Note from the CEO: Our end-of-the-year post is a little bit different this year. Traditionally I take time at the end of the year to reflect on changes affecting our team and clients. This year I experienced a life-changing event that solidified my belief in the power of people and the value in relationships. You will find the first part of this post to be business as normal and my personal story in the second part.
– Dylan Natter
If 2022 taught me anything, it’s that strong relationships are the most important things we can develop. Period. The power of people working together towards a common goal makes miracles happen.
Over the years I’ve spent a lot of time telling folks centrexIT is a people-obsessed company. We’ve spent years perfecting our hiring and training process to build the best team possible to support our clients. That’s because time and time again I’ve seen the difference that excellence in our IT service makes. In today’s tech-dependent world a sudden technology glitch or incident can bring operations to a screeching halt. Our team’s readiness to jump in to fix the unexpected, no matter what hour or day it is, can prevent a client from losing money or business.
Our ability to mobilize and help is based on mutual trust. Trust empowers honest conversations, win-win situations, and the flexibility needed to adapt to the ever-changing technological landscape. With trust, we can implement beneficial technology upgrades a client might be nervous to try on their own, such as retiring their traditional on-premise server and moving to the cloud. When we dedicate our highest level of commitment to our clients, we achieve the best possible outcomes.
Our virtual CIOs and IT Managers use their deep understanding of our clients’ needs to implement technology roadmaps to minimize surprises. For instance, when the San Diego Humane Society first came to us, their technology was in a state of near-chaos. Implementing IT roadmaps to get them up and functioning smoothly enabled them to extend their support across San Diego to more than 45,000 domestic and wild animals each year. Additionally, the resulting technological stability helped facilitate a relatively smooth transition to the remote operation necessary during the quarantines and social distancing of the pandemic.
2022: A Bumpy Business Year
2022 threw curveballs to many people I know, including myself (more on that in a minute). We watched a couple of our clients struggle as the effects of the recession disproportionately affected their industry. As their IT partner, we worked with them to downsize their service consumption to reflect decreases in their workforce or changes to their business models. As their long-term associate and trusted friend…well, we could only nod to each other and hope for a soft landing.
Every new circumstance demands unique solutions, and our team has risen to overcome these roadblocks again and again. We’ve provided companies IT services for 20 years and have weathered several large challenges, including the 2008 recession and moving everyone to a work-from-home situation during the pandemic quickly and securely.
Swift and innovative change is necessary in the rapidly advancing technology-based world, but it isn’t easy. That’s where trust and strong relationships win every time. I’m incredibly proud that our client support comes from a group of the best people I’ve ever met. The centrexIT team consistently brings solutions to the table that empower us to build an outstanding future with each other and with our clients, even in uncertain times.
A Giant Curveball
Sometimes life throws you little curveballs, and sometimes you get pegged by the pitcher.
On September 15, 2022, my wife Steff’s heart stopped.
If I didn’t believe in miracles before, I certainly do now.
It was a miracle that Steff was on the phone with her close friend Jill, an ER nurse, when it happened.
It was a miracle that I was home and able to immediately answer Jill’s call when she suspected that Steff was in trouble.
It was a miracle that I live in a time and place in history where I could instantly reach a team of professionals who walked me through giving compressions until the ambulance arrived.
It was a miracle that her heart stopped and was restarted not once, not twice, but three times, and she lived. She survived with minimal long-term effects due to the speed, devotion, and care of the professionals and people that helped her.
This has been both the most traumatic and most inspiring event of my life. It is unbelievable to me that Steff was able to survive this experience. More remarkable was the love, strength, and support of the people around us during that most critical time.
- Thank you – to the first responders and the team of people at the hospital that did everything within their power for Steff
- Thank you – to our family and friends, who wrote hundreds of cards and offered beautiful thoughts, prayers, and memories
- Thank you – to my centrexIT family. You never missed a beat and kept the business running smoothly in my absence while sending your own thoughts and positive energy our way.
You can read more about Steff’s remarkable story here: https://www.steffstory.com
People Create Miracles
I can tell you with certainty that miracles are not just unexplainable turns of good luck or fortune. Miracles are also the people that work tirelessly to help each other every day.
With strong relationships built on a foundation of trust we create our own miracles. We create the small everyday miracles of helping the people closest to us and the biggest achievements of humankind, like landing on the moon.
My challenge to you is this: in 2023 put people first. That’s it. Life is too short and too fragile to do it any other way.
I’m looking forward to an exceptional year with the exceptional people I know.
Thank you 2022, for showing me the power of people.
Dylan Natter
CEO, centrexIT
