Involta’s Top 15 of 2022: From Great Growth to Bold Change to People Who Deliver and DRIVE

As we look back on 2022, our 15th Anniversary, it’s with great pride that we highlight our most memorable year yet! From showcasing our thought leadership on esteemed industry panels at ITW, Datacloud USA and Datacenter Dynamics (just to name a few) to expanding our partnerships and footprint in Cleveland, 2022 has been a year filled with excellence, numerous awards and great success. It's a year of transformation that we’ll never forget.

Involtans Deliver Beyond the Data Center?

In today's ever-evolving world, Involtans everywhere continue to make a difference by innovating and stepping out of the box to create transformative roadmaps for our clients. At the same time, our team remains laser-focused on the future and deeply committed to the communities we serve through Involta Cares, our philanthropic initiative that continues to expand its efforts across the country.?

2022: A Year to Remember?

Involta’s mission has always been to deliver superior service and support transformation by way of planning, execution, and management of hybrid IT strategies. Our values embrace all key aspects of Involta, and we’ve combined them into one crucial word – DRIVE. And in 2022, we’ve accelerated that DRIVE in new, award-winning ways to ensure our customers have access to the most secure services available today while delivering the capacity needed to enable enterprise transformation at scale and at the edge.

So before the ball drops and we embrace the new year, let’s take a look back at Involta’s top 15 moments and headlines of 2022.

1. Involta Cares Expanded Philanthropic Efforts Into Florida’s Gulf Coast

To kick off 2022, Involta Cares embraced Florida’s Gulf Coast town of St. Petersburg with a significant volunteer initiative on Jan. 13 to benefit the Pinellas Chapter of Girls, Inc. This nonprofit organization encourages all girls to be “Strong, Smart, and Bold” through direct service and advocacy.

While headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Involta frequently descends on St. Petersburg, Florida, for our annual Sales Kick-Off (SKO) event and advisory board meetings. During this year’s SKO, Involta team members gave back to the St. Petersburg community by volunteering at Girls, Inc. Involta employees assisted the local chapter with everything from cleaning, maintenance, and yard care to office operations.

2. Carlyle’s Acquisition of Involta Closes

In February, funds managed by global investment firm Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) completed the acquisition of Involta. This investment positioned us to build on our national market leadership while remaining committed to our customers in our current markets. In addition, leveraging this additional capital allows us to strengthen and expand our data center and solution portfolio to support the growing digital infrastructure requirements of enterprise businesses across the country.

And Bloomberg was the first to break the news!?

3. Involta Ranked #6 in 2022 Best in KLAS Report for Partial IT Outsourcing

Also, in February, we were pleased to announce that Involta was highlighted in the 2022 Best in KLAS report in the Partial IT Outsourcing category. This designation, published in the 2022 Best in KLAS: Software and Services report by research and insights firm KLAS, recognizes providers who excel at enabling healthcare with the technology and support needed to improve patient care.

Ranking sixth on the Partial IT Outsourcing list with a 92.6 overall performance score signifies Involta’s proven expertise and impact across this most critical sector. Notably, Involta received outstanding performance ratings across several key areas, including 100% of survey respondents asserting, “Involta exceeds expectations,” and they “would buy from Involta again.”

4. Involta Expands Enterprise Connectivity in Tech-Focused Tucson with the Addition of Cogent Communications

As Tucson organizations continue to evolve and adopt modern, cloud-first technologies to drive business forward, we announced the addition of Tier 1 internet service provider Cogent Communications’ new Point of Presence (PoP) in our Tucson data center. The PoP adds to our high-performance facility’s connectivity options providing leading Tucson healthcare, manufacturing and financial services organizations access to one of the top five backbone networks in the world.

5. Involta Recognized on CRN’s 2022 MSP 500 List?

As security concerns remain at the forefront of enterprises, we were pleased to announce that CRN?, a brand of The Channel Company , named Involta to its Managed Service Provider (MSP) 500 list in the Security 100 category for 2022. This highly regarded list recognizes leading service providers across North America for their forward-thinking approaches coupled with their dedication to the IT channel.

As a designee of the Security 100, Involta has proven its ability to successfully deploy and integrate today’s most advanced off-premises and cloud-based security services. These services include Involta Secure, a multilayer suite of security services that its dedicated security team uses to neutralize threats before impacting critical assets or operations. In addition, Involta has made significant investments in boosting its security-focused channel partnerships with leaders in the space, such as Alert Logic, Pure Storage, Veeam and VMware.

6. Involta Achieves HITRUST Risk-based, 2-year Certification to Meet Compliance Requirements, Manage Risk and Improve Security Posture

In March, we announced that a total of six Involta data centers and managed infrastructure platforms have now earned certified status for information security by HITRUST. Facilities and systems in Boise, Idaho, Marion, Iowa, and Akron, Ohio, have joined three previously Involta-certified locations, including:

• Duluth, Minnesota
• Tucson, Arizona
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

HITRUST Risk-based, 2-year (r2) Certified status demonstrates that these facilities and systems have met key regulations and industry-defined requirements and are appropriately managing risk. This achievement places Involta in an elite group of providers worldwide that have earned this certification. By including federal and state regulations, standards, and frameworks and incorporating a risk-based approach, the HITRUST Assurance Program helps organizations address security and data protection challenges through a comprehensive and flexible framework of prescriptive and scalable security controls.

7. Involta Earns a Spot on CRN? ’s Tech Elite 250 List For Sixth Consecutive Year

In the spring, another award sprung upon us with the announcement that CRN?, a brand of The Channel Company, named Involta on its 2022 Tech Elite 250 list. This recognition marked the sixth consecutive year that Involta received this prestigious designation.

CRN’s Tech Elite 250 list recognizes solution providers across the U.S. and Canada that have earned the highest level of technical certifications from leading technology suppliers, proving their expertise across a multitude of critical areas. As a company that has been repeatedly chosen for the Tech Elite 250 list, Involta has distinguished itself as a solutions provider with the training and technical know-how necessary to provide expert-level service to the IT channel and end-user organizations.

8. Involta Hosts First Annual Charity Golf Tournament to Support Tucson Area Sexual Trauma Survivors

In May, we hosted our inaugural Cinco De Mayo Golf Tournament to support the Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault (SACASA). The event was co-hosted with Lambda Lambda Lambda, Tucson’s technology networking group, and held at the Skyline Country Club.?

This initiative marked yet another effort in Involta Cares, our philanthropic community involvement program spanning across our national markets. We were honored to be able to play a small role in helping sexual trauma survivors by supporting such a meaningful and impactful organization leading this local effort.

9. Involta Named Veeam Impact Cloud & Service Provider Growth Partner of the Year by Veeam

Also in May, we proudly announced that Involta was recognized as the 2021 Veeam Impact Cloud & Service Provider Growth Partner of the Year for North America by Veeam? Software, the leader in backup, recovery and data management solutions that deliver Modern Data Protection.

As the Veeam Impact Cloud & Service Provider of the Year in North America, Involta was the partner who showed the most progress, growth, and dedication toward Veeam business and selling Veeam Software cloud-based solutions.

10. Involta Recognized on CRN’s 2022 Solution Provider 500 List

Our trophy case surely grew in 2022 with yet another award! The Solution Provider 500 list from CRN serves as the benchmark for the top technology integrators, strategic service providers, and IT consulting firms, making it an invaluable resource for technology vendors seeking to partner with today’s top-performing IT solution providers.

11. Involta Named to Channel Futures 2022 MSP 501 List

In the summer, things heated up with the announcement that Involta was ranked as one of the world’s premier managed service providers in the esteemed 2022 Channel Futures MSP 501. This is the second time Involta has earned a spot on this highly regarded list, ranking #272.

As a designee of the 2022 MSP 501, Involta has earned the distinction as one of the technology industry’s top-performing managed services providers (MSPs) by Channel Futures editors. MSPs that qualify for the annual list must pass a rigorous review conducted by the research team and editors of Channel Futures . We were honored to have earned this prestigious award once again - a true testament to our people who deliver.??

12. Involta Announces Executive Leadership Transition

In July, we announced that James D. Buie was appointed President and CEO to lead the company into our next phase of growth. Buie succeeded Involta founder Bruce Lehrman , who transitioned to the vice-chair of Involta’s Board of Directors.?

During his 15-year tenure as CEO, Lehrman stewarded Involta’s remarkable growth trajectory, including the second-fastest-growing IT Company in the country by Inc. Magazine and the 40th fastest-growing company overall, and remaining on the Inc. 500/5000 list for nearly a decade. Earlier this year, he played an important role in the company’s acquisition by global investment firm Carlyle.?

As Involta’s President & CEO, Buie draws on his 25+ years of industry experience to ensure sustainable growth for Involta and will also lead Involta’s pioneering edge practice and work to integrate a higher level of sustainability initiatives across our company’s data center portfolio. Additionally, he will continue strengthening Involta’s channel focus and expand on our monumental, award-winning partner growth with key partners such as Veeam.?

Read more from the Gazette here.

In 2022, Involta also welcomed Gary Wojtaszek to our Board of Directors. He joins Involta President and CEO James (Jim) Buie as the most recent board member. They will serve under the leadership of Board Chairman Ed Vilandrie, an Operating Executive for The Carlyle Group, and Involta Founder and former CEO Bruce Lehrman, Board Vice Chairman.

13. Involta Partners With Tech Startup HacWare to Expand Enterprise Cybersecurity Awareness Services

In August, we announced a pivotal partnership with HacWare , an AI-driven cybersecurity awareness and training SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) product that combines threat intelligence with user behavior to help lean IT teams combat today’s most advanced phishing attacks.

HacWare’s security awareness technology combines open-source data and data science to show employees how to avoid scams while significantly saving on traditional security training and awareness labor costs. The automated, easy-to-use platform is the perfect addition to our robust security solution suite.

Read more about this partnership in this exclusive CRN article here.

14. Involta Expands Its Cleveland Market Data Center

On the heels of our strategic leadership shifts and appointments and a slew of awards, in August we proudly announced the expansion of our Independence data center in the sought-after Cleveland market - bringing Involta’s total capacity to 10MW across Ohio. This expansion added 14,000 square feet of space and an additional 1MW of much-needed power to the facility to meet the increasing demand for enterprise colocation in Ohio’s Northeast corridor.

To mark the expansion, we hosted an all-star celebration on August 23, featuring keynote speaker Nic Barlage , CEO of the Cleveland Cavaliers , Rock Entertainment Group and Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Additional speakers included Involta’s President and CEO, Jim Buie; Bruce Lehrman, Founder and Vice Chairman of Involta’s Board of Directors; and Ken Kremer , Founder and Chief Technical Officer of Involta. Sponsors of the event included Rinderknecht, VMware , Veeam Software , Arista Networks , Pure Storage , and 世邦魏理仕 .

15. Involta Named to Inc.’s Inaugural Power Partner Awards

What a way to close out our 15th anniversary and a stellar 2022: Involta was named to Inc.’s inaugural Power Partner Awards! Presented by Inc. Magazine Business Media today, Inc.’s Power Partner Awards recognizes B2B organizations across the globe that have proven track records supporting entrepreneurs and helping startups grow.?

Involta was thrilled to be highlighted on this prestigious list as a top Cloud Computing Inc. Power Partner!?

Driving Into The Future?

As we DRIVE full steam ahead into 2023, we celebrate our team for a record-setting year and their unwavering commitment to our customers and our mission. This past year and all we accomplished is not only a reflection of our strong 15 years of growth but a glimpse of where we are headed. And the future never looked so bright.

To stay in the know about everything Involta, including upcoming events like PTC’23 and Metro Connect, where Jim Buie, our President and CEO, will be a featured speaker, and our Cybersecurity Master Class and Enterprise Edge Broadcast available on demand, visit our website at involta.com.