We hear these from our current and potential clients daily. “I want this device to talk to this and that to connect to that. I want it to work everywhere. And I want it cheap.”  Businesses constantly approach us wanting to use the cloud, whose surrounding hype has positioned it as a quick, easy, cure-all solution that allows you to access your data from any device.  However, the cloud is not a silver bullet for every business’ IT woes.  Any IT solution needs to be customized for your specific business needs and properly implemented by an industry expert.

The most difficult barrier we face is convincing people what separates one hosting company from another or what the cloud really means because it has been blurred by the media. There is also the stipulation of “outsourcing” anything. It’s become a common and often negative word. But once we get passed all that and we are left with the question, “Why Enterhost?” we find that we have a lot to say. Here are just a few.

1. Top-notch team. We don’t just hire any ole tech, we hire support staff with 4-year college degrees and extensive certifications. We hire sales professionals to handle sales, marketing professionals to handle marketing and seasoned accounting professionals to handle our finances. We don’t do what a lot of hosting companies do which is slotting IT people into various positions around the company. A physician’s office wouldn’t hire a doctor to handle their marketing.
2. Extensive capabilities all under one roof. We have our own 20,000 square foot data center to handle all of your hosting needs.
3. We don’t look at ourselves like “outsourced IT.” We immerse ourselves into your business so much that we become an extension of your team.
4. Exceptional, professional customer service. Our attention to detail really sets us apart from our competition. We know this because we hear positive feedback constantly from our clients.
5. Constant communication with our clients and always striving to bring them the latest and greatest technological advancements. Enterhost is breaking barriers with Microsoft Lync in addition to finding new ways to communicate with clients and potential customers. Fortunately, we got a head start by hiring a full-time marketing staff, but we continue to be active through blogging, social media, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+.

Ultimately, we understand how critical our client’s operations are, no matter how many employees they have. This respect for their business operations in addition to our attention to detail is what sets Enterhost apart and keeps our clients happy. And we know that in an industry where you have to “Differentiate or Die,” we aren’t going anywhere.

Winners were announced in the April 16 edition of the Business press but you can view the online version here. The 2012 class is quite impressive. You have lawyers, business owners, investment bankers, executives and even the General Manager for the Texas Rangers, Jon Daniels (also known as the youngest GM in MLB history. He was only 28 when he was hired in 2005).

Getting selected for this award is such an honor. To even be considered you must demonstrate how you have established and grown local businesses through innovation, dedication, and volunteerism. To give you an overview of our co-president and his accomplishments, here is just a slimmed down version of the written application:

Professional accomplishments and/or noted credentials:

In 2000 Kevin Valadez and his business partner, Ben Tiblets, formed Enterhost, a web hosting solutions and Microsoft® Windows® application specialist, headquarted in downtown Fort Worth. Kevin and Ben recognized the incredible growth opportunity for Windows in the web hosting market and set out to revolutionize the industry.

Over the first few years, Enterhost quickly gained momentum and the owners saw they were in need of a space to house racks of servers for their growing clientele. In 2006, the opportunity to move into their dream location finally came about. So they moved into the 20,000 square foot datacenter in downtown Fort Worth’s Burnett Plaza. Twelve years later, Enterhost still remains privately held and profitable, managing thousands of clients from around the country and various parts of the world.

But true entrepreneurs are rarely satisfied with launching just one successful company, so in 2008, Kevin and Ben created Consuro, a premier managed technology services company serving businesses from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies. Consuro sets itself apart from other MSPs by being one of the few in the industry to have a hosting division. Consuro is able to also assist with the hosting needs of their clients who would have previously hosted with another company. We’ve now gained their business and trust under both brands.

Enterhost was the first and still remains the largest hosting company in Fort Worth. Bringing a service offering like hosting to this area is very important to businesses who want to keep their data close to home. However, the clientele is not restricted to just DFW or Texas. Enterhost’s services are used by companies across the world.

Kevin is the type of professional who seeks out new opportunities. Initially, he goes against the norm but then he quickly becomes the trendsetter. Kevin’s business success has been noticed amongst his peers. Nine Lives Media Inc.’s fourth annual MSPmentor 250, a global report that identifies the world’s leading managed service executives, entrepreneurs, experts, coaches and community leaders, named Kevin one of their top leaders in 2011. This recognition as one of the top experts in the field validates Consuro’s goal of becoming the leading IT provider in the Texas regions we serve. Also, on March 28, 2012, Kevin was notified that Consuro was selected as a finalist for the Fort Worth Chamber’s Vision 20/20 Award, signifying that Consuro is a great place to work for Young Professionals in Fort Worth. It’s any business owner’s dream that their employees would be just as passionate about their business as they are.

Describe the Nominee’s Leadership Qualities.

Kevin is “leader” personified, running two successful businesses and keeping a keen eye on what’s next. Together with his business partner Ben Tiblets, Kevin has poured his heart and soul into growing both companies from scratch. And for anyone who has ever owned a business, you know that you risk everything. Your time, your family, your assets… your peace of mind. But if you ever sit down with Kevin you will be quick to realize that he is one of the kindest, most professional, intelligent and insightful people you will ever meet. Never have I met a business owner, let alone someone who runs two companies, who not only acts like they have it all together but actually DOES have it all together. The risks he has taken to get here – and will continue to take – are worth every step. With a leader like Kevin helping steer the ship, it’s no wonder both brands have experienced such tremendous growth.

What is the nominee’s career background?

Upon graduation from Angelo State University, Kevin accepted a position in San Antonio at Capital Group as a systems analyst. Kevin and Ben had attended college together and always talked about one day opening up their own business. What started as an after-hours and weekends gig became two multi-million dollar companies. Enterhost was founded in 2000 and Consuro was founded in 2008.

Community Involvement:

Sometimes the most generous of gifts are the ones given when no one is looking, and these are the moments that truly reveal motive and character. One recent example involved a lower income family who was stricken with the sudden death of their father and were desperately struggling to make ends meet. Kevin quickly jumped into action, anonymously arranging for gifts and monetary donations to be made to the surviving wife and children to help them overcome this tragedy. With Kevin’s ongoing help, this family is taking the necessary steps to getting back on their feet financially so that they can begin to heal emotionally.

Kevin and his wife Carrie have a strong place in their hearts for local causes that directly impact the community in which they live, and especially those that benefit children. For years they have supported Community Storehouse, a crisis relief agency dedicated to serving the children in our local community. Community Storehouse supplies children and their families with food, clothing and financial aid, providing help for today and hope for tomorrow.

This person deserves to be honored because:

Consuro’s innovative business strategies not only create jobs, but secure them. Consuro assists IT managers, office managers, and even CEOs by enabling them to focus on their larger business operations instead of worrying about every technological problem that arises. And in such uncertain economic times, you cannot put a price tag on job security and business growth.

With multiple offices across Texas and more opening in 2012, no matter where the business expands to, our headquarters and heart will always be in Fort Worth. Kevin believes in this community; the value of his loyal employees, the generosity of the local clients that helped us grow and the uniqueness of this great city. With Kevin’s drive, savvy business expertise, entrepreneurial spirit and strong family values, he is the perfect candidate for 40 Under 40.

In between starting and running two extremely successful companies, Kevin also started a beautiful family. He and his wife Carrie have two amazing and courageous children, Landry (6) and Lyla (2).

This year’s event will be held at the Fort Worth Club on May 23. Purchase your tickets today online for the big celebration!

-Courtney Summers, Marketing Director

Technology is now both accessible and affordable to smaller companies. A startup can utilize the same exact tools as a Fortune 500. Unlike a larger enterprise, SMBs are more nimble when it comes to adopting new technology. There are no large upfront investments, they can be up and running quickly and they can adapt quickly to market changes. From this perspective, technology is not only an equalizer, but a differentiator.

Microsoft conducted a study with Edge Strategies and wrote an article about the cloud as a differentiator for small and medium sized businesses. We found the study interesting because it reiterates what we’ve been trying to communicate to our customers.

“Although many SMBs are interested in the benefits that the cloud can deliver, many are unable to identify which services would be most valuable for them to implement and select a service provider. More than 60 percent of SMBs indicate they do not have the resources necessary to implement new technologies and services, and 52 percent do not have the resources to get their employees trained. For the large ecosystem of cloud service providers, this represents significant opportunity to bridge the knowledge and implementation gap and gain new customers — 56 percent of SMBs report a preference toward buying IT and cloud services from a single source.”

While SMBs are experienced and knowledgeable in their own industries, they don’t have the expertise, resources or time to keep up with all things IT. But they know they need it to survive. Our goal is to bridge the gap between the SMBs and this high level technology by giving them the tools they need to compete.

SMBs can leverage cloud technology to compete with larger entities. The cloud caters to smaller businesses by delivering cheaper, faster operations to virtually any device. So I can’t reiterate enough that just because you’re small doesn’t mean you’re limited to your size. This is the chance to get ahead of the bigger guys while they are still thinking about making the move to the cloud.

That is where Enterhost comes in, your go-to cloud provider. Inside our 20,000 square foot data center are all of the cloud tools you need. Knowing who is behind the infrastructure is crucial for understanding where your data is stored and who is managing it at all times.

Enterhost strongly believes it is important for customers to know the general detail about the hardware running behind the scene in order to distinguish between cloud services. We focus on running an enterprise-level environment and shy away from ones running on very cheap hardware. It’s this dedication to Dell server systems that led to a case study that highlighted this new infrastructure.

This does not mean that one type of provider is better than the other, it’s just important to know who exactly is managing your data so you can make an informed decision. All of these points will weigh heavily when comparing one cloud service provider to another when choosing to purchase or resell. And if you have any questions along the way when reselling our services, please don’t hesitate to ask. We use the word “partner” for a reason! Contact us at partner@enterhost.com.

We were surprised and delighted when we flipped through the most recent issue of Dell Power Solutions. There staring back at us were two of the images taken in our data center almost a year ago during the photo shoot led by Dell.

The issue is dedicated to “The intelligent data center” which makes perfect sense why our data center images would be featured in the magazine!

Dell ventures to customer and partner sites to showcase Dell technology in authentic business settings rather than using staged infrastructures. Among the many highlights of 2011, the one-day photo shoot led to many of the great opportunities we have experienced such as the Dell case study highlighting the product launch of our cloud services. The photos taken on our site were also featured in other marketing materials, including the SMB catalog for Dell’s North American and European business markets.

Data centers seem to be a hot topic right now. We addressed the data center building binge last month on our blog because of the largest U.S. construction projects in 2011, two were data centers.

Check out the most recent issue of Power Solutions and look for the photos captured in our data center on pages 36 and 40!