Larry Nicholson helps small and medium size businesses protect their IT network, ensure valuable files are protected. NNS can help you with small business server, Blackberry server, virus protection software, phone network and more.

Nicholson Network Services Inc. is an IT sales and services company specializing in professional technology solutions for small and medium businesses.

Larry Nicholson is a technology professional with over 15 years of experience. His speciality is Microsoft Small Business Server and Blackberrys. Both are essential tools for any business.

Andrea Dubravsky: Larry, you are well known in the Halton Hills business community for your information technology skills. Does your ability come naturally or is it years of hard work and studying?

Larry Nicholson: I would say… All of the above? Technology has always come naturally to me. My technology love started in electronics and music when I was a teenager. The computer side of things developed when I was in college. When you love something, and are very good at it, is it considered hard work? I have passed two Microsoft MCP (Microsoft Certified Professional) exams in my life time, a third exam in SBS 2011(Small Business Server) is looking good for 2011. Staying current while using experience is what technology solution professionals are all about.

Andrea Dubravsky: What made you decide to start your own computer services business?

Larry Nicholson: When I was working for Compuware in the late nineties and early two thousands, I felt that small and medium businesses were being left behind in terms of technology and the support they needed. Large companies had the budget to hire and implement technology solutions to move their business forward. Customer support solutions like web sites and call centres can make a difference to a company and its bottom line. The thought of doing that for a small and medium business was very appealing. Dealing with the business owner directly and seeing the difference the technology made to their business is thrilling. Seeing new employees getting hired. Setting up equipment in new offices. All signs that the business and the technology they are using are working together. It is addictive therapy.

Andrea Dubravsky: If someone was opening a business for the first time, what would you tell them was most important?

Larry Nicholson: The one thing I have learned over the years of operating a business is that it has to be three important things. 1. It has to be something that you are very good at. You will have to toil for many hours in the business and some days for little to no money. 2. Ensure that the products you carry are what your clients want. The shiny new whatever is going to sit on your shelf if no one wants one. Always be aware of what your customers want. 3. Always under promise and over deliver. Make it your mantra. If you operate with these three premises your business will do well. Also notice that I did not mention technology at all!

Andrea Dubravsky: Larry, what bothers you the most about technology and what do you see in your SMB clients. What should a business owner do?

Larry Nicholson: One of the things that drives me nuts is to see a business that has limped along with a poorly implemented technology solution. A fax machine spewing out reams of paper. People using floppy discs or USB keys to move data from one place to another. Or a small business server that needs to be rebooted every night because it will crash the next day if you don’t. As always, there is a right way and a wrong way to do things. If you are looking at a technology upgrade for your company, ask the question “ How will this help our business”? Adding more parts and pieces is not the answer. Upgrading the desktops is not the answer. It has to be the whole company that you are upgrading. How do the employees do this, is it the right way to do it? Is there a more efficient way.

An example was a customer that received incoming orders via a fax machine. The machine would spit out reams of paper every day. The company would refill the toner, restock the paper tray and the battle with all the pages would never end. The solution, the fax modem in the server was setup to forward all incoming faxes to a specific person’s email account and store the faxes in a folder on the server. She would take the received faxes and forward them electronically to the recipient. If hard copy was needed she would print them off. If it was a junk fax, she would simply delete it. To say the new setup is an improvement is an understatement. The cost savings were huge and the company never loses a fax any more… well, almost never. But you see this was not a huge technology purchase, this was not a massive overhaul. It was simply looking at how the technology that was in use was being used and seeing if there was a better way to implement it.

If you are a business owner ask yourself the question as you walk around the office. How are we using the technology we have. How can we put it to better use? How can we reduce the cost and waste we currently have. Every time you take a dollar out of your operating cost, you put it on the bottom line and that will make a difference.  on its own. As we all know, banks aren’t giving away money any more.

Andrea Dubravsky: What is the most important piece of technology for a business?

Larry Nicholson: Email is the most important business tool today. I can remember the days when I was young that the Telex machine was the communication tool of the time. Then, the fax machine. Oh boy, being able to send an image through the air to another location and have it print out exactly as I sent it. These days email is the critical business tool. No one asks the question “Do you have email” any more. They simply say, what is your email address? Ask someone with a Blackberry or iPhone that they can’t email anyone for 24 hours… See what they say.

Andrea Dubravsky: You support companies in Oakville, Mississauga and Halton Hills. What is the best client result you have seen? Do you have a great story you could share?

Larry Nicholson: One of our clients in Mississauga had a complete server and desktop setup. The person obviously loved Star Wars because their server was named Deathstar. All the desktops were planets, Mars, Saturn and even spaceships like Mir. While this is funny and creative, it is not wanted in a business environment. I am sure the previous technician had the skills to set things up but he hadn’t been focused on the client’s needs. Professional reliable technology that allows a business to thrive is what I stand for. No half way installations, no “it’ll do”. If it is not right, take it apart and do it right. If you have to work over a weekend to allow a client’s company to upgrade its server/network without any downtime, well that’s part of the job. When all the employees come in on the Monday and are able to get right to work. Then you have done your job properly. If the client is able to hire additional staff to help out with the increased sales, then you are on the right track.

Andrea Dubravsky: There is so much technology out there these days. How do you decipher what is needed and what is not?  How do you learn about them?

Larry Nicholson: I’m naturally curious, so learning about new products is easy. I always keep in the back of my mind, how will a business owner use this new technology?  Will this help them do more in less time? Smartphones are a perfect example of this. We all have had a cell phone. It rings, you answer and when done hang up. If you needed to discuss a document you would fax it. With smartphones, now you can send the document, look at it on the road, return it back in the email with comments and continue with your tasks on the road. The down side of this is we now have distracted drivers. There needs to be a middle ground where someone is able to be productive without causing harm to other people.

Andrea Dubravsky: What’s next for Nicholson Network Services?

Larry Nicholson: Being more efficient with the business. Just like technology I want to keep the business moving forward. Looking at how we do things. Understanding what an SMB client needs. Be able to improve the business for as little cost as possible. That’s what any business owner wants. The less they have to fight to keep the business running, the more time they can devote to improving and expanding the business.

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