Succeeding by Seizing Opportunity
In the ever-evolving world of IT, technology providers succeed by anticipating and riding waves of change.
NuWave Technology Partners is one such company. From the outset, founders Chad and Kyle Paalman have seized opportunities to stay on the cutting edge.
In this TelNet Partner Spotlight, Chad and Kyle share their success story. They also reveal how TelNet Worldwide has helped them remain at the telecom forefront with Microsoft Teams Direct Routing, unified communications, and more.
Key Takeaways
- NuWave Technology Partners and TelNet Worldwide have a 20-year partnership
- NuWave is unique among managed service provides by offering IT as well as telecom services
- NuWave is a nationally known leader in defense industry cybersecurity compliance
- TelNet provides MS Teams Direct Routing, unified communications and additional telecom expertise to NuWave and its clients
Fusing Telecom and IT
The NuWave story begins in the early 2000s. The technology landscape at the time was siloed, with separate providers handling telecom and IT. Chad and Kyle knew there was a better way. They envisioned a future in which IT and telecom could seamlessly coexist.
They came into the industry at a unique time. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) was something new. “I sometimes refer to us as accidental entrepreneurs,” says Chad. “We had a hunch that businesses would be interested in working with a single company that could take care of ‘all’ their Information technology (IT) needs as well as their telecom needs, all under one roof.”
Seeing an opportunity, the brothers created their own company, NuWave Technology Partners in 2005.
From Accidental Entrepreneurs to IT Innovators
From the start, NuWave set itself apart by combining voice VoIP telephony, wide-area networking, and managed IT services.
“Some of the big opportunities we won early on were due to our unique skill set when it came to connecting multi-site organizations and implementing VoIP, ” says Chad.
During its formative years, NuWave’s expertise in these areas was a differentiator in a landscape where many IT companies lacked experience in voice services.
Since its founding, NuWave Technology Partners has grown internally and externally. With over three dozen employees, the company now manages more than 4,000 endpoint servers and desktops.
Headquartered in Kalamazoo, Michigan, NuWave’s footprint covers most of Michigan’s lower peninsula and extends into Northern Indiana and Ohio.
NuWave’s core focus is providing managed IT services for clients in the manufacturing, professional service, defense and aerospace sectors.
Pioneers in Defense Industry Cybersecurity
NuWave has carved a niche in the field of defense industry cybersecurity.
They formed Prescott, a sister company to NuWave, in 2021 in response to standards set by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST 800-171) that define cybersecurity requirements for defense contractors.
NIST 800-171 led to the creation of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) by the Department of Defense, setting the stage for a paradigm shift in defense industry cybersecurity compliance.
According to the current DOD mandate, by 2025 all companies within the defense industry base must be CMMC certified. This includes undergoing third-party audits to confirm compliance, a mandate that will become contractual.
Prescott is a Registered Provider Organization with the CMMC Accreditation Body and helps companies operate within the standards of regulatory frameworks such as CMMC, HIPAA, and ISO 27001/002.
Earning Accolades and Recognition
In addition to being an early adopter of the CMMC framework, NuWave has earned other accolades.
The company is accredited by the Cyber Accreditation Body (CAB) in the state of Michigan. This recognition, achieved in early 2020, marks NuWave as a leader in cybersecurity compliance.
“As far as we know, we were the first company to get accredited by the CAB in Michigan,” says Chad.
NuWave has attained other achievements, including being named one of Michigan’s “50 Companies to Watch.”
Chad Paalman plays a leadership role in the IT industry, actively serving on industry boards and advisory groups locally, regionally, and nationally.
His advocacy reaffirms NuWave’s status as a reliable partner for companies navigating the complex landscape of IT, telecom and cybersecurity.
Committed to Quality, Longevity and Artificial Intelligence
NuWave’s longevity is a crucial differentiator in a crowded field of competitors.
Many of NuWave’s clients have been with the company since the beginning. This longevity is a critical consideration for business owners seeking a managed service provider.
“Picking the right managed service provider is a very important business decision because we are involved in nearly every aspect of your business,” says Chad. “If you think about any decision you’re making as a business owner, I challenge you to come up with one that does not involve a component of IT.”
NuWave’s willingness to embrace change and be at the forefront of new technologies is evident in their implementation of artificial intelligence and robotic process automation.
“We didn’t just start thinking about AI today. We’ve been working on it for a while,” says Kyle. “We brought on a specialist with a decade of artificial intelligence experience. He is bringing automation and AI to the next level for NuWave and for our clients.”
“I think the comfort we give our clients is that we are a company that has always been at the forefront of new and evolving technologies, even to the point of us being bleeding edge so that we can keep our clients leading edge. We’d rather be the guinea pig than make our clients be guinea pigs,” says Chad.
Teaming With TelNet for MS Teams Direct Routing, Unified Communications and More
NuWave and TelNet Worldwide have a robust 20-year relationship.
“The flexibility and innovation provided by TelNet from day one has been instrumental to our growth,” says Kyle. “TelNet has always been willing to work with us on new opportunities and new solutions.”
“From a technical standpoint, our engineers have a much better experience working with TelNet than with other telecom providers,” Chad says.
TelNet’s telephony expertise has made TelNet a preferred choice for NuWave. The relationship extends to Microsoft Teams.
In 2020, NuWave moved their internal voice systems to MS Teams Direct Routing provided by TelNet. NuWave uses TelNet direct routing for external clients, too.
“TelNet direct routing is priced right, competitive in the marketplace, and TelNet is able to turn around a quality product in a very reasonable timeline,” says Chad when asked what he likes about TelNet’s Direct Routing for Microsoft Teams offering.
As the technology landscape continues to evolve, NuWave Technology Partners stands as a beacon of innovation and adaptability. Accidental entrepreneurs Chad and Kyle Paalman have not only weathered the waves of change but have ridden them with foresight.
NuWave’s partnership with TelNet has cemented each company’s place in the ever-changing world of IT and telecom.
The proactive partnership ensures NuWave and TelNet remain key players not only in Michigan, but across the midwest and throughout the nation for many years to come.
Partner Spotlight: NuWave Technology Partners
Location: Kalamazoo, MI
Founded: 2005
Leadership Team: Chad Paalman, CEO and Co-Founder; Kyle Paalman, President and Co-Founder
Services: Cybersecurity; cloud services; network services; collaboration services; IT infrastructure and Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Size: 38 employees; 4,000 end points under management
How TelNet Helps:
MS Teams Direct Routing; Unified Communications with WebEx
What They Say About TelNet:
“The flexibility and innovation provided by TelNet from day one has been instrumental to our growth. TelNet has always been willing to work with us on new opportunities and new solutions.”
