“By fully integrating with the platform, we’ve been able to make much better business decisions"
“The full adoption of ConnectWise has allowed us to drill down into product performance and understand gross profits, fundamentally changing our business strategy.”
This is the story of two brothers.
And two businesses.
Both are stories of connection - and triumph.
Dial A Nerd, founded in 1998 by Colin Thornton and joined soon after by his brother Aaron, began as a small, home-based business and grew to include 145 staff and 14 branches by 2010 Specializing in traditional Managed Service Provider (MSP) services, Dial A Nerd caters to small businesses with 5 to 30 users across various industries.
“It's a classic, ‘starting-out-of-the-garage-type of entrepreneurial story,” said Thornton. “We ran that [Dial A Nerd] for 20 years and (after some serious bumps in the road and downsizing to 4 branches & 75 staff) then we met our business partners [Brian and Louie], who were the founders of Turrito.”
Connectivity: Serving Clients of All Sizes, All Industries
In 2014, Dial A Nerd and Turrito began operating side by side, sharing services like finance, HR, and marketing to achieve economies of scale, while maintaining separate operational teams for engineering, sales, and management. The companies operate under a holding company structure, with Dial A Nerd and Turrito as group companies, which allows them to leverage shared services and economies of scale while maintaining distinct operational focuses.
“Dial A Nerd was capping out at smaller user bases and needed to refine its MSP services, while Turrito needed to transition from MSP to a more focused technology service provider (TSP) to better serve larger businesses and IT departments.”
Both companies faced challenges in scaling their operations and optimizing their market focus. To address these, the companies undertook several strategic initiatives.
“We needed defined market segments for each company, with Dial A Nerd focusing on comprehensive MSP services for smaller businesses and Turrito targeting larger businesses and IT departments.”
The ConnectWise Journey
The companies’ journey with ConnectWise began in mid-2021, after previously using other PSA tools like SolarWinds and Autotask. Their decision to switch to ConnectWise was influenced by the community-focused approach of ConnectWise, which fosters collaboration among IT companies.
The decision to switch from Autotask to ConnectWise Business Management Solutions was solidified after attending IT Nation Connect, a ConnectWise event [Orlando, FL USA]. This event, combined with several months of engagement with the ConnectWise sales team, demonstrated the power of ConnectWise solutions, and the impact of an unrivaled IT Nation community of IT professionals.
“The overall benefits, including better front-end engagement and comprehensive features of ConnectWise PSA™, BrightGauge, and CPQ, solidified our decision to migrate to ConnectWise.”
The transition to ConnectWise was finalized in March 2022, and the companies have since benefited from the comprehensive features and support.
“The ramp-up period offered by ConnectWise was particularly helpful! It allowed us to onboard and utilize the new system effectively before incurring costs. This collaborative and supportive environment has been instrumental in convincing Dial A Nerd and Turrito to adopt ConnectWise and leverage its tools for our continued growth.”
Service Leadership: Leading the Way
Turrito and Dial A Nerd engaged with Service Leadership, a ConnectWise solution and discovered the Service Leadership Index™ (SLIQ).
Thornton was encouraged by the opportunity to gain deeper insights and implement effective business strategies, including consulting with Service Leadership experts to refine their business focus and metrics.
“Our business transformed because of ConnectWise, and the lessons we've learned through IT Nation, and most notably, the introduction Service Leadership and SLIQ,” he remarked.
These strategic initiatives led to significant improvements. Dial A Nerd enhanced its MSP offerings, becoming more efficient and effective in supporting small businesses with comprehensive IT solutions.
“In just 18 months with Service Leadership, we realized that we had untapped opportunities for Turrito and Dial A Nerd positioning and differentiated services.”
Turrito successfully transitioned to a technology service provider, improving profitability and better serving larger businesses and IT departments. Dial A Nerd retained an intentional focus on MSP services. The strategic division of responsibilities ensured that each company could play to its strengths, resulting in better service delivery and customer satisfaction.
“This shift also enabled us to improve profitability and better serve enterprises with specific technology needs, like managing connectivity and cybersecurity for businesses with extensive IT departments.”
Operating With a Purpose-Built Platform
The ConnectWise platform is a solution designed specifically for the MSP community, enables Partners to add projects and solutions without worry.
Thornton noted, “With ConnectWise, we can integrate and scale extensively, adding projects and solutions as needed without concern.” Despite initial fears about the unknowns when adopting a new platform, the benefits have been clear. “The decision to adopt ConnectWise RMM™ for Turrito proved beneficial,” said Thornton. “The engagement with ConnectWise’s partner success managers has also been crucial and they keep us updated on the platform advancements,” Thornton added.
The comprehensive adoption of ConnectWise tools has fundamentally changed the business strategy for both companies. “By fully integrating with the platform, we’ve been able to make much better business decisions,” Thornton explained.
This integration has provided access to valuable metrics, enabling increased efficiency and better strategic decisions. “The full adoption of ConnectWise has allowed us to drill down into product performance and understand gross profits, fundamentally changing our business strategy,” Thornton concluded.