Solution Provider Pioneer Frank Mogavero Is Mourned As Channel Giant, ‘The Likes Of Which We’ll Never See Again’

“Frank embodied that phrase that we stand on the shoulder of giants,” says Computer Station founder and CEO Pat Walsh. “He had the foresight to pave the way for the rest of us.”

Frank Mogavero, a solution provider pioneer and channel visionary who passed away on May 8th, is being mourned as a channel giant who paved the way for others to follow in his footsteps.

The 94-year-old Mogavero, a perennial tech entrepreneur whose indefatigable drive and spirit helped define the modern solution provider channel, founded multiple solution provider businesses over the course of nearly a half century, always pushing the technology envelope to catch the next wave in the fast-changing technology solutions market.

Pat Walsh, the founder and CEO of Computer Station of Orlando, Fla., who cheered Mogavero’s induction into the CRN Industry Hall of Fame in 2005, said the Woodland Hills, California Data Systems Worldwide (DSW) founder and CEO was an inspiration and role model for his fellow solution providers.

“Frank embodied that phrase that we stand on the shoulder of giants,” said Walsh. “He had the foresight to pave the way for the rest of us. He was instrumental to a lot of us. The giants are not the people heading up the big technology companies or distributors. They are the giants among us like Frank– the likes of which we’ll never see again. Frank was out there succeeding in this business way before anybody else was doing this.”

Walsh, who founded Computer Station of Orlando 26 years ago, said entrepreneurs like Mogavero who were able to reinvent their companies with new business models time and time again in a blinding speed technology market are the heart and soul of the channel.

“To be in this business for the length of time that Frank was requires you to change so many times and reinvent yourself so many times,” he said. “You need to be able to foresee what’s coming. Frank had the foresight and the fortitude to do that. He was able to do that and go down those different paths not because someone told him it was coming. It was all about keeping himself, his family and his company going.”

Mogavero built different businesses and business models to stay ahead of the fast-moving market, whether it was reselling used accounting machines, starting one of the first computer stores, becoming an early IBM PC solution provider, integrating Unix computers with Novell systems, anticipating the networking boom by becoming an early Cisco partner, and even building out an application service provider (ASP) model – the precursor to the current MSP model- at the dawn of the dot-com era in 1998.

Walsh, who started a successful system builder business in Maryland before building Computer Station of Orlando into a premier provider of technology products, services and solutions for schools, said Mogavero gave solution providers like him a “roadmap” on how to be successful.

“Frank showed us you could start a technology business and be successful,” he said. “You couldn’t be successful for as long as he was without the spirit and drive he had, always bouncing back and reinventing his company.”

Pat Grillo, the founder and former CEO of Atrion Communications Resources, the 38-year-old Branchburg Township, New Jersey-based solution provider he sold in 2022, recalled Mogavero as an inspirational figure for him and other solution providers with a fierce love for his family, his employees and his customers.

“In order to be a role model you need to be someone who cares,” said Grillo. “You could tell how much Frank cared especially about his family: his wife, kids and grandkids. He had a very tight knit, Italian family.”

Grillo said he felt a strong bond with Mogavero as they both grew up poor as the sons of Italian immigrants. As solution provider CEOs, they would share stories on their trials and tribulations with deep discussions and “collaboration” on what worked and what didn’t in terms of running the business.

Grillo said he considered Data Systems West as a family-run business given that Frank’s sons, Phil and Mike, both worked at one point for the company. “Frank had other employees, but it was a family,” he said. “It was a family business.”

Grillo said he felt like Frank Mogavero and he were part of the same family. “He was more like a brother than a business associate,” he said. “We had so much in common. It was just amazing. We had our trials, problems and wins, but we both persevered. I felt like we were in the same family. Frank was just a good smart businessman that you could trust. That is what I took from Frank: to be that kind of person who cared and who people wanted to do business with.”

Given the many ups and downs of building multiple technology businesses and battling back time and time again from health setbacks it is no wonder that Mogavero – who suffered two heart attacks while running his business – cited Gloria Gaynor’s 1970s superhit “I Will Survive” as his anthem.

Growing Up In Buffalo

Mogavero was born a Depression-era baby on November 17, 1930 in Buffalo, New York, to Italian immigrant parents. His father, Joseph, worked at a wholesale produce company and in the summer sold fruits and vegetables from a pushcart. His mother, Caroline, was a homemaker, married to Joseph for 65 years.

Mogavero said the sting of poverty and his own father’s determination to do whatever it took to support his family provided him with a fierce work ethic that sustained him as an entrepreneur.

“It has always been very tough,” recalled Mogavero in an interview with CRN upon his induction into the Industry Hall of Fame. “I always say I felt like a broken-field runner. You have to keep ahead of technology. And before you can make a profit you have to go up the technology curve. It costs money to be a pioneer. If we did not pioneer new technology we would not have survived.”

Mogavero, who as a high school student was bused from a housing project to an affluent school district, was the first member of his family to graduate from college with an associate’s degree from Los Angeles City College.

After he graduated from Los Angeles City College, Mogavero was drafted into the U.S. Army in the midst of the Korean war. Recognizing his intellect, Mogavero was assigned to become a cryptographer decoding enemy messages within a vault in Japan. It was in the military that Mogavero became passionate about the power of computers. After getting out of the service, Mogavero attended UCLA where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in business administration.

Stricken with rheumatoid arthritis in his 30s and undergoing experimental treatments that returned him to good health, Mogavero founded his first technology venture, Business Machines and Computers (BMC), Los Angeles, Calif., in 1960 after being rejected for an executive training program by an insurance company because of his health.

Mogavero’s dream when he got into the computer business was to bring the power of computing to more businesses by building affordable minicomputers. He forged ahead with big investments to develop a minicomputer that emulated an IBM mainframe with an operating system that Mogavero’s team developed.

The hefty investments required to build BMC, along with IBM’s entry into the market, took its toll on company finances, forcing the company into bankruptcy before Mogavero could realize his dream, leaving him and his family with nothing more than their home.

The Birth Of Data Systems West

In 1971, Mogavero picked himself up from the BMC setback and started essentially one of the first value added resellers as Data Systems West, San Gabriel, Calif.

DSW was originally a reseller of used accounting machines from the likes of Burroughs and NCR, but over the next nearly four decades Mogavero moved the company into selling minicomputers, then at the dawn of the PC era he opened three computer stores and began selling PCs.

DSW started selling CP/M PC systems in the late seventies and when the Commodore 64 hit the market, Mogavero opened up three computer stores, expanding from San Gabriel to Sherman Oaks and Thousand Oaks, with son Phil, who graduated from UCLA in 1986, joining the business.

After Mogavero decided to close the computer stores and focus exclusively on technology solutions for businesses, DSW, one of the early IBM PC partners, experienced a period of explosive sales growth. The company even pulled off a multimillion-dollar contract win against the one-time outsourcing behemoth Electronic Data Systems.

In the mid-1980s, DSW moved into the network integration and multi-user Unix systems market. In 1992, DSW became one of the first Cisco solution providers, and in 1995 built one of the first intranet applications.

Mogavero saw the future was recurring revenue services and built DSW in 1998 into an application service provider (ASP), providing Oracle database, applications, networking, system and services, all in a recurring revenue like MSP Model. In 2001 at its peak, DSW was a $40 million business with $8 million in services and 120 employees.

After Mogavero retired at 70 in 2000 he became chairman emeritus for the company, which was run by his son, Phil, who followed in his father’s footsteps as CEO of the company. Eyeing, international expansion, DSW changed its name to Data Systems Worldwide. DSW later expanded to offer intelligent networks, connecting thousands of IP phones, surveillance, digital signage and even slot machines connected to high-performance, resilent networks.

In 2009, the company was sold to PC Mall, bringing to a close the company Mogavero had founded 38 years earlier.

Phil said his father was a tech “visionary” who was always trying to bring the power of computing to more people and businesses. “The minicomputer that he built could be used for people to run their businesses at one-tenth the cost of a mainframe,” he said. “He saw the opportunity to bring PCs to ordinary people by opening computer stores. He saw that the Commodore 64 was a revolutionary color computer that was under $600, 75 percent less than an Apple computer.”

The ASP model that DSW adopted was the forerunner of the MSP model in which DSW provided a fully integrated package of Sun Microsystems, Oracle database, Cisco networking, security, hosting services and internet bandwidth and security, all packaged together at a single price on a recurring monthly basis including all the skillsets to operate it. “My dad knew we could bring those powerful systems at an affordable monthly price smaller businesses,” said Phil. “We called it economy of skill.” Other notable DSW achievements were building one of the first Cisco wide area networks in 1993 connecting 35 locations for Prudential Insurance and then building in 1995 one of the first intranet applications, connecting Netscape Navigator 1.0 to Oracle databases for Times Mirror. “At one point we had 50 programmers working on the team,” Phil said. Son Mike
led the development efforts.

Phil said his Dad was blessed with many brilliant and caring team members and friends throughout the years, some who were there in the final weeks to say goodbye to Frank.

“I learned the importance of having a strong work ethic and being resilient from my father,” said Phil, who stepped in to run DSW when his father had his first heart attack in 1986. “No matter what knocked my Dad down, he always got back up and fought his way through it. He taught me to never give up until you achieve your goal regardless of the obstacles in your way.”

Building A Community Of Partners

Mogavero was interested in more than just building his own business. He was determined to bring partners together as a community to learn from one another and share experiences that would help them all be more successful.

Mogavero co-founded two national reseller organizations, the Accounting Machine Dealer’s Association (later renamed Association of Minicomputer Dealers) and APC Open, an organization of Unix resellers. He also developed the “Gold Book,” the first national accounting book used by dealers for pricing used accounting machines and minicomputers.

Frank Vitagliano, the CEO of the Global Technology Distribution Council (GTDC), the global trade association for technology distributors, said one of the “hallmarks” of Mogavero’s career was his drive to build a solution provider community.

“Frank was able to do that because of the force of his personality,” said Vitagliano, who worked with Mogavero over the course of 25 years. “Frank had the kind of personality that people gravitated to. People liked being with him and hanging out with him. He was a charismatic guy who was small in stature but big in personality. I looked forward to seeing Frank at all of the industry events!”

Vitagliano said Mogavero “embodied the spirit” of the solution provider model. “Frank was a good example of somebody that was resilient over a long period of time, consistently transforming his business as the technology, business model and customer requirements changed,” said Vitagliano. “He was a huge presence. He was a great example to a lot of his peers on how to build a business, build relationships and how to become a force in the industry for many decades.”

Vitagliano said Frank built strong relationships based on trust, friendship and integrity. “Frank did business the way business should be done,” he said. “He was trustworthy and fun to be around.”

In fact, Vitagliano said, he has fond memories of the joy Mogavero brought to each and every industry event. A big part of that joy was being side by side with his bride and constant companion, Bea. Frank and Bea brought laughter, music and dancing to every industry event, earning them the moniker the Fred (Astaire) and Ginger (Rogers) of the channel set.

“I remember Frank and Bea dancing at every event,” said Vitagliano, laughing at the cherished memory. “I can remember the two of them just enjoying themselves.”

If his colleagues looked to Frank for inspiration, Frank himself found strength and support from Bea.

The Greatest Love of His Life – His Bride Bea

Mogavero married Bea on July 16,1960 at the San Gabriel Mission in San Gabriel, Calif., on a hot summer day, thus beginning a nearly 65-year love affair that kept them side by side in good times and bad times, sickness and health.

In his interview for his Hall of Fame induction, Frank said he always looked to Bea for support. “We have been through hell and high water together,” he said at the time. “My wife, Bea, has always been with me. Whenever I am any place people always ask: Where is Bea? Because she is part of me.”

Mogavero and Bea were inseparable. They had three children, Phil, Frank and Mike, and enjoyed traveling together including trips to Portugal, Amsterdam, Germany, Norway and Hawaii.

“The thing my mother and father loved more than anything was dancing together,” said Phil. “Everybody has something that makes their problems go away. For my mom and dad it was dancing. They loved going to all the industry events together. There would be dozens of people watching them dance. People flocked to them. My dad would always bring my mom who would light up the room.”

At one industry event, Frank and Bea shared an elevator with the actor Jim Belushi, who surprised Frank by looking him straight in the eyes saying: “You’re a dancer!’

Phil says his mom and dad have been great role models for life and marriage. “My mom and dad loved each other and were always there for each other through thick and thin,” he said.

Over the last five years, Bea, a young 91, stood by Frank’s side through multiple surgeries including hip and knee replacements, a heart valve replacement and corneal implants.

During his last visit, Phil assured his father – who had suffered for the last several years with multiple health problems – that he and his brothers would take care of Bea and everything would be all right. “I told him to feel free to leave us if you are ready,” said Phil. “We’ll take care of everything. You don’t have to worry anymore. He cared about his family more than he cared about himself. The most important thing to him was that his family was taken care of. My dad made sure my brothers and I had a better life than he did. That’s what my father did for us and that’s what we do for our children.”

Before Frank passed away, he told his wife: “Bea, the doors are closing. We have to go now.” Just before he passed, Frank’s caregiver heard the door to the house close with no trace of wind in the air and no one there. “I feel that was my father opening the door and closing it as he headed up to heaven,” said Phil.

A funeral service for Frank Mogavero will be held Saturday, June 21st at 3 p.m. PST at the Church of the Hills located within Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills, 6300 Forest Lawn Dr., Los Angeles, Calif., 90068. Viewing/visitation hours will be held the night prior, on Friday, June 20th from 5-9pm at the Forest Lawn Mortuary. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Heart Association or the American Cancer Society.