Small businesses can have an IT department too
May 22, 2013, Published in Winnetka Talk by Jackie Pilossoph for Sun-Times MediaEveryone has computer issues from time to time. Viruses and hackers aren’t uncommon, and computer technology is changing constantly.
That’s why big corporations have information technology departments with a staff that offers support and education for anything related to computers.
So what about businesses whose budgets don’t allow for IT departments? That’s where Juan Carlos Bosacoma comes in.
Bosacoma is the founder of his Northfield-based computer services and IT consulting business, CIO Landing, a company he created 11 years ago when he saw a need to give small and medium-sized businesses a chief information officer.
“If these companies don’t have someone to step in when computer issues arise or when new technology is available that might help them, they will have inefficiencies and a decrease in their productivity,” said Bosacoma, a former software developer who worked for several Fortune 500 companies, including Capgemini, Time, Inc. and Quaker Oats.
Bosacoma said the single largest expense in any company is its employees, and if those employees are spending their time dealing with computer issues, they aren’t being utilized to the maximum to do what they were hired to do.
CIO Landing, with its eight employees, offers services that include managed IT, full network and computer support, backup and disaster recovery, 24 hour telephone support, and technology consulting to companies with 10-250 employees.
“I’ve always had a fascination with technology and it has evolved into applying that technology to solve problems,” said Bosacoma, who holds a B.A. in computer science and a Master’s in industrial engineering. “We take away our clients’ technology headaches. We become their IT department.”
Bosacoma, who grew up in Bolivia, came to the states to attend the University of Buffalo, where he earned both of his degrees. In 1996, he started an Internet service provider and sold it to a large company.
He said what makes CIO Landing different than other managed service providers and consultants is that other companies offer only the technical component, whereas CIO thinks like a business owner.
“Our first conversation with a business owner is about their business, what their goals are, understanding what’s important to them and really thinking like they do,” said Bosacoma, who lives in Northbrook with his wife, Sally, and their two children. “It’s important to us that they are successful. If they are successful, we are successful. We are their partner.”
Rich Fahn is the president of Excell Benefits Group, a Northbrook-based insurance brokerage firm. He met Bosacoma through a business associate and is now a client of CIO.
“It was perfect timing because my small office was growing and I needed help,” he said. “I was doing the IT myself and I basically outgrew my expertise. I needed my infrastructure to be more secure, and I wanted to take my technology to the next level.”
“In the world we live in, nothing is perfect,” said Mark Hearsh, executive vice-president of GTI Financial, a Northbrook-based financial services company. “Things happen, things go wrong, and that happens electronically, too. And none of us here are technologically savvy. All we know is that it’s not working, and that’s where CIO Landing comes in.”
In 2012, Bosacoma and his wife, Sally published Computer Headaches Gone Forever, a book to educate business owners on the different elements it takes to maintain a network.
“IT is not my business,” said Hearsh. “Financial Services is my business. We rely on J.C. (Juan Carlos) to solve our problems quickly. He’s attuned to what our system needs.”
