CIO Retreat Pushes Creativity in IT

By John Monahan

As I see it, the best part of my job is helping clients solve tough questions.

If we are truly going to achieve our vision of being a trusted partner with our customers, we can’t simply be focused on selling products. We need to ensure that we are offering the right resources to help those businesses take care of what they need today and are positioned to grow smartly with the strategic use of their IT resources.

Being a trusted partner is about more than just supporting infrastructure, it’s about ensuring that our clients understand the current industry environment and have a vision of what’s coming next. That’s a big reason we host a handful of CIOs from around the region at our ongoing retreat series, held at The Greenbrier in West Virginia. For two days, we step away from the daily business operations and take a deeper dive into the future state of IT.

The centerpiece of the weekend is an exclusive three-hour session with HP’s Chief Creatologist, Joe Batista. Yes, we know that’s not a common title, but the greatest value that Joe delivers is that he isn’t a conventional IT executive. His role is about helping HP clients discover, unlock and unleash the power of innovation, a common theme in the many years that he has joined in our CTG retreats. Joe talks about how to think differently about your business, your technology and your assets in ways that drive new growth and real results. It’s how to use IT, if you will, to change the game.

Why is this so important?

1.     The world is getting more complex, and we need creative approaches to find the best answers. To gain the competitive advantages required, businesses need to look for more than off-the-shelf solutions. They need to know how to leverage both their legacy and emerging technologies – along with their human resources - to work in innovative ways.

2.     We learn from others. Just like the best technologies can’t exist in a silo, we can’t try to sit apart to plan out the next technology steps. With this opportunity to talk with other technology executives, participants can look at the bigger picture and learn about best practices that they can apply to their current challenges and opportunities.

3.     Technology fuels innovation. You can have the best or most unique business idea, but getting it to market today requires the smartest IT backbone. If it’s simple and straightforward, someone has probably already done it. To distinguish yourself and your product, you need to come at your business in ways that you probably have yet to consider – and you need to develop the strategic mindset and identify the tools to help you make those dreams into realities with bottom-line gains.

We’re looking forward to hearing the latest visions and insights from Joe, whom we have access to as part of our Platinum Partnership with HP. We’ll be sharing more in the days ahead, so be sure to keep following CTG on our social channels.

John Monahan is co-founder of Convergent Technologies Group.

Giving Ourselves a Shout Out: CTG earns HP Platinum designation

By John Monahan and Jeff Garell

We have some big news to share: After years of investing a lot of time in training and building our hands-on expertise, CTG has been named a Hewlett Packard Platinum partner.

We’re even more proud to be among an elite group in the country to earn this designation, which reflects our expertise both in sales and service. In other words, we have a rare mastery of HP’s infrastructure products and how to put them to work for you. We’re also the only Virginia-based, exclusive HP provider to reach this top level.

We earned our Platinum Partner status as a converged infrastructure specialist, which covers the core areas of storage, networking, servers and infrastructure servicing – all products of what will become Hewlett Packard Enterprise this fall.

While this is certainly exciting news for CTG, this is great news for our customers. But what exactly does this mean for clients who choose to work with us as a Platinum partner?  Here are some key perks for you:

1.        Specialized skills: Our people have invested years in training programs, where we received hands-on education with every HP Enterprise product – from basic features to performance standards. As HP enhances existing offerings and launches new products, that training is continuing, ensuring that CTG’s team can share the latest technology and information with clients. Basically, we know every product inside and out – like no one else.

2.     Innovative solutions: Because we have the deepest knowledge of HP products, we can easily develop and implement strategic solutions that meet your IT needs today and for the future. There’s nothing across the HP Enterprise portfolio that we can’t deliver at the highest-quality standards. Our clients trust us to recommend what’s right.

3.     Personalized support: We know you – and we know the solutions we provide. Because of that, we can provide the tailored IT support you need for your business.

Of course, our customers have received many great benefits from our previous Gold Partner affiliation with HP. We’ll be able to build on those offerings, such as continuing to host clients at the HP Customer Experience Center in New York, holding private sessions at HP Discover with HP product specialists and much, much more. We also will continue to bring you cutting-edge HP products, solutions and services at the most-competitive rates.

Yes, we are pretty excited to share this news with you, largely because this news is about you. We didn’t strive for this certification just for CTG. Rather, we made this investment because we realized that achieving this elite skills-and-services designation would be the best way to demonstrate our commitment to delivering the highest-quality engagements with our customers.

John Monahan and Jeff Garell are co-founders of Convergent Technologies Group.

The World Rides with Richmond

By John Monahan

Starting late next week, Richmond’s roadways will be filled with bicycles, as our region hosts the UCI Road World Championships. We’re expecting to see 1,000 cyclists from some 70 countries.

And Convergent Technologies Group is part of the action.

We’ve signed on as a sponsor through the Société 2015, a coalition of businesses that are supporting this great event because we love our city and recognize the grand opportunity that lies in the days ahead. Created in partnership with the Greater Richmond Chamber and the Retail Merchants Association, the Société explains: “We are businesses, organizations, entrepreneurs, cyclists, bicyclists, pedestrians and motorists alike.”

We are connected together to build on the energy of this race – a grand international experience brought to life right on the local streets we travel every day – to continue Richmond’s recent economic growth.

This is an unparalleled opportunity both to support our community and bring the great business and IT resources here to the forefront. More than 450,000 spectators will be watching in person over nine days of racing from Sept. 19-27, and millions more will be watching on global telecasts.

Richmond has a lot of offer for companies willing to make an investment. With all that attention on the race and the great state of Virginia, why not show the world what Richmond businesses have to offer? Who knows – maybe one global business may decide to explore our region deeper and one day bring hundreds (or thousands, even) of new jobs to Virginia. We have a strong IT industry, growing financial services, an outstanding creative workforce – not to mention great residential areas and restaurants that are attracting national accolades.

Being part of the community means getting out into the community. This fall, CTG celebrates our 10^th anniversary. No way could we have reached this milestone without the support of those around us, starting with our employees and partner vendors. But the success of our business relies on the extensive relationships we have built with our clients, many of whom have relied on our IT expertise from the first day we opened our door. Although we have grown our operation along the East Coast, we still call Richmond home and want to give back to the community that has given so much to us.

Cycling is a healthy lifestyle that is blossoming across the region, with new bike paths and lanes. Personally, I was a smoker for close to 30 years. Now that I’ve stopped and joined a gym, one of my favorite activities is spin class, a.k.a., intensive indoor biking. When you ride hard for an hour, it gives you a great respect for those who have chosen to do this for a profession. The endurance, strength and stamina it takes to be a biker is amazing.

Interested in learning more about the race? Check out this great video from the team at Richmond 2015, which is organizing the event:

And as the Société suggests, let’s welcome these cyclists and spectators – and their bikes – with open arms.

John Monahan is a co-founder of Convergent Technologies Group.