Professional Services
Leveraging Trust and Collaboration for Scalable IT Success
CrossCountry Consulting is a leading provider of specialized finance, operations, and technology advisory services. The firm is a trusted advisor to Fortune 500 companies, emerging growth market leaders, and private equity sponsors. They create present and future value through accounting and risk, technology-enabled transformation, and transaction solutions.
Since its founding in 2011, the firm has prioritized a culture-first approach. In keeping with that philosophy, CrossCountry Consulting was looking for more than just a vendor to manage its IT needs, they needed a strategic partner. That’s where Thrive came in.
A Small Team Supporting Big Growth
When Adam Fowler joined CrossCountry Consulting in late 2021, he stepped into a rapidly scaling organization. “We were about 600-700 people when I started. Today we’re over 1,200. Just a year before I joined, the team was at 300,” he shared.
The challenge was clear: support a global, technology-reliant workforce with a lean internal IT team — just him and one colleague. Building out a full internal team wasn’t in the budget, and previous experience with Managed Service Providers (MSPs) at other firms had left them skeptical.
“In previous roles, I had bigger IT teams, and the MSPs left a lot to be desired. But I knew I either had to rely on our MSP and make it work, or try to build something that didn’t have leadership buy-in. So, I figured out how to make it work.”
A Partnership, Not Just a Contract
As it turns out, “making it work” became a model of strategic alignment and collaboration. Over time, Fowler came to see Thrive not just as a resource, but as an extension of his internal team.
“The way I describe Thrive is, it’s like a good relationship. You need to be able to have disagreements and work through them together. That’s what we have. It’s not one side dictating to the other. It’s truly a partnership.”
That sense of mutual investment was tested and proven when CrossCountry Consulting’s CFO initiated an RFP process, bringing in three competing providers. Fowler recalled, “I wanted Thrive to win, but it had to be based on merit. Thrive blew the doors off the competition. Pricing was fair, their responses were thorough, and it was clear they understood us. The others didn’t even come close.”
Real Solutions, Global Impact
As CrossCountry Consulting expanded, their needs became more complex and Thrive evolved alongside them.
From the outset, Thrive helped manage the day-to-day, help desk support, systems administration, and security oversight. As the firm expanded to cities across the U.S. and globally into Dublin, Singapore, and the UK, infrastructure and logistics challenges grew more pressing.
The answer? A workstation deployment center (WDC) designed specifically to streamline global device shipping and management. “We ordered 400 laptops ahead of the Windows 10 retirement deadline, and they’re all sitting there ready to deploy anywhere. We didn’t even initiate that conversation, it was Thrive’s idea.”
Whether it’s supporting Microsoft Copilot readiness, testing new security platforms, or simply ensuring help desk personnel align with CrossCountry’s culture, Thrive has earned their trust time and again.
“It works like the internal team I had at my last job of over 12 years,” Fowler said. “I know I can count on my Account Manager, Client Success Manager, Advisory team, and our support POD.”
Culture Fit That Feels Seamless
One of the unexpected wins has been the cultural alignment between the two teams. “Everyone I work with at Thrive, help desk to vCIO, is good-natured, hardworking, and authentic. They feel like old friends or coworkers, not vendors,” shared Fowler.
It’s the strength of these relationships that has proven that the right MSP can do far more than just provide technical support, it can act as a strategic growth enabler and problem solver. Over time, that synergy also helped change internal perception. “When I started, there was a lot of frustration with IT support. But today, leadership openly talks about Thrive as one of our strongest partners.”
Through shared values, proactive solutions, and a deep understanding of the firm’s evolving needs, Thrive has become an integral part of CrossCountry Consulting’s operations. As both organizations continue to grow, their partnership stands as a strong example of how outsourced IT, when done right, can rival and even surpass a traditional in-house team, delivering not just stability and efficiency, but true business value.
“I include Thrive when people ask how big my IT team is, because I wouldn’t get through a week without them.” – Adam Fowler, Cybersecurity & Technology Management Lead, CrossCountry Consulting
About Thrive
Thrive is a NextGen global technology outsourcing provider that empowers small and mid-market organizations to transform their technology into a strategic advantage. Offering a breadth of services from AI and cybersecurity to cloud, compliance, and traditional MSP/MSSP solutions, Thrive’s team of seasoned experts develop strategies that standardize, scale, and automate technology to achieve outsized ROI. From advisory services to a 24×7×365 SOC and NOC, Thrive provides end-to-end IT and cybersecurity management so clients can focus on innovation and growth. With Thrive, your business is always supported and always secure. Learn more at www.thrivenextgen.com or follow us on LinkedIn.