These 30 years have been very rewarding.  At times, our journey has been difficult, but our blessings have far outnumbered our challenges. 

30-Year Rewind: DMC Then and Now

In 1993, the IT landscape was very different. Cybersecurity discussions weren’t common. The Internet was in its infancy. Many businesses did not have PC’s or email. Cell phones were only used to make phone calls. Data centers provided time share services, but we didn’t use the word “cloud”. Artificial intelligence was part of conversations, but we couldn’t have imagined the opportunities (and threats) it poses today.

Of course, the IT solutions we provide to our clients have changed dramatically over the years. And they will continue to change over the next several years in ways we can’t even imagine.

“WHO” DMC is has not changed at all. We are a team that is committed to a family first workplace, teamwork, and long-term relationships with our teammates, clients, and partners. We are locally owned and operated. We are problem solvers, innovators, and strive to always do the right thing. I am convinced that if we hold onto these core values, none of which are directly related to IT, we will have another great 30 years!

The Relationships

We’re in this for the long run!  

Employees. We aspire to have every one of our employees retire from DMC, and we have a good track record.  9 of our 24 employees were with DMC when we started in 1993 and we will certainly host retirement parties for all of them.  I tell all prospective employees that my goal is to have them retire from DMC.  Those that fit into our culture share that aspiration.

Clients.  We also aspire to have career-long relationships with our clients.  We want partnerships, not transactions.  We believe these long-term relationships are priceless……….to DMC and our clients.  

Partners.  We have strong loyalty to our technology partners including IBM, Microsoft, Dell, Cisco, SonicWall, Arctic Wolf, HP, and many others.  These firms count on DMC to represent, install, and support their technologies with our clients. They continue to provide us with advanced technologies that allow us to deliver best-in-class solutions.

We also enjoy a great partnership through our joint venture with William Vaughan, Toledo’s largest locally-owned accounting firm, providing IT solutions to their clients. 

Local

DMC is locally owned and operated. We see our teammates, clients, and partners in the Toledo area, in church, the grocery store, the gym, and at Mud Hens and Rocket games. This local flavor is knit into our culture and our commitment to doing things the right way.

Being locally owned AND debt free means that no outside parties dictate our decisions. This independence enables us to focus on the long-term success of our company and our clients. 

DMC Teamwork 

I want to wrap up by sharing a story that illustrates our team culture at DMC. 

One of my proudest moments as the owner of DMC occurred during the Great Recession in 2008.  We were facing business challenges.  To avoid laying off employees, we instituted an across-the-board pay cut, with our leadership team taking the largest percent decrease.  After I announced this action at our monthly company meeting, many of our team members approached me and said things like, “If we can avoid laying off our teammates, I’m all for it.” 

There was a true sense of camaraderie and a cohesive spirit. We supported each other as a team. We had some challenging months, but we ultimately grew out of the recession. Within about a year, salaries returned to their previous levels, and we paid back lost wages. 

30 Candles for DMC!

Cheers to 30 years—and counting! 

We commemorate our June 16 anniversary every year with a team celebration. This year, we gathered at Inside the Five in Sylvania to share memories and enjoy each other’s company. The DMC team will continue the celebration this fall with a gathering at the Toledo Metroparks Glass City Riverwalk with our team and their families, business partners and clients. Stay tuned!  

THANK YOU to all of you that have been part of our journey.  We are most grateful.

Posted by Pat Sheehan, President DMC Technology Group

The post Celebrating 30 Years at DMC Technology Group  appeared first on DMC Technology Group.

We need more women in tech jobs — to problem-solve, engineer, innovate, grow relationships and contribute to product development. After all, if about half of consumers are female and we’re designing software, hardware and tech tools without women’s voice at the table, aren’t we inherently missing the market?

Women in tech jobs bring a fresh perspective, diversifying the conversation. This is important for any business in every industry. A Harvard Business Review study found that diverse teams develop more innovative ideas. And let’s face it, women and men are different. (This is a good thing!) When we invite a range of perspectives to the workplace, we grow a more creative talent pool. 

A range of perspectives sparks innovation. More voices at the table means more creativity, more skills and more experiences that contribute to creative problem solving. Studies prove that mixed-gender teams deliver more novel work than all-women or all-men teams. And diverse workplaces also tend to be more profitable. A McKinsey & Company report showed gender-diverse companies are 25 percent more likely to outperform competitors that lack diversity. And the more women represented, the better for a business’s bottom line – by up to 48 percent. 

It’s always the right time to showcase tech jobs for women, and in honor of Women’s History Month in March, we hope highlighting opportunities in IT and tech careers throughout the industry and at DMC Technology Group will inspire more women to pursue tech jobs. 

So, how do women thrive in tech jobs? Here are five qualities that make women an ideal fit. 

Women of Tech are Critical Thinkers

A study in Literacy Information and Computer Education Journal highlights creativity and gender differences, explaining that women naturally analyze and their minds are constantly at work. This is not to say men are not doing the same, but women plan, organize and multitask as a necessity of everyday life. And so it makes sense that in the IT workplace, these skills are valuable for solving problems, addressing challenges and designing new products. 

Sharing is Caring – Women are Communicators 

Explaining thoughts and verbal/written expression are a strength women bring to teams. So is listening. (Communication isn’t just about talking.) Women are effective at perceiving body language and feelings. Women in IT jobs can explain complex concepts to clients, interface with customers in a way that shows understanding and empathy, and listen to client requests and feedback so they feel heard. 

Overall, women are connectors, valuing relationships with each other, their families, friends and communities. In the IT workplace, this provides a rich client experience that is appreciated in VCIO, co-managed and managed service roles.  

Women In Technology Inspire Each Other

Women are patient, taking time to teach and explain. As mentors, women in tech jobs can encourage more females to pursue IT careers by setting an inspiring example. The IT sector provides rewarding, well-paying career opportunities, where women can excel as leaders. 

There’s a high demand for skilled workers in the technology industry, with expected continued growth. For women with the right skills, education and experience, this means many job opportunities. With the tech industry constantly evolving, there will also be opportunities for career growth and advancement. 

Workforce Diversity Attracts Talent

Diverse work environments attract talent in regions that value and support women in the workplace like the United States and Western Europe. Diversity can indicate that a company is competently run and values a range of perspectives. When workplaces recruit and promote women – including them at all levels and in the C-suite – they outperform in the hiring game. Case in point: When the job site Glassdoor surveyed job seekers, 67% of the 1,000 respondents said they evaluate workplace diversity when deciding if a company is a great place to work. Another survey revealed that 61% of women look at gender diversity when considering a future employer. 

Women In Tech Statistics

Even knowing that a more gender-diverse workforce outperforms others, is attractive to job candidates and is proven to be more innovative, women still only represent 26% of the tech workforce in the United States. Only 5% of tech leadership positions belong to women, and the percentage of women in all tech-related careers has decreased during the last couple of years. There’s a significant gap in women’s representation in tech given that women account for 47.7% of the global workforce. When you consider that women account for nearly 48% of the global workforce, it highlights the vast opportunity for companies to diversify their workforce and improve their bottom line. 

Our bottom line? The tech world needs more women in tech.

Want to learn more about IT careers? 

Let’s talk. Call us any time at 419-535-2900. Or fill out this simple contact form and we’ll get in touch with you.

Posted by Greg Gomach, Business Unit Manager at DMC Technology Group

The post Tech Jobs for Women – Inspiring Innovation appeared first on DMC Technology Group.

A conversation with DMC Technology Group President, Patrick Sheehan

What do Zoom, eBay, Dell, Intel, Google, Microsoft and Amazon have in common? Aside from being household names, they join other global technology companies that have laid off a combined 95,000 employees since the beginning of 2023. The number is staggering, and yet we shouldn’t be all that surprised. 

In a conversation with Patrick Sheehan, president of DMC Technology Group, we learn what is driving massive layoffs in publicly held technology corporations, and why DMC’s approach has resulted in the opposite trend: actively recruiting tech talent. 

In a news spotlight on WTOL, I explained what makes our position in the market unique. Because of a culture built on long-term, sustained growth and success, we take a different approach to building our company. For publicly-held companies in the tech industry, the pandemic introduced tremendous opportunity. With people working from home, security concerns elevated as did the use of the cloud, Microsoft products, video conferencing and so on. 

DMC Technology Group is hiring client executives, engineers, and programmers. How is the company positioned to recruit tech talent when so many others are trimming down their staff?

In the WTOL interview, I shared this with the reporter: 

"These companies are publicly-held and that creates a very different dynamic. Their shareholders expect them to ride the wave of opportunity as it comes along and scale back during downturns. That results in mass hirings and, in the current environment, some heart-breaking layoffs. The leaders at these large companies are good people, but they’re required to direct their loyalty to their investors. We are a locally owned private business, so we are insulated from the expectations of outside investors.”

When you interview candidates applying for open technology positions at DMC, what do you want them to know about the company?

I tell the candidates I interview that I want them to retire from DMC. That might seem far-fetched, but it’s important for our company culture and clients to providing continuity and minimiz turnover. It’s my responsibility as an owner to fulfill this commitment by offering rewarding careers. Our clients depend on the consistency of working with engineers and programmers who truly know their operations. 

Publicly held companies, even if they wanted to, do not necessarily have this luxury. Their stakeholders and investors want them to ride the wave. And when that swell calms down or dips, they must respond accordingly. Unfortunately, that has resulted in widespread tech industry layoffs with a lot of displaced talent in the corporate sector.

One of my proudest moments as the owner of DMC was in 2009 when the bubble burst and the economy plummeted into a recession. Like many, we were having a tough time, and I met with our leadership team and said, “We have challenges ahead of us.” We didn’t want to lay off any of our people, so I suggested that we institute a temporary across-the-board, tiered pay decrease. The people at the top took the largest cut. 

Can you share an example of putting people first and avoiding layoffs, even in a tough economy?

This isn’t the type of message you want to deliver at a company meeting, but afterward, many of our team members approached me privately and said things like, “If we can avoid laying people off, I’m all for it.” There was a true sense of camaraderie and a cohesive spirit. We supported each other as a team.

We got through those tough times, ultimately growing out of the recession. Within about a year, salaries returned to their previous levels and we made up for lost wages. 

As a small business, we are nimble and can pivot quickly to put in place systems, procedures and plans that will help us succeed over the long-term. That’s a real benefit for our clients and our employees. We make it a point to emphasize to our team and clients that we are focused on sustainable growth and success for everyone. 

What opportunities is DMC Technology Group pursuing that will fuel long-term growth and create more jobs?

We strategically pursue opportunities that will fuel long-term growth that also allows us to hire and retain more talent. Namely, we are directing business development initiatives toward internet security, Microsoft Cloud, Microsoft 365 products and the subcategory technologies that go with them. Microsoft is a critical part of our business, and we may actually be the beneficiary of some of this talent now being available for hire. 

As companies’ demands for IT managed services, tech security, cloud-based technologies and Microsoft solutions continue, many do not have an in-house IT department or a Chief Information Officer. This is where DMC fills a critical void as a VCIO – Virtual CIO, or fractional CIO. When clients engage DMC as their VCIO, they gain the flexibility and bandwidth to scale up or back depending on their needs. This helps prevent a cycle of hire-and-fire in their own operations while delivering cost savings, so that they can direct resources to other important aspects of their businesses. 

The bottom line: In today’s dynamic environment, companies need more tech security measures in place to prevent breaches. They need support in place to operate in the cloud safely, to protect their clients’ privacy, and to run more efficient and collaborative businesses. 

Why might a technology professional who is used to the corporate world enjoy working for a family-owned business like DMC instead?

Those working in global tech companies who wonder, “Am I next?” might seek out careers at a place like the DMC because of the family-like environment and track record for stability. We are strategically recruiting Client Executives, Engineers, and Programmers. Recently, we  hired an Engineer and a Service Coordinator, and have engaged with a local Marketing Team to continue our strategic growth. 

For more information on our Toledo region IT jobs please visit our careers page.

Posted by Patrick Sheehan, Owner, DMC Technology Group

The post It’s All About the People – Hiring IT Talent appeared first on DMC Technology Group.