Local IT firm helps companies avoid hi-tech hypothermia

Climbing to the top of Mount Everest is no cakewalk. To scale the 29,000-foot peak, even the most experienced climbers enlist the help of Sherpas, Himalayan people famous for their skills as mountaineers.

For companies, installing and maintaining information technology can be as daunting as the foreboding Himalayan mountain, which is where IT support company MySherpa comes in.

“Technology doesn’t solve business problems,” said business owner Greg Gurev of Mendenhall, Pa. “Technology, if used properly, can help you accelerate your business, leverage your business or give you more productivity.”

Gurev was recently honored by the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce as the Entrepreneur of the Year. His innovation and the way he uses his knowledge to build a loyal customer base, coupled with his dedication to serving the community, make him an excellent example of an entrepreneur, said Mark Kleinschmidt, president of the chamber.

Gurev said much of his company’s success comes from the way it departs from other IT companies. Gurev focuses on the three main tasks of Sherpas: planning, outfitting and heavy lifting.

Laying out a formal plan of how technologies will help a company achieve its goals and then making a timeline for installing those technologies is a vital first step, Gurev said, but its often skipped by IT companies eager to get started. Like climbing a mountain, without a good plan and a well-though-out route, a mountain climber will probably wind up frozen solid, he said.

Proper gear is important, too, he said. Many IT companies have deals with suppliers and get rebates for how many items they sell, he said, giving them an incentive to push products their customers don’t need. Instead, Gurev said he and his employees find the technology that is right for their customers with no strings attached.

On a mountain climb, Sherpas also do much of the heavy lifting, carrying all the gear a climber can’t handle. In the same way, it’s important to understand how much technology a customer can handle, he said, and tailor tech support to a business’ competency level.

Tech support can be frustrating for businesses that can’t get a hold of the person who installed the equipment and end up being double-billed when the IT company fixes a product that was not installed properly, he said. Instead, MySherpa offers 24-hour equipment monitoring and opens at 7 a.m. so clients can get help as soon as they fire up their systems, Gurev said.

“The Sherpa’s not sleeping in when you’re trying to climb the mountain,” he said.

Gurev’s Himalayan business model has been successful; the firm has expanded consistently since it opened eight years ago and hopes to grow sales by 50 percent this year, he said.

In a depressed economy, businesses are looking for ways to be more efficient, he said, and part of that means not throwing money at IT that doesn’t work.

But working in the IT industry definitely keeps one on their toes, he said, because the business completely changes every 18 months.  By staying on top of technology and focusing on support, Gurev hopes to keep helping companies climb their technology mountains for many years to come.