‘We Use Our Experience and Leading-Edge Technology to Ensure Valuable Systems and Data are as Secure as They Possibly Can Be’— Charlie Regan, Nerds On Site Inc CEO

“The need to remain secure, and the potential costs of not doing so, is something that cannot be overstated, let alone overlooked.”

By 1995, technology was becoming prevalent as people were becoming more and more connected. Service and support for this technology came mostly from the manufacturers and retailers and could be arduous and not so consumer-friendly. There was a rising need for tech support services that could help consumers after they have bought a certain product and provide aftercare services. With the boom in technology came the advancements in cybercrimes as well. People needed protection against the various acts of cybercrime.

Nerds On Site Inc was founded during this period in 1995. It’s an international IT support and cybercrime solutions company based in Ontario, Canada. Nerds On Site strives to make itself an effective technology partner of choice for SMEs.

In Conversation with Charlie Regan, Nerds On Site Inc CEO

Tell us about an early success story and how it helped to shape the company.

One of our first large SME client and client projects came as a result of a referral from a home service call. The homeowner’s local business, an engineering firm, was in need of a major technology overhaul. The nerd pulled together the required talent across the team and we responded with a coordinated effort to upgrade almost every aspect of the client’s technology. This was one of the first experiences that highlighted the power of the team and led us to develop systems that promoted and supported the team approach with our Clients.

What kind of evolving client needs have you recognized over the years? How have they motivated you to shape your offerings/grow the company?

Cybercriminals are reinvesting their profits and have the distinct advantage of only needing to find a single vulnerability while clients must identify and defend all potential vulnerabilities. The rise of the criminal element and the ‘dark creep’ of the internet over the years is just now being realized by many business owners. The need to remain secure, and the potential costs of not doing so, is something that cannot be overstated, let alone overlooked. We have maintained a strong focus on securing our client’s technology, going so far as to create a security solution (Adam: ONE, a DNS-based gateway) that protects clients in a way that we’ve not found possible with any other solution.

Many IT leaders don’t know what they really have even when they think they do. How do you manage to serve the needs of a highly volatile market?

We effectively serve the needs of the market by first identifying what those needs are, or, more specifically, what the primary need is. Considering today’s dangerous internet landscape, that primary need, for every business and individual, is security. Having identified security as the number one priority and, getting customer buy-in and agreement, it is easy to resist going down the path of traditional IT solutions that we know just don’t work.

If you have to list five factors that have been/are the biggest asset to your organization, what would they be and why?

Power of Team – Access/leverage the combined knowledge and experience of the entire Nerds Team,

Proactive Service – Monitor client systems and take care of issues before they become problems,

Agility – Quickly respond to client concerns,

Adaptability – Change with the circumstances, being always forward-thinking, playing whatever role the client requires,

Integrity – Ensure all of our Nerds are the kind of people who do the right thing, even when no one is watching. Customers see it. Customers trust it.

How do you stay relevant to the consumer interests and needs in this highly volatile market?

We stay relevant by first defining what the customer interests and needs actually are, often before they are fully aware of themselves. Then we demonstrate our adaptability by filling those needs. It might be through Outsourced IT and Security services where we become their entire IT and Security department or through Supplemental IT and Security services to help their in-house team fill in the gaps, pick up the slack when they are implementing new projects or provide boots on the ground at remote locations.

Do you have any new products ready to be launched?

We are in the early stages of releasing Adam: ONE, a cutting edge, DNS-based firewall and gateway solutions software with the potential to revolutionize cybersecurity by starting from a zero-trust position at the internet gateway position.

Where do you see your company a couple of years from now?

We are currently focused on USA expansion. By growing our network of highly trained and vastly experienced Nerds across the United States, we see ourselves, in a couple of years from now, as the Managed Security and Services Provider (MSSP) of choice among SMEs across North America.

Meet the Nerds Behind Nerds On Site Inc

Charlie Regan, CEO/Co-Founder: Charlie Regan is the owner and CEO of a number of interesting and growing enterprises —Nerds On Site, Tactical Marketing Solutions, and Augusta Business Coaching RAF Enterprising, among others. He also works closely with several more Canadian and American based firms. Mr. Regan guest lectured for a number of years at the University of Windsor as part of their Co-op M.B.A. program, as well as the University of Michigan.

David Redekop, Co-founder: The rise of cybercrime has landed Mr. Redekop squarely in the cybersecurity industry with a strong focus on incident response and prevention of security lapses by implementing practical, yet strong policies that use the latest that gateway security and endpoint protection are able to offer, including his own patent-pending solutions applied to the Zero Trust Model.

John Harbarenko, Co-founder: In 1995, John was working as a computer technician at an electronics big-box store when he saw a need in the marketplace for ‘personalized’ technology service, and an opportunity to break the ice between computer owners, and computer nerds. That same year, John, along with David Redekop, co-founded ‘Nerds On Site’ to fill this void in the market and provide onsite services to homes and businesses.

“Considering today’s dangerous internet landscape, that primary need, for every business and individual, is security. Having identified security as the number one priority and, getting customer buy-in and agreement, it is easy to resist going down the path of traditional IT solutions that we know just don’t work.”