fast, local recovery when needed. Thrive also implemented robust retention policies to manage and protect the city’s growing Office 365 environment, including email and SharePoint, ensuring data security across cloud-based workloads.

In addition to backups, Thrive delivered Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS), providing the city with a warm site ready to ensure continuity during a disruption. This solution integrated seamlessly with the city’s existing VPN infrastructure, offering secure and reliable access to critical systems during continuity events.

“Thrive’s ability to guide us through every transition step was invaluable,” Nelson shared. “They provided clear documentation, answered all our questions, and ensured the solutions worked perfectly within our environment. We went from an outdated, labor-intensive system to a modern, hands-off approach almost overnight.”

With Thrive’s help, the City of Moose Jaw now has a fully managed solution that addresses its backup needs and ensures readiness for future challenges.

Thrive’s Impact

Since partnering with Thrive, the City of Moose Jaw has seen transformative results. The IT team no longer spends excessive time managing backups, allowing them to focus on strategic priorities.

“We’re no longer spending time babysitting backups or troubleshooting outdated systems. Instead, we’ve gained a reliable solution that meets our needs and has saved us money,” Nelson shared.

Business continuity has also improved significantly, ensuring the city can maintain operations in any scenario. The city now has peace of mind knowing that its data and services are protected, even during potential disruptions.

Looking ahead, Moose Jaw is also working with Thrive to fortify its cybersecurity. This continued collaboration highlights the
trust and value Moose Jaw places in Thrive’s expertise and solutions.

“Thrive has our back. Their solutions don’t just work—they free us to focus on what’s most important while knowing our data is secure and accessible.” ~ Ryan Nelson, City of Moose Jaw Information Services Manager

About Thrive

Thrive delivers global technology outsourcing for cybersecurity, Cloud, networking, and other complex IT requirements. Thrive’s NextGen platform enables customers to increase business efficiencies through standardization, scalability, and automation, delivering oversized technology returns on investment (ROI). They accomplish this with advisory services, vCISO, vCIO, consulting, project implementation, solution architects, and a best-in-class subscription-based technology platform. Thrive delivers exceptional high-touch service through its POD approach of subject matter experts and global 24x7x365 SOC, NOC, and centralized services teams. Learn more at www.thrivenextgen.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

For Thrive, which has acquired over 20 companies, the focus on cultural and operational alignment has been key to its success, with interest rates being only a part of the equation.

“We’ve learned that M&A is fundamentally about creating value by integrating businesses in a way that enhances the whole,” Rob notes. “Our approach is proactive. We map out cultural and operational changes before we even approach the deal table. If the acquired company doesn’t share our vision, the deal won’t work, no matter the interest rate.”​

The best way to mitigate threats is to ensure that the company’s greatest asset – its employees – are on the lookout for suspicious activity and can easily identify things like phishing emails. However, time and again, it’s been proven that people are susceptible to having their natural inclinations and biases exploited – which is why investing in employee training is absolutely essential to mitigate cyberattacks.​

Headquartered in Foxborough, Massachusetts, Thrive is an IT managed services provider (“MSP”) and managed security services provider (“MSSP”) that offers outsourced IT and cybersecurity services to mid-market, small enterprise, and sophisticated SMB clientele across a number of industries including financial services, healthcare, professional services, and government. With 15 acquisitions since 2020, Thrive has grown into one of the leading global technology outsourcing firms and in 2024 was again named to CRN’s Managed Service Provider 500 list, which recognizes the top technology providers and consultants in the MSP space.

Investment will unlock further growth, enhancing Thrive’s position as an industry-leading NextGen MSP/MSSP

Foxborough, Ma. – January 14, 2025 – Thrive (“the Company”), a provider of cybersecurity, cloud, and IT managed services, today announced that it has reached a definitive agreement for a strategic investment from Berkshire Partners (“Berkshire”) and existing investor Court Square Capital Partners (“Court Square”). Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Headquartered in Foxborough, Massachusetts, Thrive is an IT managed services provider (“MSP”) and managed security services provider (“MSSP”) that offers outsourced IT and cybersecurity services to mid-market, small enterprise, and sophisticated SMB clientele across a number of industries including financial services, healthcare, professional services, and government. With 15 acquisitions since 2020, Thrive has grown into one of the leading global technology outsourcing firms and in 2024 was again named to CRN’s Managed Service Provider 500 list, which recognizes the top technology providers and consultants in the MSP space.

“Over the past decade, we’ve built a market-leading company with a wide array of technology capabilities. With the new strategic investment from Berkshire and Court Square, we will continue scaling to meet the complex needs of the industries we serve,” said Bill McLaughlin, President of Thrive. “We are excited to partner with two firms that understand our business and mission of enabling our customers to increase business efficiencies through standardization, scalability, and automation to deliver exceptional technology returns on investment.”

“Thrive’s impressive leadership team has built a remarkable organization, and we are thrilled to begin our partnership alongside Court Square,” said Candice Corvetti, Managing Director at Berkshire Partners. “The complexity of the IT and cybersecurity challenges that companies face today have never been greater,” added Marcus Dodyk, Principal at Berkshire Partners.  “These tailwinds and the need for effective IT and cybersecurity services will continue to create opportunities for exceptional, customer-first MSP/MSSPs like Thrive.”

“We believe in the continued success of Thrive, which has executed against its growth objectives as the Company continues to scale both organically and inorganically,” said Matt Dennett, Partner at Court Square. “Our additional investment underscores our belief in the Company,” added Jeff Vogel, Managing Partner at Court Square. “We are thrilled to continue working with Thrive’s exceptional management team and partner with Berkshire, who brings a wealth of IT investing experience and expertise.”

“At each investor stage through Thrive’s evolution we’ve more than tripled the scale and capabilities of the Company.  This is a truly world class company and management team that is positioned to do the same in the next chapter,” finished Rob Stephenson, CEO of Thrive.

Debt financing for the transaction is being provided by a group of lenders, agented by Alliance Bernstein.  Lazard and Moelis acted as financial advisors to Thrive.  Guggenheim served as a financial advisor to Berkshire Partners.

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About Thrive

Thrive delivers global technology outsourcing for cybersecurity, Cloud, networking, and other complex IT requirements. Thrive’s NextGen platform enables customers to increase business efficiencies through standardization, scalability, and automation, delivering outsized technology returns on investment (ROI). The Company accomplishes this by offering advisory services, vCISO, vCIO, consulting, project implementation, solution architects, and a best-in-class subscription-based technology platform. Thrive delivers exceptional high-touch service through its POD approach of subject matter experts and global 24x7x365 SOC, NOC, and centralized services teams. Learn more at www.thrivenextgen.com or follow Thrive on LinkedIn.

About Berkshire Partners

Berkshire Partners is a 100% employee-owned, multi-sector specialist investor in private and public equity. The firm’s private equity team invests in well-positioned, growing companies across business & consumer services, healthcare, industrials, and technology & communications. Berkshire is currently investing from its Fund XI, which held its final closing in 2024 with approximately $7.8 billion in commitments. Since inception, Berkshire Partners has made more than 150 private equity investments and has a strong history of collaborating with management teams to grow the companies in which it invests. The firm’s public equity group, Stockbridge, founded in 2007, manages a concentrated portfolio seeking attractive long-term investments. For additional information, visit www.berkshirepartners.com.

About Court Square

Court Square is a middle market private equity firm with over 40 years’ experience in the industry. Since 1979, Court Square has completed over 245 platform investments and is focused on helping Founders, Families, and Manager-owners to develop their companies into leaders in their respective markets. Court Square invests in companies that have compelling growth potential in the industrial, business services, healthcare, and tech and telecom sectors. As of June 2024, Court Square has $8.9 billion in assets under management and is based in New York, N.Y. For more information on Court Square, please visit www.courtsquare.com.

Media Contacts:

Thrive

Amanda Maguire

thrive@v2comms.com

Berkshire Partners

Greg Winter

gwinter@berkshirepartners.com

Court Square

Max Rayden

courtsquare@edelman.com

L&Q, one of the largest housing associations in the UK, partnered with Thrive to enhance network reliability and scalability across their extensive portfolio of over 105,000 homes. Thrive’s tailored solution seamlessly integrated with L&Q’s existing Meraki infrastructure, enabling faster deployment, cost savings, and improved connectivity for residents and staff. 

L&Q is a leading housing association in the UK, owning and managing over 105,000 homes that house approximately 250,000 residents. To support its mission of delivering high-quality housing and infrastructure services, L&Q required a robust and scalable connectivity solution. Thrive provided an innovative 4G/5G solution that addressed the challenges of managing geographically dispersed properties, ensuring consistent and reliable network access across all sites.

Why Thrive Was Chosen

Managing a broad portfolio of properties across remote locations presented L&Q with connectivity challenges. They sought to standardise their network infrastructure while enhancing operational efficiency and delivering seamless connectivity across all sites.

L&Q needed a solution that integrated seamlessly with their existing Meraki infrastructure to minimise disruption and ensure compatibility. The ideal solution had to be scalable, reliable, and efficient without requiring a complete overhaul of their current setup.

L&Q selected Thrive due to its proven track record and existing partnership. Thrive’s team demonstrated deep knowledge of L&Q’s infrastructure and delivered tailored solutions aligned with their operational needs. “Thrive’s expertise and familiarity with our systems made them the natural choice for this project,” said an L&Q representative.

Strategic Deployment

Thrive implemented Meraki MG21 and MG41 mobile gateways to deliver robust 4G/5G connectivity across L&Q’s dispersed portfolio. The gateways were chosen for their compatibility with L&Q’s existing Meraki infrastructure, ensuring minimal disruption during deployment.

Thrive supported procurement, provided initial setup guidance, and ensured the solution met L&Q’s requirements. While L&Q’s in-house team carried out physical installations, Thrive’s technical expertise facilitated a smooth and efficient rollout.

During implementation, Thrive identified connectivity “dead zones” and worked with L&Q to optimise device placement, overcoming limitations caused by weak cellular coverage. They also helped L&Q navigate building regulations and mounting challenges to ensure proper gateway installation.

Thrive’s Impact

Thrive’s solution addresses the housing sector’s challenges of managing geographically dispersed properties. Thrive supports L&Q’s mission of delivering consistent and reliable services to residents by providing scalable connectivity that integrates seamlessly with existing infrastructure.

In the housing sector, where connectivity is vital for efficient operations, Thrive’s expertise in network infrastructure and its ability to provide tailored solutions make it an invaluable partner for large housing associations. Thrive’s solution has significantly improved connectivity across L&Q’s remote offices. Deploying network infrastructure quickly without requiring extensive fiber installations has minimised delays in bringing new sites online. The transition to a 4G/5G solution reduced the need for expensive leased lines, delivering considerable cost savings. Thrive’s scalable solution allows L&Q to adapt to evolving connectivity needs, ensuring long-term operational efficiency.

“The scalability and reliability Thrive delivers allow us to focus on our mission while knowing our infrastructure is in capable hands,” said an L&Q representative. “Their ability to understand our unique challenges has been instrumental in the success of this project.”

“Thrive’s expertise has been critical in enhancing our network capabilities, ensuring seamless connectivity for residents and staff while reducing costs and improving efficiency.” ~ L&Q Representative

About Thrive

Thrive delivers global technology outsourcing for cybersecurity, Cloud, networking, and other complex IT requirements. Thrive’s NextGen platform enables customers to increase business efficiencies through standardization, scalability, and automation, delivering oversized technology returns on investment (ROI). They accomplish this with advisory services, vCISO, vCIO, consulting, project implementation, solution architects, and a best-in-class subscription-based technology platform. Thrive delivers exceptional high-touch service through its POD approach of subject matter experts and global 24x7x365 SOC, NOC, and centralized services teams. Learn more at www.thrivenextgen.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

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

Our featured employee is Rose Payano, Director, Project Delivery.  In Rose’s position as a Director within the PMO team, she plays a critical role leading Managers on the Project Delivery team and their respective Project Managers. Rose believes in empowering teams to excel, encouraging innovative thinking, and sharing knowledge that elevates everyone’s skills. She actively contributes to team-wide initiative and collaborates cross functionally to enhance our operational processes.  She also oversees a select number of projects, stepping in whenever necessary to assist the team whenever possible.

Rose lives in the Sunshine State and is based out of Miami, FL. Outside of work, Rose enjoys reading, running, and spending time with her fiancé, Charlie.  She also enjoys being with family, finding new places to eat and new places to explore.  Rose recently started traveling, which she really enjoys as a new hobby.

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

I joined Thrive five and a half years ago, crazy to think it’s been almost six years now. I initially started in the procurement team based out of the NY office. Around a year and a half later I then transitioned to the PMO and have since dedicated myself to this field. Project Management and process improvement is what I am most passionate about.

Where did you go to school or get training?

After serving four years in the Marine Corps, I pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems Security in college where I grew my passion for IT.  I started at a helpdesk in Michigan, and I progressed to become a Team Lead Manager with an average of 20 direct reports.

What do you most enjoy about working for Thrive?

I find fulfillment in contributing to internal projects, collaborating with colleagues, and championing transformative initiatives.  It’s been inspiring to witness Thrive’s remarkable growth over the years.  I cherish the people the most – their dedication, collaborative spirit, and hard work truly make Thrive a special place.

Are there any recent exciting projects at Thrive you can tell us about?

Recently, I have been focused on developing a comprehensive training program for new hires within the PMO, alongside developing and continuously revising Thrive’s master project plan for our teams use.  It has been incredibly rewarding to train and empower our new team members for success, while also ensuring our Project Managers are well-equipped for their roles.

“My time at Thrive has been incredibly transformative, playing a pivotal role in my professional growth.  I have a genuine appreciation for the collaboration and camaraderie among colleagues, and it’s inspiring to witness the company’s remarkable journey of growth and evolution.”

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

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…

Cybersecurity incidents do not always have these dire consequences, but they can erode customer confidence in an organization’s ability to serve them and protect their sensitive information. Organizations across industries must ensure they take the proper steps to prepare, mitigate and quickly recover from a cyberattack as it is no longer a matter of if one will happen – but a matter of when.

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

Our featured employee is Nicholas Vizzini, Technical Advisor.  Nicholas plays a key role in supporting his team by providing strategic solutions and ensuring the Advisory Team is equipped with the necessary technical training, product knowledge, and compliance updates. He also collaborates with vCIOs to assist with Technical Business Reviews, helping to drive success for our clients.

Nicholas lives in New York, NY, and works out of our Lexington Avenue office in New York City. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his family, reading, and going for bike rides.

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

I began my career working at S7 Technology Group, where I worked for three years before the company was acquired by Thrive. Since joining Thrive, I’ve held roles as a TSE, SE, SA, and now Technical Advisor. This October will mark four years with Thrive.

Where did you go to school or get training?

I earned my bachelor’s degree in computer systems Networking and Telecommunications from Farmingdale State College, with a focus on Computer Networking and Systems Management.

What do you most enjoy about working for Thrive?

I enjoy solving complex problems and watching our team grow. We play a significant role in Thrive’s success and, most importantly, in the success of our clients.

Are there any recent exciting projects at Thrive you can tell us about?

Over the past year, we successfully migrated several of our clients from their legacy NetApp DaaS environment to our ThriveCloud solution. This rewarding project was challenging but we were able to collaborate with several departments to complete the projects on time.

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

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…

Leading global MSP/MSSP expands data center locations, empowering customers to better safeguard their critical data

Boston, MA, November 26, 2024 – Thrive, a global technology outsourcing provider for cybersecurity, Cloud, and IT managed services, today announced it will be opening a Montreal-based SOC 2 certified data center to support its private Cloud offering. With this new opening, Thrive continues to expand its data center locations, enabling customers throughout Canada to better secure and protect their data.

Data breaches continue to be on the rise. In fact, according to the Identify Theft Resource Center, the number of data compromises reported in the first half of 2024 increased 14% compared to the same period in 2023.  With potential threats always looming, organizations must ensure their data, and their customers’ data, are properly housed, managed, and secured. With the addition of the data center in Montreal, Thrive adds to their list of enterprise-class data center locations to ensure all Canadian customers have access to secure and reliable Cloud infrastructure to store their most valuable data.

As is the case with all Thrive’s data center locations, customers will gain a range of benefits, including:

• Security: Thrive’s data centers utilize best practices in on-site physical security, including biometric access controls, perimeter monitoring, and 24×7 staffing, along with cutting-edge digital security measures.
• Reliability: Thrive’s purpose-built data center facilities deliver maximum reliability and connectivity for mission-critical infrastructure that powers organizations.
• Scalability: No matter the specific needs of an organization, Thrive can provide the data center flexibility and capacity to handle future growth.
• Emergency Backup: Thrive’s data centers offer fully redundant power, networking, and environmental systems, ensuring that each facility is available when needed most. Paired with best-of-breed replication and recovery technology platforms, Thrive can help protect critical systems and data from loss in the event of an emergency.

“Many organizations today are facing the daunting task of protecting and storing their critical data amidst an ever-changing cybersecurity landscape – and it is more important than ever to ensure data is housed properly,” said Scott Steele, Chief Operating Officer, Thrive. “Thrive’s customers in Canada will have access to not just a data center, but a sustainable private Cloud infrastructure solution, positioning their business for secure, scalable growth well into the future.”

Along with its private Cloud offering, Thrive offers an array of services, customized to each organization’s business needs. To keep pace with the evolving landscape, Thrive continues to grow their services, from managed detection and response to incident response & remediation.

To learn more about Thrive, visit the website.

About Thrive

Thrive delivers global technology outsourcing for cybersecurity, Cloud, networking, and other complex IT requirements. Thrive’s NextGen platform enables customers to increase business efficiencies through standardization, scalability, and automation, delivering oversized technology returns on investment (ROI). They accomplish this with advisory services, vCISO, vCIO, consulting, project implementation, solution architects, and a best-in-class subscription-based technology platform. Thrive delivers exceptional high-touch service through its POD approach of subject matter experts and global 24x7x365 SOC, NOC, and centralized services teams. Learn more at www.thrivenextgen.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

Contacts

Amanda Maguire

thrive@v2comms.com