Mary Ann Cordiano
Name: Mary Ann Cordiano
Current Job: Owner, CMIT Solutions of Cleveland Downtown & East
Favorite restaurant in town? LockKeepers
Favorite thing about Cleveland? Favorite thing is that although it’s a smaller city, it has big city feel with major sports teams, museums, Playhouse Square, Great Lakes Science Center, and of course the Metroparks are fantastic. I’ve lived in different parts of the country (grew up in NJ, spent high school years in South Florida, college in CT and post-college lived in NYC, Atlanta, Boston and Chicago). So people ask me…how did you end up living in Cleveland? I met my husband Ed while living in Chicago. Once we started having kids, we wanted them to grow up near family so we moved to Cleveland in 2015. I like to joke that we brought some luck to city because shortly after we moved here the Cavs won the Championship and the Indians went to World Series! I have really enjoyed the people I’ve met since moving here to Cleveland. I love connecting with people and look forward to continuing to grow my network.
Q: Can you tell us about CMIT Solutions? CMIT Solutions is one of the leading providers of outsourced IT services for small-medium sized businesses. We operate as a Managed Service Provider model that offers proactive outsourced technology services at affordable monthly rates. The CMIT franchise has been in operation since 1996 and now has more than 200 offices and 800 technicians across North America. Clients appreciate the fact that we have the power of a national network combined with local trusted ownership.
Q: The majority of your clients are small to medium-sized businesses, so what are some of their biggest IT concerns? Cybersecurity has always been a concern, but with cyberattacks on the rise during Covid that has become even more of a critical topic. Their concerns mostly are related to how they can operate an efficient and reliable IT network while keeping their business and their clients’ information safe. With remote work on the rise, they are also concerned about having the proper security measures in place while employees are working outside the office. Having a cybersecurity culture that is endorsed by senior management and adopted by employees is important. What I mean by that is two-fold: first, allocating the budget for technology solutions that will provide the necessary layers of cybersecurity. And then also providing the Security Awareness Training to ensure that employees at all levels are trained and vigilant about best practices. Clients often want to have an understanding of the need for different technology services (such as Firewalls, Commercial-Grade Antivirus, Patch Management, Endpoint Protection, Security Operation Center, Backup Solutions, Email Security) and how they work to thwart cyberattacks. The ability to have an outsourced IT company to provide this level of service and consultation can alleviate concerns and allow clients to focus on growing their own business.
Q: How should a company analyze the decision between outsourcing their IT and hiring people internally? Deciding whether or not to outsource depends on several factors including company size and budget. What is the total cost of an employee (salary, benefits, etc.) and how does that compare to the value of outsourced IT? Where does a company want to spend it’s time and energy? When outsourcing you get the economies of scale and are able to receive many products and services to meet your company’s needs typically at a fraction of the cost of a full-time employee. Additionally, the company doesn’t have to worry about all the training, conferences, and certifications needed by the IT employee to stay current in today’s fast-changing cyber environment. Companies that have an internal IT staff must consider – what do we do when our IT employee is out of the office for a vacation or sick day? What do we do if that person suddenly resigns? As an outsourced IT company, we have the flexibility to either be the entire IT Department or the other option is that we can supplement an internal IT Department assisting with endpoint protection, helpdesk, projects, etc.
Q: You started the company with your husband. What made you decide to work together? Ed has always had a passion to own his own business. In fact, he studied Entrepreneurship in his Kellogg MBA program. I grew up in an entrepreneurial family that operated different businesses in NJ years ago including a law firm and Italian restaurant. My parents were risk takers – they operated a successful Italian restaurant even though they are Irish and can’t cook! They taught me how to be an entrepreneur - hire and retain great people, provide excellent products/services, stay innovative and deliver exceptional customer service. When the opportunity to own an IT business with CMIT Solutions presented itself, we knew it was the right business for us. Our complimentary skillsets, experiences, approach to the B2B market, and the value we knew we could offer our clients made the decision easy. That said, we often joke with people that the secret to a successful marriage and business when owning a company with your spouse is … separate offices!
Q: What are you doing for fun during quarantine? We are fortunate to have a pool in our backyard so we swam a lot this summer. We also have been hiking in the Metropark and have watched quite a few movies!