Author Archives: Megan Carnes

We’re excited to share our second blog in the Financial Services Vertical Spotlight Series. This month’s blog will feature Tim Kennedy, Vice President of Financial Services at Thrive and focus on automation.

Tim is responsible for combining extensive resources and technical capabilities with a dedicated team of highly trained engineers to assist our enterprise clients with established and emerging technology solutions. Tim’s focus involves onboarding private equity firms, hedge funds, pension funds and endowments, family offices and commercial banks.

Here are his insights on how Thrive’s tailored IT platform helps financial firms automate the entire lifecycle of their workflows to ensure future success.

What are the biggest automation challenges facing Thrive’s financial industry customers?

One of the challenges that I see working with prospects is that IT can be a very manual process. When I say manual I’m referring to the beginning of a ticket entry, or into a help desk, it can be very labor driven. Also, there’s not a lot of oversight of those tickets or the help desk.

For example, when a new employee comes into the company, the IT firm, internal IT or outsourced IT has to endure a very manual process to get that person onboarded. There’s paperwork that has to be filled out and IT backend work required to set that employee up on internal systems and networks as well as ordering the appropriate computer/equipment, etc. One of the things that Thrive has been able to improve on from an IT perspective is offering a platform that streamlines the entire process.

Using our ServiceNow-powered platform, we’re able to automate that workflow from the beginning to the end of the onboarding process, including the arrival and unboxing of the PC and the automatic configuration of the machine with the right software, monitoring tools, and cyber applications. Typically, this process could take weeks to complete for a new employee, and Thrive can automate the entire lifecycle of that process.

Why is digital automation so important to the financial industry and for customers in that space? Do they understand that this is something they need to tackle, or is there a little bit of complacency?

I’d say it’s a little bit of both. Some are embracing it and some are looking to automate things not only internally on the IT side, but also from the business side. For the most part, I would say, depending on the chief information officer or the chief technical officer at these firms, it can vary. I think obviously with people working from home and not in offices, digital transformation is becoming more and more part of the conversation than it was before the pandemic.

What does that do? It makes it easier for the employees to work anywhere they need to. For instance, employees no longer need to share individual documents from person to person. They can collaborate via Microsoft Teams within specific groups and set up parameters around privacy and who has access control. This is encompassed within Thrive’s offering, not just providing Teams to the business, but we have the oversight to make sure files are encrypted and data privacy covered. Those are the things that, in today’s world in the financial market, are critical.

Why are Thrive’s services essential to financial customers, and can you explain the services that are currently available? Moreover, why are these solutions particularly important for the financial industry?

I think everything’s important that we sell to them, but one of the things we do really well at Thrive is the solution and design we’re able to put in place for companies. A lot of firms can set you up on a public cloud and let the company manage it on their own, but at Thrive, we make the effort to keep the companies compliant by utilizing SEC, FINRA, and SIPC guidelines when developing an IT plan.
We ask the questions – What are the cyber initiatives are you looking at? What are you doing for remote user’s access? What about backups? For instance, we recently earned a partnership, a $12B hedge fund that has 65 users. We’re doing 3 different backups for them. Years ago, that was not the norm or easy to do, but the world of technology has changed a lot. The Hedge Fund also wanted to protect the companies data and at the same time make the end user employees experience easier. We designed and implemented all 65 Users with Virtual Desktops in Azure which has handled both needs they wanted to address. This is an example, how Thrive was able to design a solution with a tailored approach that made the CFO and COO feel comfortable. This all comes out of consulting with our clients and explaining to them that we do have the platform and toolset to automate their IT, but, at the same time, we’re able to follow the SEC and FINRA guidelines

What would be the dire consequences to financial firms and businesses if they don’t take these steps proactively to troubleshoot and reach out to Thrive? What are the ramifications to them if they don’t take action in automating their services (For instance, in regards to being competitive, relevant, compliance, etc.)?

Many of these firms are always looking for a competitive edge. That’s what they do for a living. Therefore, when you look at automation in this space, whether it’s sharing information with an investor or raising capital for a new fund, these firms want to be able to get information quickly and efficiently, not only from a business standpoint but also from a technology standpoint.

Having The Thrive platform, we’re able to go to an investor that is fundraising, conduct their day-to-day monitoring and tackle what we do for them when they outsource. Additionally, we give them visibility into the information they need securely, normalizing that data in a clear, precise fashion. This can be a very manual process when you’re working with an integrator or an MSP to get that information. So, therefore, having digital IT automation at your fingertips through The Thrive platform is critical. It doesn’t slow the investor down from a business standpoint, and I think that’s something Thrive does well.

We are a differentiator in this space because when we onboard new clients onto our platform, we can show them all the feature sets and data and then customize reports to their specific needs.

That was my next question, competitive advantage, which you’ve covered the holistic consulting Thrive offers for the entire business. You highlighted the benefits and also time to market and the speed that a business would lose if the automation was manual. Is that how you look at the competitive advantage Thrive provides clients?

Yes, completely. We see clients that are frustrated with not being able to access that information easily or automatically. A lot of integrators do the initial setup for their clients, but they’re not forthcoming with sharing information with them. This allows our platform to stand out as the client can go in and pull that information they need on-demand. This is not just helpful from an investor standpoint, but this option is also available if an inquiry comes in from the SEC or FINRA, which can happen as well.

A lot of these regulatory bodies will look, if they’re going to do an audit, at policies and procedures that the firm has set up around compliance and cybersecurity to see if the firm is following those. With Thrive, in taking the consultative approach, we sit with our clients and work with them in that compliance manual to make sure their data is backed up and they know how that’s been accomplished by us. We also follow through with reporting and monitoring the firm’s activities through our platform.

Thrive is there for the entire automation journey for financial clients and is there to make sure that all the firm’s bases are covered and systems are optimized. Is there a step that financial firms commonly overlook when they’re looking to automate processes?

Now it’s more around the collaboration for automation. When we talked to prospects, they might be using Teams or they might be using Sharepoint. This just happened the other day, and this firm was smaller (23 people). You might wonder how much collaboration can happen there. Believe it or not, this firm was set up on Teams, but using it for instant chat internally. They’re not using the full potential Sharepoint, just using it for file structure. They’re not sharing documents internally via Teams.

Therefore, when we start talking to clients, we realize the full use of these collaboration tools is often missed across the board in the industry by most MSPs. This typically happens because they don’t have a team to help guide them in that aspect of the business. This tends to be an immediate red flag as they’re not using all the potential offerings that Office 365 can provide. And, at Thrive, as we start to ask the firm more questions, we realize they’re using maybe 25% of the potential the Microsoft stack can help them with. This is where the automation conversations come into play and we can identify the client’s immediate needs in regards to automation in the Microsoft stack. We can be a consultant for our clients to ensure they’re getting the full use out of their tools and therefore, seeing that return on investment as a result.

Here’s an example – There’s a family office that we brought on, it was probably about a year and a half ago now. They’ve grown a tremendous amount working with high-net families and manage about $35B of AUM (assets under management). This company is managing the back office for these high-net families (approximately 50 families). Thrive took over their IT and automated sharing tickets with their internal staff through ServiceNow. We provided them with the full stack of offerings from A to Z in our portfolio.

We talked about their current frustrations in onboarding new families and how they wanted to share documents easier externally. They explained they were using a third-party application to encrypt those files. As a result, we pulled our collaboration team in and asked them to review the whole process of onboarding a family, including the amount of paperwork involved for compliance and regulatory reasons. Thrive was able to automate that entire workflow with the help of our collaboration team and it’s been a huge success for the company. We were able to save a significant amount of employee hours conducted daily through automation.

Let’s briefly touch on the experience Thrive provides its financial clients. Can you tell me how the onboarding process is handled?

The onboarding process that we have here at Thrive is detailed based on the project. Look, there are plenty of integrators out there that will get it done by brute force, but at Thrive, we map out our projects in phases.

I’ll give you an example with a firm that we brought on 6 months ago and are still working on the project today. The firm is well-established and has been in business for 15 years. They were leaving their current integrator and there was a lot of data. Phasing the integrator out was a process and being a financial firm, they have a tremendous amount of sensitive current data and historical data that they reference for trades.

We went the extra mile in onboarding this client. For instance, we reached out to Bloomberg and Reuters on behalf of the firm. We have the expertise, working within the financial vertical, with engineers that are familiar with this industry. Thrive has also built relationships with other trusted vendors outside your typical IT providers that our clients can leverage. The onboarding process can be difficult, but what Thrive does well is we take the time to execute a well-thought-out plan with different phases or checkpoints along the way. It’s not the norm for the MSPs in the financial vertical, so that’s a differentiator.

Additionally, another key element of Thrive is how we manage the client account. We have a pod structure, where there’s a group of highly skilled engineers that focus solely on our financial vertical. So, again, they know the applications, they know the trading software clients use. They have relationships with vendors like Bloomberg if need be, or others as well. They are also familiar with the applications that firms are using. This part is critical because when these financial firms outsource their IT, they don’t want to be involved in dealing with other vendors. They’re relying on us.

In our pod structure, these skilled engineers not only understand the business and their business needs, but they’re grouped with a virtual CTO to help the client, guide them in strategy, understand their budgets and other applications they might use. They’re able to help them from a business side and a technical side, which is different from most MSPs. Moreover, from a service standpoint, you now have the same faces talking to the client regularly and can build familiarity with them.

Finally, what’s fascinating and different for us is the end-user response time because that’s where it can break in this space. We’ve all heard stories, people didn’t get back to them for two hours. The next day they called back and said, “Hey, we noticed you put a ticket in this space,” which typically ends in a negative experience for that user.

One thing we do differently is the end-user calls are routed to that pod structure and we’re the only ones that do that today in this space. Typically, there’s a desk of 30 or 40 people, most of the time outside the U.S. In this situation, the person handling the user’s request is just entering the issue as a ticket and then pushing it onto someone else. There are a lot of frustrations with that in this space. People want to talk directly to the individual that can get the problem fixed immediately. So what is great about routing the calls into this pod structure is they get someone not only from the top-level, who’s managing the account but down to the help desk that knows the account and can fix the problems. These engineers are certified and can fix the problem with the end-user whenever the phone call happens.

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.

Acquisition of Sarasota, Florida-based technology provider will continue to propel Thrive’s NextGen Cloud & Cybersecurity Managed Services in the Florida market

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – March 9, 2022 – Thrive, a premier provider of NextGen Managed Services, announces today that it has acquired SouthTech, a managed technology solutions leader on the Florida West Coast. The acquisition will provide businesses throughout the region with enhanced IT support along with Thrive’s next-generation managed cybersecurity, collaboration, and Cloud services to help drive digital transformation efficiencies.

For almost three decades, SouthTech has provided award-winning IT support to over 275 companies in southwest Florida. The Company offers a complete suite of tailored IT solutions, including managed services, Cloud and hosting solutions, backup and disaster recovery services, unified communications, compliance auditing, and data security. SouthTech has a seasoned team of certified IT experts that are dedicated to becoming clients’ trusted IT Navigators that align technological strategies with business outcomes.

“SouthTech’s team provides unique services for complex client technology issues which aligns very closely with our customer-centric approach,” said Rob Stephenson, Thrive’s CEO. “The Florida market is red-hot, and we wanted to find the best MSP partner on the West Coast to promote the Thrive cybersecurity, Cloud & digital transformation platform into the region. SouthTech’s talented group of employees deliver that.”

“For over 25 years, SouthTech’s mission is to be a trusted long-term partner to companies by delivering custom technology solutions and being a people-first managed service provider,” said Nathan Bailey, CEO/COO of SouthTech. “We’re excited to join the Thrive family as their overarching goal aligns with our values and IT service offerings as a technological guide for customer’s path to success.”

SouthTech marks the second acquisition by Thrive in Florida this year and continues the establishment of building a strong presence in this region. Thrive is a security-first MSP that delivers comprehensive managed services and unmatched expertise to drive secure digital transformation for small to mid-sized enterprises across multiple industries.

For more information on Thrive, visit thrivenextgen.com.

###

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:

Patrick Reily

Zer0 to 5ive for Thrive

732-687-4683 | patrick@0to5.com

About SouthTech

Since 1994, SouthTech has been southwest Florida’s premier provider of managed technology solutions. Our highly experienced team of certified support technicians and network engineers are dedicated to delivering the highest level of service. SouthTech offers a complete suite of IT solutions, including managed services, cloud and hosting solutions, backup and disaster recovery services, unified communications, compliance auditing, and data security. We become our clients’ trusted IT Navigators through a highly strategic approach that utilizes technology to guide them towards their desired business goals.

Have you had issues deploying a VM template with CloudBase-Init? Perhaps it works sometimes when you deploy the template but most of the time it fails with this error during the startup process like the screenshot below. Thrive utilizes a tool from our partner Abiquo that we use to provision virtual machines for our customers in a secure and repeatable way. Our tools utilize CloudInit for Linux and Cloudbase-Init for Windows to inject bootstrap information to automate the initial configuration.

The computer restarted unexpectedly or encountered an unexpected error. Windows installation cannot proceed. To install Windows. click “OK’ to restart the computer. and then restart the installation

The work around for the boot issue is a quick registry edit: While at the above screen don’t click okay – instead hit Shift+F10, type registry.exe in the command box that comes up and change the value of HKLM/SYSTEM/Setup/Status/ChildCompletion/setup.exe to 3 then reboot. However, we wouldn’t want to do that with every single templated machine that we deploy.

The problem comes down to a race condition of the specialize phase during sysprep and the way Cloudbase-Init was installed on this template. When installing CBI its common to not use the option at the end of the installer to immediately perform a sysprep operation but that skips some of the logic that it does. To work around that we need to edit the Unattend.xml file as well as change the cloudbase-init service.

1. After the Cloudbase-init installation is complete, run the following in an elevated command command prompt or use services.msc to disable automatic startup of the Windows service

1. 1.    sc config cloudbase-init start= disabled
2. Edit the unattend.xml in C:\Program Files\Cloudbase Solutions\ file to enable automatic startup mode of the cloudbase-init Windows service. This command _must_ be set as <Order>1</Order> and the existing unattended cloudbase-init node set to <Order>2</Order> so that the re-enable command runs prior to the unattended instance of cloudbase-init, which requires a reboot.

<RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action=”add”>

<Order>1</Order>

<Path>sc config cloudbase-init start= auto</Path>

<Description>Re-enable auto start of cloudbase-init</Description>

<WillReboot>Never</WillReboot>

</RunSynchronousCommand>

1. Perform any remaining customization steps and application installs you need to do. For example we change the cloudbase-init config files to run particular plugins
2. Assuming you use the default install directories then create a batch file in C:\Program Files \Cloudbase Solutions\Cloudbase-Init\conf with the following”

1. 1. Cd C:\Program Files \Cloudbase Solutions\Cloudbase-Init\conf
   2. Ipconfig /release
   3. c:\windows\system32\sysprep\sysprep.exe /generalize /oobe /mode:vm /shutdown /unattend:unattend.xml

1. 1. Now is a good time to snapshot your VM
   2. Launch an admin command prompt. Navigate to ‘C:\Program Files \Cloudbase Solutions\Cloudbase-Init\conf’ and execute the batch file to sysprep and shutdown your template
2. Clone this VM and convert to a template or ingest it to whatever tool you’re using. That will leave you with the base VM you can quickly apply Windows patches to in the future and just run the batch script to sysprep next time without having to rearm it.

Note: If you are using dissimilar hardware between where you built the template and when its eventually deployed you may also need to remove the following from the Unattend.xml file <PersistAllDeviceInstalls>true</PersistAllDeviceInstalls>

Here is an example modified unattend.xml

We hope this helps you in your journey to automating the cloud!

Reference Links:
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/153f59d4-383c-4008-8f0e-3977dc3b14e5/sysprep-windows-could-not-parse-or-process-unattend-answer-file-for-pass-specialize?forum=win10itprosetup
https://bugs.launchpad.net/cloudbase-init/+bug/1407842 specifically the post from Curt Moore (jcmoore) on 2015-03-08
https://ask.cloudbase.it/question/693/reboot-loop-when-booting-a-glance-windows-image-with-cloud-init/

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

Our featured Thrive Employee is Adam Pfeifer. Adam is a Virtual CIO (vCIO) at Thrive.

Adam provides technical and strategic consultation and leadership for Thrive’s customers. He eases the burden of an in-house CIO and oversees the client’s entire IT infrastructure, ensuring everything in their business network is operating efficiently, smoothly and securely.

Adam lives in Goffstown, New Hampshire, with his wife and two children. Keep reading to find out about Adam’s sweet background!

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

I have more than 25 years in the IT industry. I joined Thrive when it was a startup company back in May 2001. Being the fifth engineer hired at that time, it’s been remarkable to witness Thrive’s tremendous growth and become an industry leader. Before Thrive, I worked for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration as an IT Director.

Where did you go to school or get training? 

I graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a major in Management Information Systems and a minor in Business Administration.

What do you most enjoy about working for Thrive?

My relationships with my Thrive co-workers are what I enjoy the most. We are a solid team, working alongside with my colleagues’ to seamlessly and innovatively direct and guide our clients with their IT knowledge and initiatives.

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

In my free time, I am a hobbyist sugar maker! I own a maple sugar farm with over 250 trees making more than 20+ gallons of maple syrup each year.

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…

CRN®, a brand of The Channel Company, has named Erik Young, Vice President of Channel Sales at Thrive, to its 2022 list of Channel Chiefs. The prestigious CRN® Channel Chiefs list, released annually, recognizes top channel executives dedicated to the partner community, future business innovation, and channel growth. This is Erik’s third time to be named to the list of channel management movers and shakers, he was also named to the Channel Chiefs list in 2019 and 2021.

As Vice President of Channel Sales at Thrive, Erik is responsible for the success of Thrive’s Partner Program, including onboarding, client engagement, and management of the channel partner sales team and support team. He joined the Thrive team in 2017 and has been the driving force behind the company’s channel growth.

Erik has built a white-glove, partner-centric Channel Program at Thrive that allows the company’s trusted advisors to leverage Thrive as a true extension of their IT team. With over 20 years working in the space, his expertise is pivotal for Thrive to deliver and empower customers in a new landscape of security-driven decision-making.

“Thrive has taken the channel to new levels to empower all partners regardless of their technical competency,” said Young. “As a trusted cyber security advisor, we lead our partners to new areas of revenue that they traditionally haven’t been exposed to. This takes the partners up the technology stack and makes their relationships more valuable to the client. Thrive has expanded nationwide and has entered the UK channel markets with our master agents. We are also expanding globally with the channel.”

“CRN’s 2022 Channel Chiefs recognition is given exclusively to the foremost channel executives who consistently design, promote, and execute effective partner programs and strategies,” said Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company. “We’re thrilled to recognize the tireless work and unwavering commitment these honorees put into fostering outstanding business innovation and building strong partner programs to drive channel engagement and success.”

CRN’s 2022 Channel Chiefs list will be featured in the February 2022 issue of CRN Magazine and online at www.CRN.com/ChannelChiefs.

The Miami IT support company will help catapult Thrive’s NextGen Cybersecurity and Cloud Platform in South Florida

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – February 2, 2022 – Thrive, a premier provider of NextGen Managed Services, announces today that it has acquired Preemo, a responsive, award-winning technology services firm based in Miami, FL. The acquisition will provide South Florida businesses with comprehensive cybersecurity, cloud and digital transformation solutions to increase their technology (ROI) return-on-investment.

Preemo has been providing top-quality IT services and proactive, innovative solutions to South Florida companies for nearly a decade, currently serving more than 200 businesses across a multitude of different industries but specializing in the legal and private equity spaces.

“Preemo has a tremendous reputation built upon a customer-centric focus and premier IT support,” said Rob Stephenson, CEO of Thrive. “Thrive has a large number of customers in the Northeast United States moving or expanding to South Florida that will benefit from Preemo’s team of exceptional technologists. Their clients will benefit from Thrive’s 24x7x365 SOC, cybersecurity practice, and digital transformation products and services.”

“Over the past 13 years, Preemo has grown into a leader in the Southeast Florida market, delivering comprehensive managed IT services, public and private cloud, and cybersecurity solutions,” noted Ivan Mladenovic, CEO of Preemo. “Now, under Thrive’s umbrella, we will expand both our service offering and our geographic footprint, to deliver a one-of-a-kind experience for our clients in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach. We’re thrilled about this new partnership and look forward to our strategic growth this year and beyond.”

Preemo establishes a strong presence for the company in the Florida region. Working with leading small to mid-sized enterprises 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.

###

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 Preemo

Preemo has been a trusted leader in South Florida for over a decade, providing proactive, innovative solutions for a variety of businesses, including law firms, medical offices, accounting firms, and manufacturing & distribution companies.

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…

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.

###

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…