Nationwide IT Provider, Verity IT, Acquires Sanford LAN Masters

Nationwide IT Provider VERITY IT

Acquires Sanford LAN Masters

BY NIKKI NAMDAR, SENIOR WRITER

When ichael Della Pia moved to Orlando in June 2003, he didn’t know anyone and had nothing but an unemployment check. He went door to door trying to sell IT services via a franchise he transferred from Virginia. By August, after surviving the summer heat and, moreover, the screams from dissatisfied residents, he finally booked his first job with a client he continues to represent.

At that time, a major computer virus started spreading and attacking Windows 2000 and Windows XP PCs. Della Pia’s work vehicle, a patriot blue PT cruiser with his company’s name branded across it, caught the attention of a local reporter on the road. When the news outlet needed an expert to weigh in on the worm, they called the tech-savvy cruiser from New Jersey.

“Computers were one of those things. I was super fortunate that my parents got me a Tandy TRS 80 when I was younger,” he said. “When I would get in front of a computer, I didn’t know what I was doing, but I loved it.” With new models being released, he eventually learned how to write code, disassemble parts, and rebuild equipment. As a teen, this hunger earned him the role of the go-to IT guy at his father’s machine shop, where he kicked off what would be a lifelong technical career. “I knew this was what I was meant to do. No question about it; it was the only thing that was natural to me.”

The day after his segment aired, he had booked five appointments a day for six weeks straight. Meandering through the streets of a new town finally paid off and put him on the radar as the one to call.

After spending decades mastering the machinery, the computer connoisseur decided to follow his father’s entrepreneurial footsteps and forge his own path. Establishing a start-up required starting over again, but he was used to that. This time, though, it would last. Thanks to the attractive and affordable real estate market, he found his place in Sanford.

“The square footage we get here, we can’t get in Orlando, where the price is almost double,” he said. “It makes me laugh that people think it’s on the other side of the planet. It’s so easy to commute to. All the cool things Sanford is doing and keeps doing, it’s growing fast.”

Della Pia created a techie’s dream office. Inside a 4,000-square-foot facility, the staff built mini houses, put in a fake lawn on the ground, set up video games, and troubleshoot customer issues in a matter of minutes. The

Michael Della Pia

innovative space gave Della Pia the power to generate a business concept that would revitalize the IT industry. When surveying prospects, he took issue with the standard IT approach that makes their customers wait hours for service.

“What if I told you we would reach out to you in 30 minutes and have someone on your PC in an hour,” he told them. Their response time is 95 percent faster than their competitors across the country. According to Zendesk, that ranks them in the top three percent for IT companies. “I have a good team; it’s all about who you are. My guys are good, and they are experienced in seeing most issues.”

Their speediness and company culture caught the attention of an IT service provider based out of Chicago in 2020. Mark London, the President of Verity IT, and his partners started the company seven years ago to show small-to-medium-sized agencies that emerging technology enables businesses, it doesn’t drive them.

One of their clients, TransNational Payments, is a merchant services provider that specializes in affordable and powerful payment processing, payroll, and POS solutions. The company transitioned to Verity IT from another provider in 2018 to acquire more scalable solutions to support their infrastructure and core business processes.

“We’ve been very happy with the support and communication from the Verity team, and their ability to provide on-site support across our locations in different parts of the country for over 100 employees,” said Bryan Olson, the executive vice president of TransNational. “I was very impressed early on with the way they managed our transition from our previous provider. We have some custom applications to support our business that made me apprehensive of a change. Verity managed these complexities seamlessly. Onboarding went very smoothly, and my only regret is that we didn’t make the transition a lot sooner.”

To boost Verity IT’s efforts, London and his team started investing in companies that have similar values as part of their strategic plan to become a leading managed IT services provider across the U.S.

“When I think about value, I think internally, not externally. That’s not because we don’t focus on our clients, but I believe if we drive culture internally and treat our employees well, then our companies will see that,” he said. “We are blessed we found LAN Masters that share that same point of view. They feel happy about their work life, and that thought process trickles into how they serve. That’s the way our recipe works, and we win all the time.”

Della Pia, who has declined offers from other companies over the years, was firm on not selling. London was planning a trip to Orlando to look at prospects and Della Pia agreed to meet.

“In his email, there was an energy I caught. He seemed like a nice dude, but it wasn’t something I wanted to entertain,” Della Pia said. “Oddly enough after I talked to him, I got approached by another Florida company. I didn’t get the same feeling from them.”

“Corporate greed is not who we are, and that’s not who Mike is in his business,” London said.

After growing his business from the ground up and starting over twice, Della Pia said there was more he could do if they had a “bigger machine” behind them. Selling to Verity IT would afford him and his team the opportunity to sustain a successful technical career for years to come.

“If you’re good to people, if you’re honest, the success will come,” he said. “There are a lot of choices out there, I’m appreciative of them giving us a chance.”

The agreement didn’t come without specific stipulations. On the list was Della Pia being able to take his team to lunch at Henry’s Depot and Mellow Mushroom every Friday as usual. “I worry about them all the time,” he said, referring to his staff as his kids. “Mark said it’s a good environment. He looked at companies twice my size who have less revenue and are less profitable —then there’s the four of us in Sanford, working double-time to be more successful.”

l-r: Kyle Pizer, Michael Della Pia, Scott Hales and Jarrod Hatcher, four members of the Verity IT team in Sanford.

Verity IT plans on investing heavily in the area. Great for the local economy, he explained, as they will add jobs and people to the tax base. Employees in the Orlando market will enjoy coming to work, as they are given the platform to grow professionally and increase their income. Two of Verity IT’s sales reps from Illinois have since relocated to Sanford to start the process.

President of Verity IT, Mark London

desk manager under Verity IT. According to his boss, Pizer “needed him to be just as excited” about the deal, so he spent more time negotiating his contract.

“We’ve come a long way. To me, he’s more than a boss or a work friend; he’s a brother,” Pizer said. “It’s not often you’ll find yourself laying on the floor of a server room at 3 a.m. waiting for Microsoft to call. I didn’t have to worry because Mike is an awesome dude, and I couldn’t be more thankful for what he’s given me the chance to become.”

Admitting Sanford was not on their map when searching for acquisitions, London visited the city to meet Della Pia, who took them to a “small train station” to eat. Della Pia made it clear that his Sanford clients have a unique way about them, and they didn’t want to relocate. “We’re real people, we’re normal, so it’s nice to see that stuff and what the market looks like,” London said. “We got back and told our salespeople all about Sanford, where we went to lunch, and how it’s got a good little feel to it.”

Verity IT ensures the success of their clientele by working to address cybersecurity issues, providing security awareness training for employees, and navigating cloud services and IT strategy. “We are looking to build the piece of this puzzle together to give local support where your provider is your next-door neighbor,” he said. “Building on Mike’s model of forward-thinking technology, we are open for business.” n

For more information, visit https://verity-it.com

Nikki Namdar is the Senior Writer for My Sanford Magazine, as well as a marketing manager. While completing a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing and a Public and Professional Writing Certificate, she launched @OrlandoVegans in an effort to build the vegan market in her community. Working with local and corporate brands, Nikki has used robust resources to produce content and develop successful strategies that have put Central Florida on the global map as a leading city for ethical living. Passionate about education, she is currently a 2022 MBA candidate at UCF, her alma mater.