Technology
Award Recipients
Arnie Bellini
CEO
David Bellini
COO
ConnectWise
www.connectwise.com
Arnie Bellini and David Bellini, CEO and COO respectively, of ConnectWise, are the visionaries behind the company’s long-standing success in the IT field. ConnectWise was formed in 1982 when the brothers recognized the impact that microcomputers would have on business. In 1998, the brothers captured the company’s best practices in an integrated, workflow-driven solution that could benefit many IT service companies. The result was the ConnectWise business operating system, which became one of the world’s top business management platform. The company quickly exceeded industry standards, which boosted revenue. ConnectWise has since helped thousands of IT solution firms achieve high levels of service and profitability.
Always searching for ways to disrupt the status quo and evolve the IT services industry, the Bellini brothers are leaders who are not afraid to take risks. While many companies are selling, ConnectWise remains in buying/investment mode.
The Bellini brothers have brought ConnectWise to its current level of success without incurring debt or receiving funding from venture capitalists. This business strategy grants them the freedom to research and pursue strategic investments that they believe will launch the company into the next phase of innovation and growth.
Committed to the philosophy that “leaders eat last,” the Bellini brothers empower their employees to make decisions as if they were an owner. To achieve this goal, each colleague has a share in the company — employees own approximately 20 percent.
ConnectWise has a strong focus on the community with an entire department dedicated to engaging with ConnectWise’s users. Led by the Bellini brothers each year, ConnectWise teams up with Success 4 Kids and Families and Healthy Start to provide holiday gifts and meals to more than 150 needy families. Also, ConnectWise has partnered with Big Brothers, Big Sisters to provide one-on-one relationships to children facing adversity.
Finalist
David Dyell
founder and CEO
iSirona
www.isirona.com
The business of health care IT is more than just a way to make a living for David Dyell, founder and CEO of iSirona. It’s a mechanism for change and a way of life that promotes individual freedom, responsibility and innovation for himself and iSirona employees.
Dyell founded iSirona in Panama City, Florida, in 2008, developing software that functioned as a medical device, extracting data from common hospital equipment and sending it to a medical record system used by nurses. The idea originated with a client of Dyell’s predecessor company, Healthcare Technology Solutions, which advised on and installed third-party health care solutions. Recognizing opportunity, Dyell sold the consulting company and used the proceeds to fund his new venture.
What emerged is a software-only solution that streamlines processes while minimizing hardware needs, an advantage and differentiator in a market dominated by a single player relying heavily on hardware.
To build an innovative company with a culture based on freedom, innovation and self-discipline in return for responsibility and accountability, Dyell set out to maximize the market and take advantage of every opportunity. He selects new hires based not on experience, but on their work ethic. The result is a company made up of like-minded, high performance people focused on growing the company and accomplishing its mission.
Interestingly, the company’s toughest challenge came as the Food and Drug Administration determined the software was subject to regulation. A large hurdle for the young company, it became a positive by forcing the team to examine every aspect of the business, define its standard operating procedures and develop a stable, scalable platform for future growth. Building on this and on the urging of the company’s lead investor, iSirona has grown through new product development and integration, and now serves customers in 18 countries.
Finalist
Barry Shevlin
CEO Vology
www.vology.com
Vology’s transformation into a successful, customer-first organization goes hand-in-hand with CEO Barry Shevlin’s transformation from entrepreneur to professional manager and leader.
Shevlin originally started Vology under the name Network Liquidators with two employees — himself as sales person and his wife as bookkeeper. As sales exploded in the first four years of business, Shevlin knew it was time to step away from sales and run his company. It was then that he really began to make strides toward growth, rebranding the company as Vology.
Vology offers a wide array of IT hardware and IT service solutions in New York, Texas, California and Florida, with headquarters in Tampa. The offices outside of Florida are staffed with sales representatives to ensure speed, quality and value to the customers in those states.
While Shevlin’s leadership style proved effective in Vology’s humble beginnings, he knew he needed to refresh his management approach to really achieve the growth he dreamed of. This meant hiring a management team.
With a proper team in place, Shevlin’s vision and ability to coach his lieutenants allowed them to be comfortable taking risks, something Shevlin has always believed in.
Vology’s growth can be attributed to the fast-paced sales and customer service approach Shevlin implemented when he took away the approval levels and amount of time it took to approve pricing, and instead gave the decision-making power directly to the sales representatives.
As the economy weakened in 2008, Vology’s value proposition of offering pre-owned networking equipment at the best possible price attracted non-traditional buyers, expanding the customer base.
Shevlin has established a high level of quality that can be seen in Vology’s immediate customer service approach to ensure all customers have the highest level of satisfaction. Combining these values has resulted in a strong business model from the core out.
