In reality, however, the 20 isn’t a giant MSP. It’s a collection of smaller, independently owned businesses that seem giant because they share common tools and processes, plus a 24/7 help desk and security operations center. Traxler, who has customers in 16 states but just five employees, became a member because he knew he’d need to cast a long shadow to outmatch a new wave of MSPs with regional and even national footprints that was then just emerging but is now gaining traction with substantial help from private equity funding.
SEVERAL YEARS AGO, when Cirrus Technologies, of Ohio’s Dayton/Cincinnati region, was still very young, it found itself competing with a far larger IT provider for a client who wanted to verify that both firms could meet its needs by visiting their headquarters. That seemingly simple request posed a problem for Cirrus CEO Chris Traxler, however, because in those days his tiny firm operated out of his house.