At the turn of the millennium the founders of an Allentown information technology firm decided to shift its business model to embrace an emerging concept called cloud computing. That company, independenceIT, offered businesses the opportunity to have their entire computing systems managed remotely over the Internet.
The idea of managing technology off-site has since become commonplace. And independenceIT was recently included on a list of up-and-coming IT companies compiled by trade publication CRN.
Seth Bostock, independenceIT's director of business development, says the company now has more than 300 customers, ranging from one-person operations to companies with more than 1,000 workers. Essentially, the firm replicates each customer's computing system onto its own servers and gives customers the ability to access their data and work applications from any device connected to the Internet. That includes smartphones and tablet computers. Bostock says this is distinctive because it's not yet common practice for businesses to place their entire IT systems in the cloud. “A lot of companies can host one application or program,” he says.
Bostock says the company is switching its business model again. While independenceIT currently provides direct service to each client, it's developing different packages and training on how to use them. The company plans to hire more technical employees and sales and marketing staff, but Bostock wouldn't provide specific figures.
Source: Seth Bostock, independenceIT
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen