Ray Hutch talks about partnering rather than competing with other companies in his industry.

It’s hard to imagine the computer industry 36 years ago, but in 1971, Ray Hutch, CEO of Synergy, started a computer timesharing business. Before the PC was invented, people were buying computer time because they couldn’t afford their own computers. When technology evolved, Synergy migrated to the PC business in 1987.

After being in business almost 40 years, Synergy reached a significant share of the market in Upstate New York. “We hit a plateau in the amount of business we could get in our area,” Hutch said. But the company was fortunate in that it had the opportunity to grow outside its region by partnering with companies in other parts of the country that need its services.

A larger network
According to Hutch, many companies in the computer industry belong to the VentureTech network. Synergy has partnered with Ingram Micro, the largest distributor of computer products in the world. Ingram selected the company as its call center help desk for the smaller resellers that are part of its network but can’t justify having their own. “They endorse us, which has enabled us to expand beyond our geographical area,” he said. “Through this mechanism, we can provide call center support anywhere in the country.”

Synergy’s call center help desk operation, or network operations center, is where customers can get questions answered 24/7. Synergy can diagnose problems remotely on its computer systems, provide security, assist with networks, and ascertain problems remotely or in person.

In addition, the name Synergy enables the company to partner with anyone that wants to affiliate with the company while still retaining their own name. They get the benefits of Synergy’s services and any other areas they want to outsource so they can focus on their primary markets. “It’s a good vehicle for growth and merging,” Hutch said.

Synergy’s network operations center is fully staffed (more than 50 full-time employees) around the clock. Employees with various skill sets are separated into groups of four so they can answer a variety of questions customers may have. “No one person would know all the answers to every problem,” Hutch said.

Different client calls go to specialized teams. The teams can cross pollinate if they need to, explained Hutch, but most of the time teams are assigned to certain customers, enabling them to better keep track of their records instead of starting over with each new phone call. “It can waste a lot of time when customers keep getting someone new each time they call with a question or problem,” he said.

Attractive alternative
Synergy attracts many companies that wish to affiliate with it because it’s one of the few employee-owned computer companies in the country. “I started this company 36 years ago, and being that I’m getting close to retirement, I chose to sell the company to my employees rather than a third party,” Hutch said.

According to the CEO, many companies in the computer industry are reaching the point where they can’t grow because the cost of doing business is such that they often have to merge or consolidate with another company. “Since we’re the only employee-owned company in our industry, we offer a good alternative to those that don’t want to give up their independence completely.”

Synergy enables its partners to operate in their own market while still being a part of the company, sharing in the total profits of the organization. “They aren’t limited to their own profits, which can fluctuate over the years. Having a lot of companies associate with us helps compensate for the areas where companies are having a rough time.”

Synergy outsources the need for small businesses to have certain expertise on staff. Its customers can have minimum IT employees on staff and outsource all the tough parts to Synergy. “Their people can handle the day-to-day problems, but if there’s a problem that arises they aren’t familiar with, they can call us to complement their skill sets,” Hutch said.

“We enable companies to have smaller IT teams by harmonizing with us to be an extension of their team. They can depend on us as trusted advisors in areas they aren’t comfortable. This embodies our company vision, which is to be a community of partners complementing each others talents to achieve quality information solutions,” he concluded.