As a enterprise proprietor who can solely use the know-how obtainable to me sufficient to maintain my enterprise operating, anytime there’s a glitch — and imagine me, there have been many — that impacts my skill to finish the work I’ve to do, there isn’t a method for me to repair that downside myself.
In different phrases, when you think about that I would like to make use of a pc to write down tales, assist my graphic designer create advertisements, edit tales written by others, lay these tales and advertisements in on digital pages, transmit these pages to our printer, create invoices and gross sales receipts for our advertisers, Auto-Pay the bank cards and talk with dozens of native companies each day, and many others. — effectively, let’s simply say that there are a variety of glitches that may occur throughout that course of that may forestall me from with the ability to full a problem each two weeks.
So, though I do know completely nothing about Info Know-how (IT), I perceive sufficient to know that I would like somebody to deal with my IT wants so I can give attention to my enterprise.
That’s why I really feel lucky to have met (and turn out to be associates with) Linwood Wright, the proprietor of My Tampa IT, and his advertising/gross sales director Peggy D’Alessandro. My Tampa IT has a handy workplace positioned within the Windguard Skilled Middle off Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in Wesley Chapel, however even when Linwood was working out of a house workplace (like Jannah and I do), I might nonetheless advocate him and his staff of IT specialists that preserve me and the Neighborhood Information glitch-free.
After we first determined to make the most of My Tampa IT’s companies, Linwood needed to get our e-mail again up and operating when our major e-mail account was hacked. Not solely had been we fully shut down, the hackers despatched faux messages to all of our e-mail contacts that regarded like they got here from us. He and his crew acquired us again up and operating — inside 24 hours or so — and carried out new safety protocols to guard us as finest as they might going ahead, which was carried out remotely.
However subsequent, he and his staff got here to our dwelling workplace to take a look at the computer systems and packages we had been utilizing to determine the place we had been most susceptible to attainable future hacking — since every part we do, each program we use, is linked to the web. They decided that due to the age (near 10 years previous or extra) of our computer systems, they couldn’t present the kind of safety we wanted until I might spend money on new computer systems. However, whereas ours had gotten slower through the years, I fearful about how I might afford that vital funding in new computer systems.
And, though he didn’t promote me my new computer systems (I purchased them straight from Apple however My Tampa IT does additionally promote computer systems to its purchasers), I knew Linwood was proper (pun meant).
He and his staff once more got here to our dwelling workplace to arrange and defend all of our new gear, in order that if any a part of our operation is hacked sooner or later, his computer systems obtain an instantaneous notification and they’re usually in a position to instantly get to work to right the issue, normally inside ten minutes of its detection.
“We’ve got to have the ability to act rapidly,” Linwood says. “If it ever takes us greater than twelve minutes to name you after a menace is detected, effectively, let’s simply say that’s unacceptable to me.”
I obtain a “Quarantine Listing” of potential menace emails each day and undergo that listing so I can decide if every is a reputable e-mail from both an present or potential advertiser or from a member of the communities we serve earlier than I even contemplate opening it. Months after My Tampa IT set me up, our operation has continued to run easily, and simply figuring out I’ve correct backup helps yours actually sleep soundly each night time.
“There are actually tens of millions of hackers all over the world — a few of whom are principally unpaid slaves,” he says, “so, when you suppose your online business is simply too small for anybody to attempt to hack into your computer systems, smartphones and financial institution accounts, we now have proof you’re taking part in a harmful recreation.”
Meet The My Tampa IT Crew
Linwood admits that even at a younger age, he was at all times one thing of a know-how “geek.”
“I believe my first IT job was in 1997,” Linwood says. “I used to be truly launched to computing in highschool in 1985— at a small city in the midst of Illinois, which was surprisingly superior for computing on the time — and I excelled at it and actually favored it. However, again then, there was actually just one factor you may do in IT and that was programming, which didn’t actually do it for me, so I went to enterprise college. However, when Microsoft got here out with certainly one of their first servers ever — the Home windows NT4 — I put myself by Microsoft coaching as a result of I noticed that folks actually favored the Home windows system. and that basically sort of set the stage for every part for me going ahead.”
Linwood moved to Florida and acquired a Bachelor of Science diploma in Sociology and a Grasp of Science diploma in Info Research from Florida State College in Tallahassee.
“I labored for fairly a couple of firms,” he says, “together with the Florida Division of Labor, and as a advisor to the Florida Division of Legislation Enforcement (FDLE), the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Police Division of San Juan, Puerto Rico. I had a one terabyte drive in 2001. It was 20 toes lengthy, 8 toes tall and three toes deep. Nobody had ever even heard of a terabyte again then.”
He was consulting with FDLE when Sept. 11 occurred. “Issues acquired loopy actual fast after that,” he stated. “I needed to log each single individual and picture the computer systems tagged as a attainable menace.”
From there, Linwood says, he was working as an IT director for a corporation, when some individuals he used to work with had began their very own engineering agency. “They stated, ‘We don’t have any IT assist. Are you able to assist us?’ I stated, effectively, I can solely allow you to nights and weekends as a result of I work full time,’ however they stated ‘OK.’ That was in 2009 and I nonetheless have that buyer to at the present time.”
And, though it was simply Linwood on the time and wasn’t but referred to as My Tampa IT, “That was how I began this enterprise. Yearly, another person would come to me with an identical downside. By 2014, I had based My Tampa IT.”
He provides, “As an IT individual, I’m like the other of a gross sales individual, so I helped discovered a BNI (Enterprise Networking Worldwide) chapter to get my ‘elevator pitch’ down and, by 2021, Peggy agreed to deal with gross sales and advertising for me.”
Peggy says she labored for Sears for 30 years. “I went from a part-time gross sales affiliate within the device division for one yr, after which in home equipment, in Flushing, NY.”
However then, when she moved to Florida, she says, “I moved into business gross sales and I began reaching out to dwelling builders asking, ‘Who wants home equipment?’ As a substitute of 1 home at a time, I used to be now promoting 300 units of home equipment without delay to multi-family builders, which turned my area of interest. I ended up within the prime 1% of gross sales for your complete firm and did that for about 20 years. However, after Sears finally shut down my division, I ended up asking Linwood if we might staff up. He stated, ‘Oh my God, sure.’ And that was it.”
Peggy says she then immersed herself in studying sufficient about know-how to translate Linwood’s “tech communicate” into on a regular basis English for enterprise homeowners, “So it’s actually been an ideal partnership between us.”
She provides that even individuals who purchase absolutely the top-of-the-line computer systems nonetheless have issues, “and once they do, they’re upset. They’re not mad at us, they’re mad as a result of they’re shut down. It’s as much as us to have empathy and resolve their downside.”
And for that, Linwood wants succesful techs and he says he’s proud that, “all of my techs are native — not out of the country — and have been with me for a minimum of three years now.”
So, whether or not the enterprise you personal is a CPA, legislation, engineering or architectural agency, a producing enterprise, dwelling service firm (HVACs, plumbers, roofers, and many others.) a well being care or some other kind of small enterprise, My Tampa IT can assist — not solely preserve your computer systems up and operating, but in addition be sure you keep in compliance with the legal guidelines and guidelines of the enterprise.
Nonetheless suppose you’ll be able to’t afford it? I say you’ll be able to’t afford to not give My Tampa IT a name!
For more information about My Tampa IT (2816 Windguard Cir., Ste. 101), name (813) 513-9849 or go to MyTampaIT.com.
