After a quarter century as an IT leader, companies usually don’t change names and identities. Unless you’re Total Computer Group, a Melville, NY based IT provider that endorsed a vision for expanding its client services. That decision meant adding a cadre of veteran industry professionals, developing a more structured approach to the geographic market, and investing in increased education throughout the organization. And yes, it started with more accurate company moniker as well: Total Technology Solutions.
The Client-centric Brand
“The commitment to our clients didn’t change so much as it expanded.” Total’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Tim McKnight said. “We realized that the future of IT at companies large and small depended on meticulously accurate assessment and efficiently managed services that could be tailored to each customer’s specific needs. That’s where we wanted to be, and that’s where we are now.”
Adding Expertise:
In the world of IT providers, the differentiator is the expertise of your people. In blazing new paths Total Technology Solutions brought in a number of battle proven IT experts who shared a vision for the future. Proverbially putting more boots on the ground included Daniel Bernard joining as Director Of Technical Services.
An accomplished manager with a history of achieving results, Dan came from the fast paced (and often frenetic) aerospace manufacturing environment. His background in Lean Manufacturing principles and Process Improvement had an immediate impact on Total’s workflow in support of organizational goals.
A New Verbal Identity: Customer –Tailored IT Solutions
The repositioning of Total’s identity involved a name change. Dan Bernard remarked “everyone knows us as Total, so it wasn’t as drastic a change as you might think. I came to Total from the client side, and that’s how I thought of the organization. But the repositioning of ‘Technology Solutions’ for ‘Computer Group’ really put an exclamation point on what we do. IT is an ultra-dynamic business that advances continually and without much warning. ‘Technology Solutions’, meaning the ability to rectify a problem or effect a better outcome quickly, summarizes where we have been and also the new direction where Total is heading.”
Tim McKnight added, “It wasn’t enough just to make a graphic statement. We had to capsulize what made us different. Our new tag line is ‘customer-tailored IT Solutions’, not ‘custom tailored’. Most anyone can do the latter, but our clients have very different specific needs and goals, and we build every program and solution to achieve those in the most efficient and ergonomic way. As advisors and 24/7 managers often supporting in house IT departments, our clients are not faceless entities. We recognize “customer-tailored solutions” as the philosophy that unites us with our clients and keeps us on the same page.”
A New Visual Identity: More than pretty pictures
Along with the verbal reengineering the new identity came full cycle with dynamic design. The new logo is symbolic of how Total Technology Solutions sees itself, and its relationship with clients. Two arrows originate behind the typeface and emerge to form an oval that With one gray arrowhead pointing left to the word “Total” and a green arrowhead pointing right to “Technology Solutions”, the imprimatur instantly captures and directs the viewer’s eye.
Adding New Services
The dedicated strategic plan for Total Technology Solutions didn’t just happen overnight. It involved a carefully planned series of protocols that matched Total’s capabilities with the needs of their clients and was tempered with the new technologies that are so dramatically changing the IT field. It’s a brave new world, and Total Technology Solutions is prepared to meet it with customer-tailored IT solutions.