Carbonite Partner Spotlight: Computer Geeks of North Carolina

One of the keys to becoming a successful technology services provider is doing your best to forge long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships with software partners. Just ask Bill Doane. He’s one of the owners of Computer Geeks of North Carolina, a managed IT service provider and a Carbonite Partner.

“You should pick a vendor and try to stick with them,” Doane says. “That’s how to build a good, trusting relationship and it’s important because that’s really who is going to support you in the long run.”

Computer Geeks is focused on delivering comprehensive IT services and solutions for smaller businesses. The company currently supports about 70 customers from a wide range of industries.

“We act as an IT department for businesses who can’t really afford to keep a full time IT person on staff. That’s really where our niche is,” Doane explained. “Sure, we still sell the occasional PC to home users. But most of our focus is on addressing the IT needs of small-to-midsize companies.”

A Win-Win Situation

Computer Geeks became a Carbonite Partner in 2012 and began selling Carbonite backup products to its customers. Since then, Doane and his team have used Carbonite to help quite a few clients restore files from backup–files that would have otherwise been lost. Those happy customers include finance companies, banks and medical offices, among others.

“There have been several occasions where we saved the day and looked like a hero,” he said.

And Doane’s customers aren’t the only ones who benefit from Carbonite. He also uses it himself. The Computer Geeks founder said Carbonite was especially helpful recently when he replaced the computer in his office. The process of recovering files from Carbonite’s cloud service and loading them onto a new computer was quick and painless.

“If I didn’t know I had a new desktop computer in here, I wouldn’t have known the difference because everything–my icons, everything–popped right back up on the desktop just like they were before,” he said.

Computer Geeks is happy with its decision to forge a long-lasting partnership with Carbonite. According to Doane, some of the top benefits of partnering with Carbonite include:

Doane likes the fact that Carbonite has assigned a channel account manager to look after Computer Geeks’ ongoing needs. It’s the kind of attention he doesn’t see all the time.

“Tina is our representative, and it’s very nice having somebody that is personable and somebody that you can call on who can help you out,” he said. “She understands our business model and is always quick to respond to our inquiries.”

Many vendors do not assign partners a designated representative. Doane has called software partners in the past only to reach a different representative each time–and it’s usually a person who doesn’t fully understand the Computer Geeks account.

“Carbonite gives us personalized attention and that means a lot, especially to us resellers,” he explained. “We may not be the biggest guys on the block, but Carbonite really seems to care and appreciates our business.”

Computer Geeks has had great experiences working with Carbonite’s U.S.-based technical support staff. He’s found the support team to be knowledgeable, helpful and very responsive. And speed is important, especially when customer relationships are on the line.

Doane has found that customers prefer to invest in products with well-known, trusted names–and Carbonite certainly fits the bill.

One of Doane’s favorite things about Carbonite technology is that telltale little green dot that appears in the corner of a file and folder icons when they are properly backed up. This simple yet powerful feature of Carbonite lets Computer Geeks and its customers know what’s happening, without having to jump through hoops.

“Customers love the green dot,” he said. “The green dot is basically fool-proof.”

Learn more about the benefits of partnering with Carbonite and become a partner today!

Jessica Couto is Vice President of U.S. Channel Sales & Marketing at Carbonite, a provider of cloud and hybrid backup and disaster recovery solutions for small-to-midsize businesses.