MSP 501 Profile: Nero Consulting Busy with Projects Amid COVID-19

Company Name: Nero Consulting
Company MSP 501 Rank: 8
CEO: Anthony Oren
Headquartered: New York City
Primary Services:

Twitter: @NEROconsulting

Nero Consulting has stayed busy with IT consulting throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, helping clients with cloud migration, cybersecurity and communications.

As CEO Anthony Oren points out, the rush to remote working provided his company the opportunity to “teach old dogs new tricks.”

Furthermore, his company has been focused on taking on bigger jobs this year.

Nero Consulting’s Anthony Oren

The MSP offers cloud-based services, cybersecurity and continuity strategies for businesses of all sizes across every industry.

Here, Oren talks about his company‘s biggest pivot this year and what he likes about being an entrepreneur.

Channel Futures: What is one thing you wish vendors would do that they don’t?

Anthony Oren: Provide timely feature requests/bug fixes!

CF: What new opportunities and challenges came with the global COVID-19 pandemic?

AO: New opportunities were to teach old dogs new tricks. Teleworking/remote working was a thing of the future that all of sudden became the necessary perquisite for working in the modern day. The challenge was to train/teach more senior employees on the power of Zoom, Teams, Skype and Hangouts virtual meetings.

CF: What do you love about the IT channel? What do you hate about it?

AO: I love the sharing of tips, tricks and technology news of the IT channel, yet hate the fact that every one and their mother believes they are the bleeding edge of whatever the latest trend is; for example, managed security service provider. MSSP is a relatively new term from a year ago and now everybody claims they are an MSSP.

CF: What was the single biggest technology or business decision that drove your company’s growth in 2019? How did it do so?

AO: The single biggest technology driver for us was to take on projects that do not involve recurring income such as MSP, but instead take on bigger buildout projects as a one-off.

CF: Tell us the story of the biggest pivot you’ve ever had to execute.

AO: The biggest pivot that I had to execute was last year in 2019 when I bid on on a design-and-build project for a co-work building (similar to WeWork). It was different because the bid packages were enormous to fill out. The insurance packages and requirements were a big upfront investment. And then the risk was huge in terms of procuring almost $500,000 worth of IT equipment upfront with only a letter of intent and a five-figure deposit. I had to solely rely on the word of the developer that they would stick to the payment schedule as they promised.

CF: Is the influx of private equity and increase in M&A activity impacting your business? How?

AO: I receive acquisition emails almost daily. So something is definitely happening in the market. But right now I do not see it affecting my business in any way.

CF: If you could go back to one technological point in time, what would it be and why?

AO: I would go back to the MySpace days of pre-Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, etc., and warn everyone not to fall for the social media addiction that would soon become our world. I would do my best to prevent social media from ever taking place so that the world would be a happier and less emotion place to live in.

CF: Have you ever turned a nightmare client into a dream client? Tell us how.

AO: All clients (end users) are a nightmare every day of the week except for the last day when they pay their bill.

CF: If applicable, why are you a business owner instead of working for someone else? What is the allure of entrepreneurship to you?

AO: Entrepreneurship is something that empowers me, and keeps my life exciting and new. It is like a superpower to have the power to make a difference for others, have a flexible schedule and profit from it.