Sep 6, 2017, 7:52am EDT Updated Sep 6, 2017, 10:52am EDT
Chelsea Diana Reporter, Albany Business Review
Saratoga IT company looks to national growth with rebrand
Steadfast IT, a technology company founded by serial entrepreneur Craig Skevington in Saratoga Springs, New York, has created a new customer service center that responds to customers’ IT problems faster and more efficiently.
The service, called SOS Center, is critical to Skevington’s plans to expand the business outside of the Albany area. Steadfast IT provides IT infrastructure and support for small to medium-sized companies.
Courtesy of Steadfast –
“You really need to be able to differentiate yourself. There are a lot of IT providers out there,” Skevington said. “Most of the time, the IT providers talk about the breadth of services and how qualified their employees are. There aren’t people out there saying how responsive they are. I wanted something tangible.”
Skevington said his team has been working on a new ticketing system for several years, borrowing ideas from manufacturing workflows and hospital emergency room procedures. He said the center is responding to calls 85 times faster than its industry peers.
The operation center employs four engineers handling customers’ IT problems. Within two years, Skevington said the center is expected to have around 26 people.
“As we go into different cities, our remote support will be done out of the Capital District,” Skevington said. “This center will see a lot of growth.”
Steadfast IT signed its first client in Hartford, Connecticut, recently. Skevington said he expects to have a bigger presence in Hartford by the end of the year.
The city will be the foothold to expand int Connecticut and other mid-sized cities across the country.
Steadfast IT is planning to target cities such as Cleveland, Ohio, and Boulder, Colorado, for its remote IT services.
Skevington started Steadfast IT in 2002 with a focus on helping companies reduce costs by sharing services, such as a data center and front office personnel. That business model has shifted to provide IT services to companies remotely as Skevington and his team has developed software to make that process seamless.
Today, Steadfast IT has 11 employees based out of an office on South Broadway in Saratoga Springs. Skevington expects to hire more people as the business expands outside the Albany area. There are currently two job openings for IT engineers.
STEADfast’s clients include Fingerpaint, Longfellow’s Hotel and Restaurant and Schultz Construction, among others.
The business grew 55 percent last year, and revenue was around $1 million. More growth is expected for this year.
Skevington said this is his third business that has the potential for major growth. He has started several local companies, including Flow Management Technologies and Factory Automation and Computer Technology Inc. His company FACT, which he founded in 1986, became a publicly traded company in 2000 as SynQuest.
Chelsea Diana covers technology, money and restaurants.