UCG Technologies Awarded 2016 ELDY Business Partner of the Year!

UCG is pleased and honored to have been awarded the ELDY award for 2016 Business Partner of the Year.

"Thanks for attending the 10th annual ELDY Awards and congratulations to you and the entire UCG team on winning the Business Partner of the Year award for 2016--the first company to have won a second such award. UCG was chosen from over 60 IT related business partners. 

We appreciate the many years of partnering with you and that your organization continues to look for ways to add value for Austin as evidenced with the KnowBe4 cyber security training. Thanks again for your sponsorship of the ELDYs. I look forward to seeing you again at next years’ event.”   
Larry Domzalski, IT Director, Austin Powder Company

Thank you, Larry Domzalski and Austin Powder Company!

UCG Technologies Accelerates Geographic Expansion with Acquisition of Pittsburgh-based Integrator

We are very pleased to announce that UCG Technologies has acquired the IBM i Series Solutions business of E-Safe Technologies LLC (formerly Premier Technologies, Inc.) a Pittsburgh-based IT service provider.
The acquisition will accelerate UCG’s growth in the Midwest as it continues its transition and expansion from a regional integrator into a full-service provider of backup, disaster recovery (DR), enterprise applications and security training with a focus on the IBM POWER8 Systems platform. UCG now has customers in 31 states, Canada, Caribbean and Europe.

We have long been impressed by E-Safe’s (Premier) strength in the Pittsburgh market for POWER8 solutions. Frankly, they owned the Pittsburgh market. This acquisition not only opens the door to hundreds of accounts, but gives those customers access to a broader range of software and services. It’s a win for UCG, a win for E-safe and a win for their customers.

E-Safe’s customer base includes more than 250 companies in the greater Pittsburgh market and four other states in the Great Lakes area.

Rob Wise, Technical Engineer
UCG Technologies

E-Safe will focus its resources on the burgeoning computer network maintenance and IT managed services market. Rob Wise, who was previously IBM Practice Manager for E-Safe, has joined UCG as Technical Engineer where he will work with UCG Vice President Mike Powall and Operations Manager Gina Creager to ensure a smooth and successful migration for E-Safe customers. All current consulting, service and maintenance agreements will be honored by E-Safe and fulfilled by UCG Technologies.

“Success in the IT services business is all about focus,” said Tim Steinour, President and Owner of E-Safe Technologies. “We foresee tremendous growth in our new lines of business, so we’re doubling down on those opportunities. In UCG we’ve found a partner who can not only ensure our customers world-class support but can bring additional products to the table.”

Read full press release              Meet Rob Wise

Please join us in welcoming Rob to the UCG Technologies team!

Thank you,

Jim Kandrac, President

Heading into 2017: milestones filled with gratitude

"Remember to celebrate milestones as you prepare for the road ahead." --Nelson Mandela

When UCG rebranded in April, it represented the way forward to a very exciting future for our employees, clients, and business partners.

We’re standing on the threshold of the greatest advances in computing since the invention of the microprocessor. IBM expects half of all software applications developed three years from now to have “cognitive” capabilities, or the ability to reason, learn, discover and advise. The potential for us to apply cognitive reasoning to make our customers’ enterprise operations and applications more intelligent is thrilling.

Big data, cloud computing, predictive analytics, machine learning, and the Internet of Things will change our world in ways we can only imagine today. UCG technologies is committed to helping to guide our customers toward decisions that have the greatest bottom-line impact.

In 2017 we'll reach another milestone—our 30th anniversary! Please visit our website to read our newly updated About page. In the meantime, from everyone at UCG Technologies, we wish you a beautiful holiday season and a happy, healthy, prosperous New Year!

Last Chance to Register - Top Five Ways To Protect Your Organization and Recover From a Data Loss or Security Breach

You are cordially invited to a webinar presented by Jim Kandrac, President of UCG Technologies. Learn how your organization can benefit from UCG Enterprise Cloud Backup, DR, and H/A solutions which now include Enterprise Security Training.

Join us tomorrow, October 25!

In just 45 minutes, you will gain new insight into how to protect your organization from data loss through disaster or human error!

Last chance to register!

Date and Time

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

2:00 PM - 2:45 PM EDT

Register here for October 25th webinar

Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation email with details on how to join the webinar. 

The average consolidated total cost of a data breach, according to a Ponemon Institute study.

As a thank you from UCG, all end user attendees will receive a complimentary $25.00 electronic gift card for Tiki Hut Coffee, a longtime UCG client!

UCG Technologies Seeking a Client Success Specialist - Independence, OH

The Client Success team drives product usage and adoption and delivers honest and helpful UCG product and/or service advice. We act as client advocates and focus on building long-term relationships with our clients. At UCG, client retention is paramount to success. It is our job to ensure clients fully recognize the value of their IT investment. The selected candidate will proactively engage clients to ensure their 100% complete satisfaction. 

 Job duties

With guidance from Operations Manager, set agenda for client interaction as follows:

• Contact new UCG Enterprise Cloud Backup and DR clients to ensure their satisfaction following installation.
• Proactively follow-up and schedule annual Disaster Recovery tests.
• From initial launch, manage client email phishing tests and schedule end user online training for Enterprise Security (KnowBe4).  
• Help ensure all training sessions are completed in a timely manner; follow up on an ongoing basis to ensure 100% satisfaction.
• Work with end user client and UCG sales rep to sell additional services, i.e. Intel / VM backup and KnowBe4 Enterprise Security Training.
• Immediately inform Operations Manager of any client concerns, issues, or requests so they can be managed in a timely manner and to their complete satisfaction. 
• Additional duties as required.

    Download complete job description here. 

YOU ARE INVITED TO A UCG TECHNOLOGIES WEBINAR

TOP FIVE WAYS TO PROTECT YOUR ORGANIZATION AND RECOVER FROM A DATA LOSS OR SECURITY BREACH

You are cordially invited to a webinar presented by Jim Kandrac, President of UCG Technologies. Learn how your organization can benefit from UCG Enterprise Cloud Backup, DR, and H/A solutions which now include Enterprise Security Training.

Join us on October 11 or October 25!

In just 45 minutes, you will gain new insight into how to protect your organization from data loss through disaster or human error!

SIGN UP TODAY!

Dates and Times

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

9:00 AM - 9:45 AM EDT

Register here for October 11th webinar

AND

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

2:00 PM - 2:45 PM EDT

Register here for October 25th webinar

Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation email with details on how to join the webinar. 

The average consolidated total cost of a data breach, according to a Ponemon Institute study.

As a thank you from UCG, all end user attendees will receive a complimentary $25.00 electronic gift card for Tiki Hut Coffee, a longtime UCG client!

IBM hardware support for POWER5 and older systems is ending.

They had a good run but now it's time to move on... and UCG is here for you.

If your company is behind the curve when it comes to IBM i's latest technology, the time to start planning your upgrade to IBM POWER8 is now!

IBM intends to provide repair parts and labor until the termination of your current hardware maintenance services agreement. However, they will not be providing any additional services due to the obsolescence of these systems. Click here to download a list of EOSS machines. 

UCG Technologies specializes in IBM POWER Systems (iSeries). IBM POWER8 systems provide a secure, scalable, optimized platform for your technology needs. To help you plan for your upgrade, we will provide an analysis and custom proposal to fit your businesses technology needs.

Submit for an analysis and custom proposal to upgrade to IBM POWER8.

IBM Power Systems: Built to confidently support business demands. Learn more.

Contact us at 800.211.8798 or email info@ucgtechnologies.com

Time for an upgrade to IBM POWER8?

UCG specializes in the IBM Power Systems which provide a highly secure architecture and stable platform for deploying business applications.

The IBM Power Systems facilitate consolidation of IBM i, UNIX and Linux workloads for midsized businesses. An IBM Business Partner since 1987, UCG is one of the largest independent IBM i business partners and has been rated in the top 1% of IBM business partners globally.

To receive a no-obligation cost analysis, click on System Upgrade, complete the questionnaire, save, and email it to info@ucgtechnologies.com. If you have multiple LPARS and > 1.5TB of disk, please download and activate our complimentary copy of Performance Navigator.

UCG will respond within two business days. 

Spreading a Wider IT Net At UCG Technologies - IT Jungle

By Alex Woodie

Selling boxes in the midrange isn't easy. A shrinking customer base, falling margins on hardware sales, and tight IT budgets combine to put the squeeze on even the best-run reseller outfits. For longtime business partner Jim Kandrac, the shift was palpable enough to lead him to rename his Cleveland, Ohio-based company from United Computer Group to UCG Technologies.

It's notable that "computer" is no longer in the name of Kandrac's company. Are computers no longer important to the business? "The word computer is becoming more passé," he says. "They're still important, but they're less important."

In the heyday of the AS/400 and the iSeries, Kandrac's company would make 80 to 90 percent of its revenue from hardware sales. IBM's midrange server was the Golden Goose that kept United Computer Group humming, and put Kandrac's kids through college. But today, hardware sales account for less than half of UCG's revenues. The company still counts on a loyal group of customers in the Great Lakes region, but it's also been forced to broaden its horizons, and today UCG has customers spread across 31 states and Canada.

Serving such a geographically dispersed client base isn't easy. "It's challenging," Kandrac says. "In the old days, when you'd sell, you'd call somebody, make an appointment, and see them face to face. That's fine if they're local, but on a nationwide basis, it's more challenging."

To be sure, the midrange reseller channel has been evolving since the dot-com and Y2K bubbles popped in 2000. UCG has managed to hold its own and maintain share in a stable-to-shrinking market. But competition on hardware deals is fierce, and Kandrac is under no illusion that Power Systems sales will ever be as lucrative as AS/400 and iSeries sales once were, or that UCG will come to dominate the channel.

"We're a boutique firm," he says. "We're not going to be a $200-million business partner. It's not really our market. We're definitely in the midmarket. We've done business with 1,500 companies, and have a core base of 250 or so. We're looking to reach out from that and look at different segments."

As Kandrac looks to the future, he sees new opportunities rising in certain areas. The biggest is cloud-based backup, disaster recovery (DR), and high availability (HA), which today accounts for 35 percent of UCG Technologies' revenues.

Over the past 10 years, UCG Technologies has carved a niche for itself in this market through VAULT400, a backup and DR environment. While the VAULT400 name is going away, the service itself isn't changing. And without the "400" attached to it, perhaps more customers will tap UCG Technologies to protect Windows, Linux, and UNIX servers as well. (The company has supported these platforms with VAULT400 for many years.)

Ten years ago, when you tried to sell a cloud-based solution, people would look at you funny, Kandrac says. But today, people just seem to get it. With that said, the cloud discussion around the IBM i has its particulars.

"The reason for going to the cloud with i is more administrative, and getting it off your plate," he says. "You don't have 10 people in IT anymore. You have four or five, and you want to spend more time on running and supporting your internal applications. If you look at the cost dollar for dollar, it's one thing. But when you start looking at the people and the resources--that's really where the money is saved."

Kandrac is also keen to sell business software--in particular the IBM i-based ERP software from his partner, VAI. The combination of industry-specific software for apparel, durable goods, retail, food, and pharmaceutical companies and cloud-based backup, DR, and HA and VAI's applications gives UCG Technologies an edge, Kandrac says.

Jim Kandrac, President
UCG Technologies

Security training is a new thing for UCG Technologies. Last fall, the company announced that all subscribers to its cloud backup solutions would automatically receive ransomware awareness training from its partner, KnowBe4.

The ransomware epidemic is rampant at the moment, and several of UCG Technologies customers have fallen victim to cyber criminals who trick unsuspecting employees into clicking on links that then encrypt the contents of hard drives. 

"Do we make a lot of money? Not really," Kandrac says. "But I feel it's so critical to protect the data, so we include it. It's a cost. I get it. But there's no magic dust out here we can sprinkle to take care of data."

Kandrac ran into IBM CEO Ginny Rometty at the recent PartnerWorld conference, and came away believing that things like Watson and analytics could have a real future. Whether or not it plays with the IBM i platform has yet to be seen, but the pervasiveness of data is certainly getting to a point where it might.

"I think people have to be creative and ultimately come up with new ideas," Kandrac says. "When big data and analytics and Watson first came out, I wondered if this was new term for business intelligence and whether you run it on spreadsheets or Cognos. I'm starting to sink my teeth more into Watson and the cognitive era, and my eyes are starting to open. I'm a conservative person so I don't jump on the bandwagon, but I see how it can potentially help."

There's nothing on the drawing board at this point, but Kandrac recognizes the importance of being nimble. The stress and toil of the rebranding exercise ("It's like December 8, 1987--the day I started the business--all over again") was a potent reminder that creation and recreation is a never-ending process.

"I need to sink my teeth into something, and sink my teeth into things that are valuable for my client base, and how I can do more with less," Kandrac says. "Our eyes and ears are open."

Reprinted with permission from Guild Companies. Copyright 1996-2016 Guild Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Exciting CHANGES at United Computer Group!

Things are buzzing here at UCG! Now in our 29th year, our business model is evolving to meet the growing IT requirements of our clients. As a Strategic Service Provider (SSP), UCG has long been known as a trusted technology adviser. Indeed, our role becomes even more compelling with greater emphasis on cloud and managed services.

This translates to helping our clients make complex technology decisions, and find the right path to the cloud to digitally transform their businesses and increase their competitive advantage.

In keeping with our philosophy of continuous innovation and evolution, the decision was made to re-brand UCG. Upon launch of our new website in April, UCG will do business as UCG Technologies. Our URL will be ucgtechnologies.com. Rest assured that current ownership, management, employees, and top notch quality service will continue.

UCG's VAULT400 will receive an updated name as well: UCG Enterprise Cloud Backup, DR & H/A.The new name reflects our focus on providing essential IT services to the entire enterprise, including all platforms and databases. New services will include cloud, hybrid cloud, and private cloud, in addition to remote hardware DR and H/A offerings.

Our streamlined, easy to navigate site will showcase the latest in S2K Enterprise Management Software, IBM POWER8 Systems, UCG Enterprise Cloud Backup, DR, H/A, and Enterprise Awareness Training.

We are very excited about this new chapter in UCG's history, and wanted to share our news with you—our valued clients, business partners, and friends! 

Please enjoy our 30-second video, and thank you for your business!

Q1 2016 UCG Newsletter

Designed by Harryarts - Freepik.com Happy New Year! It's a brand new year, and at UCG we've hit the ground running! For nearly 30 years, our focus has been on continued growth through innovation. We view change as yet another opportunity to serve our clients at the highest level of excellence. And we believe that in order to continue to excel, we can never be satisfied with the status quo. 2015: A year in review. Existing clients are steadily upgrading to IBM Power8; adding cyber security training to their UCG cloud backup and disaster recovery solution; and in many cases, have undergone a complete technology refresh including the addition of S2K Enterprise Management Software (EMS).  Increasingly, companies are migrating from tape backup to UCG's secure cloud backup. In February, we entered into a partnership with Expedient Data Centers to meet our clients' growing needs. This is in addition to our existing partnership with BlueBridge Networks. UCG now has access to 19 secure data centers across the U.S. and Canada.  During numerous conversations with our clients, it became clear that we urgently needed to add an additional layer of security to protect their business critical data. Today, the risk of human error and the increasing odds that a company will be hacked cannot be denied. We listened.  At the end of September we announced UCG's partnership with KnowBe4 to add cyber security training and employee phishing tests to our cloud backup and DR solution.  Scheduled simulated phishing attacks and monthly reports now provide executives the insight they need to maximize training ROI and track security compliance.  Year-end results: We rocked! As we have added new product and service offerings and valuable business partnerships, the numbers speak for themselves! At year end, UCG's recurring revenue increased by 27%. Looking ahead to the New Year. In December, Carbonite announced that it had purchased Seagate's Evault. The hope for the industry and marketplace is that Carbonite takes a very legitimate suite of products, integrates it with a much better go-to-market strategy and continues to solve client backup and DR business issues and pains. What does this mean to UCG clients? UCG is being proactive on behalf of our clients to ensure a smooth transition. Rest assured that UCG will continue to serve our clients in the manner of excellence they have deserved and enjoyed for nearly 30 years. James Kandrac, president & founder of UCG has published an industry response to the announcement.You can read the article here. UCG is YOUR Strategic Service Provider (SSP). Our business model is evolving as well. As a Strategic Service Provider (SSP), UCG has long been known as a trusted technology adviser. Indeed, our role becomes even more compelling with greater emphasis on cloud and managed services. This translates to helping our clients make complex technology decisions, and find the right path to the cloud to digitally transform their businesses and increase their competitive advantage. Meanwhile, back at the ranch... In Q3 2015, the decision was made to rebrand UCG in keeping with our philosophy of continuous innovation and evolution. In fact, since its founding in 1987, UCG has reinvented itself approximately every seven years. Behind the scenes, design and development at our marketing firm, MoMo Companies, has begun on our new website, expected to launch at the end of Q1. The new site will be streamlined, easy to navigate, and will include all of UCG's products and services. The site is being developed with our clients at the forefront of our minds.  A preview of what's to come! UCG will have a new name, logo, and URL! Upon launch of our new website, UCG will do business as UCG Technologies. The URL will be ucgtechnologies.com.  UCG's VAULT400 Baas will receive an updated name and logo as well. Our cloud backup and DR solution will be referred to on our website and in our marketing campaigns as UCG Technologies BaaS,UCG's BaaS and/or UCG's cloud backup and DR solution as applicable. A version of our new logo for our BaaS solution is in development now. We are all very excited about this new chapter in UCG's history!  As always, we remain focused as we continue to evolve, innovate, and stay true to our nearly 30 year tradition of engaged client relationships. Thank you for your continued interest in UCG! Please enjoy our newsletter and forward to colleagues within and outside your organization. Thank you for your friendship, your confidence, and your business.  Atlantic Dominion Distributors We are pleased to introduce Atlantic Dominion Distributors, a successful family owned business founded in 1875! They are located in Virginia Beach, VA and Hope Mills, NC.  Atlantic Dominion recently chose UCG’s BaaS cloud backup and DR solution to protect their business critical data. Atlantic Dominion currently supplies over 10,000 different products to all classes of the retail trade. They were referred to UCG by one of their valued business partners, Summit Business Associates of Richmond, Virginia. UCG specializes in cloud hosted hardware as well as cloud data backup and disaster recovery. UCG’s BaaS was selected by Christopher M. Berry, Director of Information Technology for Atlantic Dominion, to backup mission-critical data on their IBM midrange system. Berry stated, “Atlantic Dominion wanted to replace their daily tape drive backups with a cloud backup solution and also have a complete disaster recovery system in place. My IT staff and I thoroughly researched our options. It was clear that UCG’s BaaS would be a perfect fit for our operation. We have received excellent training and setup assistance from their technical staff, specifically Lead Engineer, Vladimir Capitanov. I highly recommend UCG’s cloud backup and DR solution.”    UCG’s BaaS is currently backing up Atlantic Dominion’s data nightly, compressing it, encrypting the data, and sending it over the cloud to two secure HIPAA compliant data centers that can run for seven days without re-fueling. They also have access to UCG’s Quick Ship program at no additional charge. UCG will send out a like system within 48 hours in the event of a system disaster, fire or flood. The backup system can be used up to 30 days if required. About Atlantic Dominion Distributors atlanticdominiondistributors.com  Leroy W. Davis founded the Old Dominion Tobacco Company in 1875. The company began as a cigar manufacturing establishment, supplying retail tobacco stores with handmade cigars. Mr. Davis then acquired several local tobacco jobbers that led the company into the distribution of multiple tobacco products. In 1902 Mr. Davis again bought out several other tobacco companies, and formed the L.W. Davis Tobacco Company. On May 27, 1904, the Old Dominion Tobacco Company was incorporated and was well established in the distribution business.  The company began adding lines of products other than tobacco, and currently supplies over 10,000 different products to all classes of the retail trade. The company is now under the leadership of Robin Davis Ray, great granddaughter of the founder, doing business as Atlantic Dominion Distributors. In addition to the distribution services, Atlantic Dominion Distributors offers a Food Service Division, Vending Department, CO2 and Fixture Installation Department.  From its humble beginning the company has continued to grow and is now the 16th largest convenience store distributor in the United States. They have accomplished this by meeting and exceeding the needs of their retail customers for over 140 years. Visit Our Resource Libraries Be sure to take advantage of the valuable information available for download in our VAULT400 and Enterprise Management Software Resource Libraries. United Computer Group, Inc. 7100 E. Pleasant Valley Road, Suite #250 Independence, OH 44131-5556 Toll Free: 800.211.8798 Main: 216.520.1333 Email:info@ucgrp.comucgrp.com | vault400.com James A. Kandrac, President Michael D. Powall, Vice President January 2016 Click for latest news Best practices for staying safe in an increasingly exploited digital universe start here. Sign up for your free phishing test today. Over the past several months, UCG has been in communication with our new and existing BaaS clients regarding the urgency to act now to shield their organizations from cyber attacks. To protect their organizations, over the last few years, thousands of organizations in the U.S have started to phish their own users. IT pros have realized that doing this adds an essential security layer. Today, phishing your own users is just as important as having antivirus and a firewall.  Why? If you don't do it yourself, the bad guys will. The bad guys are business people too and their time is money. They go after the low hanging fruit; your users. Traditional once-a-year security awareness training just does not cut it anymore. Is there a patch for ignorance? You'd be surprised.  Phishing your own employees and finding out who the culprits are is a logical course of action. It's a great assessment to find out the phish-prone percentage of your organization, and usually higher than you thought.    Request your free phishing test and learn more about cyber security training for your employees.  We have your data protected, but not from human error. We feel it is imperative to ensure all employees are educated and up to speed on how to spot ransomware attacks BEFORE they click on a dangerous link.  Keep your team on their toes with security top of mind! Cybersecurity predictions for 2016 by Steve Weisman, Special for USA TODAY Last year I quoted late, great sage and Hall of Fame baseball player Yogi Berra. Yogi once noted, "It's tough to make predictions especially about the future." Fortunately, for me, mine for 2015 were accurate. And so I will venture out to again make predictions, many of which should be considered warnings, for 2016 — as I remain all the while cognizant of the words of the Chinese philosopher La Tzu that "those who have knowledge, don't predict. Those who predict don't have knowledge." Read Steve's cybersecurity predictions for 2016.  In honor of our valued clients, employees, and vendors, UCG has made donations to the following charitable and educational organizations this holiday season.    The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is the largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding research, finding cures and ensuring access to treatments for blood cancer patients.  Race For the Rescues. This unique non-profit, no-kill organization is dedicated to eliminating animal suffering and euthanasia.Their mission is to unite welfare organizations to fight pet overpopulation and save as many animal lives as possible.  Our Lady of the Wayside. Established nearly 50 years ago, Our Lady of the Wayside supports children and adults with developmental disabilities through a Family of Services.  Wounded Warrior Project. Established in 2003, the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) began when several veterans and friends, moved by stories of the first wounded service members returning home from Afghanistan and Iraq, took action to help others in need.  The RIFI Institute, Chicago, IL. (Scholarship). The Reason, Individualism, Freedom Institute (RIFI) is a non-profit educational organization devoted to fostering active minds, empowering each individual with the knowledge, reasoning skills, and independence to understand the world and build a life of adventure and creative achievement. Read more about each of these organizations. From our families to yours, we wish you peace, joy, good health, and prosperity. Happy New Year! Socially Connected You can find us on LinkedIn, Twitter,YouTube, Google+, Facebook, and here on our Blog. We make an effort to connect on social media with our clients, vendors, and business partners, so please reach out and let us know where we can find you. Speaking of social media, where have you found the most success connecting with other technology companies/ technology-minded individuals?  Let us know what you think at info@ucgrp.com.