For the sake of introductions, my name is Ben Ahlquist, an IT Specialist working with small and medium businesses in the tri-state area (DE, PA, MD).  I have had a varied range of experiences in the computer industry, from selling business machines, to teaching computer classes, to installing cabling infrastructures and upgrading networks up and down the east coast, to working at a biopharm as a tech support analyst, to… you get the point.  A little over three years ago, I launched my own company, ByteSmart. 

To those in the computer industry, ByteSmart is an OMS SBSC’d SMB IT service provider, recently turned MSP.  How’s that for a mouthful of acronyms?  J  

To the rest of the world that doesn’t live, eat, sleep, and breathe all things IT, ByteSmart is a computer services provider that supports small and medium businesses in the greater Delaware Valley.  Essentially, we do support and maintenance of computers and networks.  We also provide solutions directed at meeting our clients’ needs and matching their business direction.  For example, data protection solutions keep their information secure, messaging solutions help them communicate in the 21^st century, and mobility solutions get them access to their data while away from the office. 

Put another way, ByteSmart is the virtual IT department and trusted advisor for organizations that use computers in their line of work.  “Virtual IT department” is another way of saying that our clients outsource their IT needs to us.  We provide the type of technical and business support that an IT department in a big corporate company would deliver, but scaled to the size and needs of small and medium businesses.  “Trusted advisor” is a position that is earned.  We strive to fulfill that role in several ways, including helping our clients develop an IT roadmap, which is a strategic plan that outlines expenditures in the upcoming year, aligns their IT usage with the organization’s goals and priorities, and helps resolve their particular pain points. 

While I have thought about starting a blog for a while, what finally stirred my blood to action was reading recent articles written by a titan in my industry on the subject of community (hats off to you, Vlad).  I have benefited greatly from the wealth of resources available in the IT community and hope to be able to participate for whatever measure of help it may bring to others.  I imagine that my blog will be articles written for small business owners and managers, peers in the industry, and sometimes chronicling my journey of experiences.  I can’t promise that it will be perfectly accurate or politically correct, but it will be real and practical and hopefully meaningful and applicable. 

Until next time, 

Ben Ahlquist, SBSC, MCP, MOS 2000, A+