Managed Service Providers (MSPs) are essential to today’s high-tech economy. Companies who lack in-house IT departments need MSPs to survive. N2M Technology is one such MSP. TelNet Worldwide is a proud technology partner of N2M. We provide MS Teams Direct Routing, Cloud PBX and other telecom services.
In this Partner Spotlight, we highlight:
- N2M Technology: A Full-Service MSP Founded on a Mission
- Maturing and Expanding
- Standardizing for Success
- Growing Through Relationships
“Too many partners get out of their lane of expertise. They get away from what they are really good at. TelNet does not do that. They stick to what they know best.”
N2M Technology: A Full-Service MSP Founded On a Mission
Nick Oliverio is the founder and president of N2M Technology. He earned his IT credentials working at Hewlett Packard and EDS for nearly three decades
“At HP/EDS, I designed and built large-scale data/voice networks. This included large manufacturing complexes to multi-site environments both domestically and internationally,” he says.
In 2012, Nick took a buyout from HP. That’s when he started N2M Technology.
It was obvious to him that enterprise companies were not going to hire his small business for these large-scale projects, so “we turned our attention to smaller businesses, to maintaining their computers, servers, networks, cloud solutions and physical infrastructure like cabling, door access and camera systems,” he says.
“Many MSP’s only focus on the endpoint where we took the approach of ‘integration’ of multiple disciplines and ensuring that the client’s networks were properly designed and built,” Nick says.
Nick notes that some N2M clients are other MSP’s and specialized vendors where N2M helps them complete their solutions.
Maturing and Expanding
Over time, N2M’s approach paid off. The company matured and grew. Today, N2M is a full-service MSP. In addition to traditional IT services, N2M distinguishes itself by also providing cybersecurity, something many MSPs do not do.
Monthly retainers comprise half of N2M’s revenue, with the remainder coming from project work. “We do a lot of projects for clients that never become a contract of ours. They’re bigger companies who maybe just have an office in metro Detroit. Or maybe they have an MSP that doesn’t do cameras or door access or cabling, the stuff that we do. So we go in, do the work, then are done.”
Based in southeast Michigan, N2M now supports clients in seven states and mainly caters to small to midsize businesses (SMBs). N2M’s largest client has 200 employees, but the bulk of clients fall in the 30-60 seat range.
Standardizing for Success
In 2022, Nick’s son, Michael, joined the company as Vice President of Managed Services. Michael had spent 15 years as an IT Global Teams Administrator for TI Fluid Systems.
At N2M, Michael was tasked with retooling N2M’s technology stack to be more optimized. “I’m not an operations guy,” Nick says. “I’m a design-build guy. We had room for improvement, that’s why Michael joined us.”
“One of my big pushes has been standardization,” Michael says. “When you work in an enterprise environment like I did, you have a lot of equipment that is the same. You buy all the same switches, firewalls, servers, etc. That way, when something breaks, it simplifies the troubleshooting process.”
“When I came to N2M, we had different clients with different configurations with different equipment. I’m trying to standardize equipment as much as possible. I am also standardizing policies and settings. That alone has completely simplified troubleshooting issues for devices.”
The work is paying dividends. Last year, N2M grew 30%.
“Michael and his team have done a fantastic job fixing a lot of dad’s operational shortcomings,” Nick says with a father’s pride. “We now have the capacity to easily add a couple hundred more seats and a process that can scale beyond that.”
Growing Through Relationships
Nick takes satisfaction that N2M has grown mostly through word-of-mouth.
“Quite frankly, up until recently, we never spent a penny on marketing. We were one hundred percent word-of-mouth. I’m all about building relationships; that’s the best way.”
“It took years to build that,” he says. “I have lots of general contractors, property owners, property managers, building engineers that refer clients to us. If they hear of a technology need in any way, shape or form, they send it to us and we sort it out from there.”
N2M’s close rate is approximately 85%. “I joke and say ‘my phone rings, I answer it and I get the sale,’” says Nick.
N2M has recently embarked on marketing efforts to expand its reach. Nick anticipates that will impact the volume of leads and his close rate – “I’m going to go from 85% to 8%” he kids — but the upside potential is worth the risk.
“When TelNet does a phone system migration, they leave their support information directly with the customer. The client can call them directly. If we hear of any issues from the customer, we just pass that information along to TelNet and they work through the issue with the client. It’s great.”
6 Ways TelNet Worldwide Delivers Value to N2M and MSPs
TelNet and N2M began working together in 2023.
“I was introduced to Nick through a mutual customer of ours,” says TelNet Sales Director Jeff Potter. “N2M was the technology support vendor and we were the voice provider to the customer.
“The customer needed to make a change to their phone system. As we investigated options, Nick and I realized how compatible TelNet and N2M were and that we could form a strong partnership.”
Since then, TelNet and N2M have collaborated on more than half a dozen customers. Here’s how TelNet helps N2M and can help other MSPs.
TelNet Makes You Look Good
N2M works with a variety of technology partners. When asked what he looks for in technology partners, Nick is succinct: “Make us look good.”
“When we recommend a partner to a customer, we feel responsible for that recommendation. When it doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to for the customer, we take heat for it,” he says. “We’ve had some issues in the past with vendors who didn’t quite deliver as expected.”
N2M does not have those issues with TelNet.
One example client is Dr. Theresa Andersonning. She is a family doctor who started her own practice. She needed cloud calling capabilities along with collaboration tools. Nick put her in touch with TelNet and we provided her with unified communications, softphones and digital faxing.
“That was a perfect scenario for TelNet,” says Nick. “That’s what VoIP is all about.”
TelNet Support Your Clients
Daniel Zientak, N2M’s Operations Manager, says working with TelNet support is a great experience.
“When TelNet does a phone system migration, they leave their support information directly with the customer. The client can call them directly. If we hear of any issues from the customer, we just pass that information along to TelNet and they work through the issue with the client. It’s great.”
Nick adds, “if a call comes in from a client who is using TelNet, we’ll facilitate that call. But we’re not doing any troubleshooting.”
Nick has had negative experiences with vendors who shipped their support centers overseas. He prefers US-based support, such as TelNet provides.
TelNet Doesn’t Point Fingers
TelNet has a “no finger pointing” policy in which we do not pass the buck on problems a client may have, even if the problem is not of our own making.
N2M has a similar policy.
“That’s exactly how we operate,” Nick says. “We operate from the perspective of being the clients ‘Outsourced IT Department’ and they don’t want to be redirected to another vendor. We navigate the problem until it is resolved”.
He appreciates partners like TelNet who take the same we-fix-it approach.
TelNet Focuses On What We Do Best
Another characteristic of TelNet that Nick likes is not trying to be all things to all customers.
“Too many partners get out of their lane of expertise,” Nick says. “They try to get their hands in all these other pieces, and they get away from what they are really good at. TelNet does not do that. They stick to what they know best.”
TelNet Is Trustworthy
Trust is an important part of partner relationships.
“Part of my process when I’m working with other vendors is to build a true partnership, one where they care about me as much as I care about them,” says Michael. “I’m not looking for a sales guy to come in and sell me something that isn’t there. I am looking for good people who can benefit us and are willing to help us, like we help them.”
N2M has experienced other vendors who provide a round-robin of account managers and support people, something Nick finds frustrating and confusing.
He cites the example of one vendor who was constantly changing staff. “We didn’t even know who our account manager was,” Nick says. “We didn’t have one account manager that supports all of our clients, we had, like, six different account managers. Uggh.”
With TelNet, N2M gets a single point-of-contact. “Our experience with TelNet has gone exceptionally well,” Nick says.
TelNet Stands Behind What We Sell
Another thing N2M looks for are vendors who walk-the-walk.
“Do they use their own products? Are they using the product that they sell?” Michael says. “I’m really big on that. And when it comes to displaying their product, are they showing me a PowerPoint presentation with screenshots or a live environment?
“If it’s a screenshot presentation, I couldn’t care less about it. I want to see your live environment. I want to see a demo environment with data and click around and show me it actually does what you say it does.”
“I’m very much hands-on with everything that we sell and do,” says Nick. “I want to make sure it’s going to function the way I’m presenting it to the client.”
At TelNet, we use the products we sell every day. All of our partners have access to demo environments to test the actual services and products we provide.
“Our experience with TelNet has gone exceptionally well.”
Are You an MSP Looking for a Trusted Partner?
TelNet is a trusted telecom partner to MSPs. We help MSPs achieve their business goals while keeping their customers happy. If you’d like to learn how TelNet can help you, contact our MSP Partnership team by calling (800) 974-4800 or submitting a request here.
