VARBusiness 500: New To The List

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In 2004, when Shared Technologies (No. 148) spun off from Allegiance Telecom, president and CEO Tony Parella was adamant about building a solid cost structure under the new entity. He operated Shared debt-free, "instilling discipline" in his workers, he says. "My motto was, 'If you don't need it, don't buy it.'"

Then, when Parella saw that technicians were jumping ship after getting their certifications, he knew he had to stop "training the competition," as he puts it. That's when he set aside $1 million for one year, approached Global Knowledge Training and said the money was theirs for the taking. That deal brought down the cost of training dramatically--from $5,000 per course to about $1,200.

But Parella knew he still had to do more. So he created a two-part program for techies. First, a bonus of $750 to $1,000 awaited each course graduate. Then, "after a year of putting all that new wisdom into practice, the technician gets $2,500 to $5,000 as a retention bonus," Parella says, adding that Shared's voluntary turnover rate is at an all-time low these days. For the year to date, turnover at the VAR is less than 5 percent, one-third the national average, according to Parella. "The cost of losing service and support people is astronomical," he says.

Shared Technologies Tony Parella: "The cost of losing service and support people is astronomical."

The exec puts a premium on keeping his people happy. In 2006, Shared made the top 60 list of the "Best Companies to Work for in Texas," and he's shooting for a spot on the much-coveted Fortune Top 100.

Shared is growing its linecard, too, dedicating more of its product portfolio to converged IP solutions than ever before. Today the Coppell, Texas-based VAR offers telecom solutions from Nortel, NEC, Mitel and Tandberg, and the company recently signed on as a Microsoft distributor.

Parella takes pride in Shared's service profile, saying the company covers 41 markets across the United States, receives sky-high satisfaction scores on customer surveys, seamlessly blends organic growth with acquisitions and is on target to ratchet up its revenue by more than 50 percent from 2006 to 2007--from $231 million to $350 million.

So give the 113 VARBusiness 500 newcomers a hearty welcome; chances are they're only going up from here. They're an irrepressible bunch--driven, innovative and diligent. Best of all, their stories reiterate for up-and-coming channel players a message career and business coaches have been spreading far and wide: Do what you love and the money will follow.

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