I attended the 10th anniversay celebration at IT Weapons newest location in Brampton, Ont.
IT Weapons, as many readers will know, won three silver Channel Elite Awards last year and it was great sharing their success with them.
The Channel Elite Awards for this year is open for entries and if you want to challenge IT Weapons go to Computer Dealer News's Channel Elite Awards microsite for more details on how to nominate your company's innovative solution. Chick here to read about IT Weapons winning solutions.
At the celebration last night you got the sense that this company truly gets its. There were several accolades lauded upon founders Ted Garner and Jason MacBean. Words such as “visionary” and “God's gift to IT”. And, if you look at what they have accomplished in these ten years it is probably warranted. Let's not forget these two started the company from a Tim Horton's. But Garner, in his closing remarks, said he did not know what a visionary was and that all he and Jason try to do is keep their customers IT and data safe. In fact, the company's slogan is “Isn't it time you felt safe?” Garner said that he takes this responsibility very seriously and makes sure that all the employees take the upmost care of the customer.
IT Weapons employees refer to themselves as “weapons.” I thought that was pretty cool. One employee Mike Dabner, who was very kind enough to protect my mobile office during the event, was a former customer of the company before he chose to join IT Weapons as its first non-technical hire. He told the crowd of customers, sponsors and prospects that he was proud to call himself “A Weapon.”
Previous to the 10th anniversary celebration, IT Weapons held a Friends & Family anniversary. Some of the comments from that event I found to be quite impactful. For example, one parent said: “Working here changed my boy's perspective of growing up.” Another said: “I worked for 45 years and I am amazed at the respect you give my son.”
Garner, who looked pretty emotional during his presentation, said he was thankful to be in business after 10 years and especially after last year.
John Cammalleri, HP Canada channel chief, echoed Garner's sentiment. “It is quite an accomplishment and I am please to recognize this organization. Companies come and go and the one thing I found consistant with the good companies is they add value and are relevant to the customer. IT Weapons has this vision and is going to be a company that lasts a long time. HP is proud to be associated with IT Weapons and they deliver value for HP,” Cammalleri said.
David Wright, the GM of Citrix Canada, remembered a time when Garner and MacBean told him that IT Weapons would one day be a Citrix Platinum Partner. At the time, Wright thought that he liked their passion but they only had four people. Wright added that it was a pleasure to watch the company grow to 44 people today.
CDN also wants to offer congratulations to IT Weapons on its significant milestone.
Two quick hits before I go. Long time Tech Data Canada executive Ray Gonsalves has left the distributor for a position at VMware Canada. Gonsalves is a friend of CDN and we wish him all the best.
Ken Cochrane, former Chief Information Officer for the Government of Canada, has joined KPMG as a Partner, based in Ottawa.
