Three Steps Ahead: CRN's 2017 Triple Crown Award Winners

Three Cheers

Technological prowess in leading-edge IT, combined with the deepest of customer support and service, are the common elements among the solution pro­viders on this year's CRN Triple Crown Award list.

Throughout the year, CRN assembles a number of lists and rankings, including the Solution Provider 500 list of the largest solution providers in North America according to revenue; the Fast Growth 150, which ranks the fastest-growing solution pro­viders; and the Tech Elite 250 solution providers with the highest level of certifications from leading IT vendors.

Making any one of those lists is quite an achievement. Making all three deserves a special round of applause. This year there are 40 solution providers that accomplished that in our fourth annual CRN Triple Crown honors, with 11 making an encore appearance from 2016 and a few making the award list for the third time.

2nd Watch

Top Executive: Doug Schneider, CEO

Location: Seattle

2nd Watch is an AWS managed cloud ser­vice provider delivering digital marketing, business applications and big data analyt­ics to customers in the financial services, insurance, life sciences, consumer pack­aged goods, media and entertainment, and retail verticals.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 336

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 29

Access Technologies

Top Executive: Shane Sloan, President

Location: Waukee, Iowa

Keeping offices connected is the mantra at Access Technologies, which provides IT so­lutions, managed services, phone systems, copiers and printers, and related services and support to customers across Iowa and in Omaha. It is a Microsoft Gold partner and Sharp Platinum service provider.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 409

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 131

Adapture

Top Executive: Robert Pastor, President

Location: Atlanta

Adapture provides security, cloud, server, storage, networking and virtualization solutions to entities in the public sector, health-care, retail, manufacturing, energy, finance and entertainment verticals. The company has certifications in cloud solu­tions architecture, security consulting, and infrastructure and network design services.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 421

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 27

Advanced Computer Concepts

Top Executive: Reza Zarafshar, President

Location: McLean, Va.

ACC touts itself as a "total IT solution pro­vider" with data center, cybersecurity, col­laboration, cloud, networking and audio-visual solutions and a range of professional, managed, and system deployment and inte­gration services. Partners include Dell, HPE, VMware, Microsoft, Symantec and Polycom.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 128

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 111

Triple Crown Winner 2016, 2015

Advanced Network Management

Top Executive: Maninder Mann, President

Location: Albuquerque, N.M.

ANM has evolved into a major Mountain region/Western IT player thanks to strong relationships with vendors like Cisco, VM­ware and Dell EMC. ANM provides IT help desk, managed security, RMM, NOC and managed storage services, among other capabilities.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 330

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 16

AEC Group

Top Executive: Cathy Mary, President

Location: McKeesport, Pa.

AEC provides strategic consulting in data center, cloud, telecommunications and mobility. But it also offers a range of facili­ties services, helping businesses plan and manage the construction and renovation of data center. AEC is one of seven solution providers that make up the M7 Global Part­ners collaborative venture.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 362

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 124

Aqueduct Technologies

Top Executive: Manak Ahluwalia, CEO

Location: Waltham, Mass.

Aqueduct's lineup of offerings includes IT assessment and professional services, cloud services such as security- and backup-as-a-service, and IT solutions for data centers, networking, security and collaboration. The company is closely aligned with Cisco, holding ranks of Cisco Gold Partner, Master Cloud Builder and Master Security Partner.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 392

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 79

BlueAlly

Top Executive: Vijay Tanamala, CEO

Location: Vienna, Va.

BlueAlly is a prime source of managed IT services for large and small customers, in­cluding managed security and converged infrastructure management, IT staffing and IT infrastructure optimization. The com­pany has more than 700 customer engage­ments globally and its top vendor partners include HP Inc., Riverbed and ServiceNow.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 159

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 52

BlueBridge Networks

Top Executive: Kevin Goodman, Managing Director, Partner

Location: Cleveland

BlueBridge provides customers with cloud computing, data center and IT infrastruc­ture solutions and services. The long list of data center offerings includes implementa­tion services and data center optimization, managed security and storage, virtualiza­tion, disaster recovery, hosting, networking and "green" data center services. APC by Schneider Electric is a strategic partner.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 447

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 125

Burwood Group

Top Executive: Mark Theoharous, CEO

Location: Chicago

Burwood Group focuses on bridging the gap between business strategy and IT solutions, particularly in health care, financial servic­es and education. It provides expertise in IT automation, security, connected workspac­es, and customer engagement. Burwood Group was the 2016 North America Citrix Solution Advisor Partner of the Year.

20017 SP 500 Rank: No. 192

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 86

Triple Crown Winner 2016

Business IT Source

Top Executive: Daniel Frauenheim, President

Location: Vernon Hills, Ill.

Business IT Source supplies companies with IT products, customized solutions and services. It also offers data center design, consolidation and implementation; system configuration; and server and storage sys­tem deployment.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 270

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 114

Triple Crown Winner 2016

Cal Net Technology Group

Top Executive: James Hwang, CEO

Location: Chatsworth, Calif.

Cal Net is a top provider of IT managed and professional services in Southern Cali­fornia, including public and private cloud solutions such as Microsoft Office 365 and desktop- and Infrastructure-as-a-Service. It has partnerships with Microsoft, HPE, Dell, VMware, Datto and Palo Alto Networks.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 402

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 133

Comm Solutions

Top Executive: Paul Black, CEO

Location: Malvern, Pa.

Comm Solutions was a premier regional provider of enterprise-level security and networking technology, services and solutions. It was acquired earlier this year by Optiv Security.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 217

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 137

Triple Crown Winner 2016, 2015

Coretelligent

Top Executive: Kevin Routhier, Founder, CEO

Location: Westwood, Mass.

Coretelligent provides comprehensive man­aged IT and private cloud services to small and midsize customers in the financial ser­vices, life sciences and technology vertical industries. The company works with Cisco, Dell, Microsoft, Kaspersky Lab and Sophos.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 476

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 34

CorpInfo

Top Executive: Michael Sabourian, President

Location: Santa Monica, Calif.

To put CorpInfo's growth into perspective, the AWS premier consulting and managed services partner went from unranked to No. 350 on the 2017 CRN SP 500 in just two years. In June CorpInfo achieved Service Delivery Partner status for Amazon Redshift and became one of the first seven companies to earn AWS Storage Competency status.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 350

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 21

Datapipe

Top Executive: Robb Allen, Founder, CEO

Location: Jersey City, N.J.

Datapipe operates data centers in the Amer­icas, Europe and Asia, offering a range of public and hosted private cloud services, as well as cloud assessment, road-map de­sign and migration services. The company works closely with AWS and Microsoft Azure and was the 2017 Dell EMC Americas Ser­vice Provider Partner of the Year.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 95

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 67

DH Technologies

Top Executive: Devin Henderson, CEO

Location: Leesburg, Va.

When DH Technologies launched in 2013 it built its strategy around emerging technolo­gies and the disruptive vendors developing them, such as Nutanix. Specializations in­clude security, private clouds, virtualization and virtual desktops, hyper-converged plat­forms, data center consolidation and migra­tion, and software-defined networking.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 407

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 24

Epic A Bell MTS Company

Top Executive: Ryan Klassen, VP, Business Solutions (Bell MTS) and GM (Epic a Bell MTS Company)

Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba

Epic has operated as an independent sub­sidiary since Manitoba Telecom Services (Bell MTS) acquired the company in 2013. Epic provides expertise in managed, cloud and professional services and is proficient in hardware and software consulting, pro­curement and implementation.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 380

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 15

Triple Crown Winner 2016

Gotham Technology Group

Top Executive: Ira Silverman, CEO

Location: Montvale, N.J.

Gotham is a top IT consulting services com­pany in the Connecticut-Philadelphia region providing professional services, managed services and solutions in data center, server and desktop infrastructure, virtualization, cybersecurity and more. Among its partners are Citrix, VMware, Splunk, Check Point and AppSense.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 188

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 107

GuidePoint Security

Top Executive: Michael Volk, Founder, Managing Partner

Location: Herndon, Va.

GuidePoint is a cybersecurity solution and services provider with strong footing in the commercial and federal sectors. It has part­nerships with most major security vendors and holds technical certifications from ven­dors including AWS, Cisco, Google, HPE, IBM, Intel and Microsoft.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 134

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 46

Impact Networking

Top Executive: Frank Cucco, CEO

Location: Lake Forest, Ill.

Impact has expanded far beyond its office equipment supplier roots and today calls it­self the leading provider of business process optimization in the Midwest. Impact's offered solutions cover BPO, print and document management, branding and marketing, and managed IT and cloud services.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 271

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 83

JDL Technologies

Top Executive: Scott Fluegge, President, GM

Location: Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

JDL provides managed services, cloud services and IT solutions to businesses, health-care organizations and educational institutions. JDL was ranked among the top 100 security-focused MSPs on the 2017 CRN MSP 500 with its Security FastTrack flagship service. HPE, Citrix, 3CX and Aerohive are key partners.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 492

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 60

Marco

Top Executive: Jeff Gau, CEO

Location: Saint Cloud, Minn.

Marco, which got started as a typewriter shop in 1973, has grown into a leading solu­tion provider with expertise in data, voice, video and print systems. The company's so­lution offerings include cloud and managed IT, networking and telecommunications, data center, security, storage, and backup and disaster recovery services.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 94

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 132

Triple Crown Winner 2016

Mobius Partners

Top Executive: Junab Ali II and Jay Uribe, Co-Founders

Location: San Antonio

Mobius focuses on providing transforma­tional, best-of-breed technology and servic­es for large enterprises, particularly in cloud integration, converged systems, security, big data and operational excellence. Mobius is a Hewlett Packard Enterprise Platinum part­ner in software and hardware.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 344

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 115

Myriad Supply

Top Executive: Andrew Fisher, CEO

Location: New York

Myriad offers a range of cloud, connectiv­ity, data center, voice, logistics, managed and professional services and an equally broad range of IT products; from servers and storage, to routers and switches and more. Cisco, EMC, Juniper, APC by Schnei­der Electric and Brocade are key partners.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 182

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 64

Triple Crown Winner 2016

N2Grate

Top Executive: Steve Halligan, President, COO

Location: Greenbelt, Md.

n2grate offers infrastructure assessment, virtualization, project management, virtual desktop, end-user training, staffing, cloud and co-location solutions for the federal government, the public sector and large businesses. It works closely with Cisco, Dell, EMC, HP., IBM, Microsoft and VM­ware.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 281

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 20

Now Micro

Top Executive: Will Teevan, Vice President

Location: Saint Paul, Minn.

Now Micro specializes in device life-cycle management, providing consulting servic­es, systems and configuration management software, and digital media players and embedded devices for application-specific solutions. Key vendor partners include Dell, Lenovo, Microsoft, HP and Intel.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 353

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 144

PCM

Top Executive: Frank Khulusi, Chairman, CEO

Location: El Segundo, Calif.

PCM offers an extensive lineup of data center, cloud, networking and end-user solutions and managed services. The com­pany also provides solutions built around Microsoft and SAP products and in July was named HPE's North American SMB Partner of the Year.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 25

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 88

PKA Technologies

Top Executive: Felise Katz, CEO

Location: Suffern, N.Y.

PKA supplies IT services and products to Fortune 500 and smaller companies and the public sector. Solutions cover security, serv­ers and high-performance computing, big data analytics, enterprise storage and soft­ware, cloud services, virtualization, wire­less, and data protection/disaster recovery.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 412

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 92

Relus Technologies

Top Executive: Mark Metz, CEO

Location: Peachtree Corners, Ga.

Relus offers a range of services with par­ticular focus on data center transformation, cloud enablement, big data, and IT staffing and recruiting. The rising channel star is an AWS consulting partner that also works with a range of cloud and big data vendors.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 480

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 8

Scalar Decisions

Top Executive: Paul Kerr, President, CEO

Location: Toronto, Ontario

Scalar Decisions provides security, infra­structure and cloud services to clients with an emphasis on leveraging IT to achieve business goals. The companyrecently launched a cloud-based disaster recovery-as-a-service solution allowing customers to back up their data to AWS or Microsoft Azure data centers.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 95

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 30

Triple Crown Winner 2016, 2015

Sirius Computer Solutions

Top Executive: Joe Mertens, President, CEO

Location: San Antonio

Sirius offers a range of business and data center solutions; managed and cloud servic­es; and services around infrastructure and software consulting, project management, asset management and system maintenance. An aggressive acquisition strategy has fueled the company's growth.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 26

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 130

Sovereign Systems

Top Executive: George Barkley, Managing Partner

Location: Norcross, Ga

Sovereign's CLEAR (connect, leverage, engage, analyze, road-map) assessment program is at the core of its service offer­ings, accompanied by solutions in cloud, data center, service management and in­telligent data. Key partners include Cisco, Dell EMC, Puppet, SAP, ServiceNow, VCE, Veeam and VMware.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 235

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 53

Triple Crown Winner 2016, 2014

Sterling Computers

Top Executive: Jean Moore, CEO

Location: Dakota Dunes, S.D

Sterling has been providing IT solutions to government and education customers for more than 20 years. It provides a compre­hensive lineup of data center, cloud secu­rity, network, virtualization, managed and mobile application development services.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 67

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 110

Triple Crown Winner 2016, 2015

Universal Data

Top Executive: Jim Perrier, President

Location: New Orleans

Universal Data has come a long way since Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on the Big Easy in 2005. Once just a $1.5 mil­lion company that was losing money, the solution provider has established thriving disaster-recovery and virtualization prac­tices over the past decade.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 427

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 4

Vantage Point Corporation

Top Executive: Nick Preuss, CEO, Co-Owner

Location: Kenosha, Wis.

VPC has seen fast-rising demand for its hardware procurement, data center, web hosting and strategic consulting services. Primarily serving the SMB market, VPC uses a proprietary channel application that improves procurement procedures, quoting accuracy and technical support.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 348

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 39

vCore Technology Partners

Top Executive: Steven Leavitt, Founder, CEO

Location: Scottsdale, Ariz.

vCore offers a range of IT strategy and networking services with a focus on hy­brid cloud, security and managed services. Partners include established companies like Dell EMC and Cisco and upstarts like Nutanix and Rubrik.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 332

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 68

VeriStor

Top Executive: Ashby Lincoln, President, CEO

Location: Duluth, Ga.

Veristor's managed, professional, and design and deployment services span a broad range of data center solutions in­cluding security, private cloud, converged infrastructure, networking, server and desktop virtualization and more.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 242

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 54

Triple Crown Winner 2016

Winslow Technology Group

Top Executive: Scott Winslow, President

Location: Waltham, Mass.

Winslow Technology Group provides expertise in server, storage, networking, security, virtualization, hyper-convergence, data protection, and cloud technologies. WTG serves the needs of clients ranging from medium sized organizations to Fortune 100 companies and their key partnerships include Dell EMC, Nutanix, VMware, and SecureWorks.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 442

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 78

Xcentric

Top Executive: Trey James, CEO

Location: Alpharetta, Ga.

Xcentric is a cloud technology and ser­vices company that focuses exclusively on accounting firms, building networks and hosting more than 1,000 applications for CPAs.

2017 SP 500 Rank: No. 499

2017 Fast Growth Rank: No. 122