Tuesday, April 30, 2013

SHI breaks records with Q1 revenue

Posted by Ed McNamara at 4:16 PM

SHI is breaking records like it’s our job. It’s not, of course. Our job is to connect you with the technology solutions your business needs. And our latest earnings announcement indicates that we must be doing it right.

SHI posted $1 billion in revenue for the first quarter of 2013, a 15.5 percent increase year over year and our highest first quarter revenue total ever. Not only that, but this is the third consecutive year in which we set a revenue record for the first quarter.

There are a lot of factors that contributed to this growth, and the press release we put out today has them all. Most importantly, though, thanks to our loyal customers and partners for contributing to this success.

Monday, April 22, 2013

Cisco recognizes SHI for customer satisfaction excellence

Posted by Joshua Dunsky at 10:22 AM

At SHI we’ve always been proud of our commitment to customers and confident in our ability to find, build, and deliver solutions that meet their specific IT challenges and environments. But it’s reassuring to occasionally receive third party validation that we are getting customer service right.

SHI receives highest honors for customer satisfaction from Cisco

We’re proud to share that SHI has achieved Cisco’s Gold Star for Customer Satisfaction Excellence, the IT partner’s highest distinction for customer service.

Cisco measures the customer satisfaction levels achieved by its certified partners (SHI was just recertified as a Cisco Gold partner) based on regional target goals and the results of an online customer survey. The Overall Satisfaction Score is a weighted average of a partner’s pre and post-sales support over a rolling 12-month period.

As a Cisco Gold partner, SHI demonstrates specialization in mobility, collaboration, and physical, virtual, and cloud architectures. In addition, we consistently meet a number of certification, support, customer satisfaction, and service requirements.

Thanks to our customers who communicated their confidence in our customer support to Cisco! We hold this recognition in high regard and will remain diligent in our dedication to delivering the best Cisco solutions and customer experience possible.

Friday, March 29, 2013

Building a top-notch workforce with Millennials

Posted by Ed McNamara at 2:05 PM

Demographers like to classify Generation X and Generation Y based on the year someone was born: X = 1960s to 1980s, Y = 1980s to 2000s. That’s great to use as a baseline, but it looks too much like algebra to a slacker Gen Xer like me. (Remember that?)

Today’s employers are far more interested in the part of Generation Y that is currently joining the workforce: the 22 to 25 year olds more commonly called Millennials. Scores of articles and blogs are written each month about how different this next generation is from its predecessors, including this one that ran in the New York Times Magazine three days ago: “Do Millennials Stand a Chance in the Real World?”

I can’t comment on the real world, but I know this: Millennials not only “stand a chance” at SHI, they thrive! SHI has doubled both revenue and headcount over the past five years and we’re adding at least 500 more in Austin. That growth is largely comprised of young adults who just recently graduated college.

Young professionals are perfectly suited for SHI, a company obsessed with providing world-class customer service in support of IT products. Here are three simple reasons why:

The consumerization of IT means that new offerings and solutions (like mobility) make perfect sense to those born with a silver device in their hands.
Parents obsessed with saying please and thank you and covering their mouths when they cough have ingrained in their children a sense of how customers (and coworkers) should be treated.
A society reliant on social media has already learned the hard lesson of both accepted and inappropriate, real-time forms of communication, including the need for immediate response.

SHI explains how to attract, prepare Millennial workers for leadership

Last week, I spoke with Investor’s Business Daily about how SHI attracts, retains, and cultivates Millennial talent. As I mentioned in that article, there’s a really simple way to build a business based on the strengths that 20- and 30-somethings bring to the table.

Talk to them. Ask them what they think. You’ll be surprised how much they already know and how at ease they are with being empowered and contributing to the decision-making process.

Even an old curmudgeon from Generation X can admit, Millennials are working for SHI.

Friday, March 15, 2013

SHI honored by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council

Posted by Ed McNamara at 2:19 PM

We’ve always been proud to be the largest Minority and Woman-owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) in the United States, and the latest recognition in our growing list of accolades helps us broadcast that story to a larger audience.

We announced today that SHI has been certified as a Women’s Business Enterprise by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). The certification comes as the result of a meticulous business review and site inspection aimed to confirm that the company is at least 51 percent owned, operated, and controlled by a woman or women.

This isn’t news to us — Thai Lee took over SHI in 1989 and has led the company through consistent and impressive record-breaking organic growth ever since. Many of our customers are familiar with our history as well and choose to work with us not only for our wide array of IT solutions and world-class service, but also for our ability to help them enhance their diversity programs.

However, this national recognition by the WBENC opens a number of new opportunities and gives us a good reason to shout it from the rooftops. Find out more about the certification in the press release we issued this morning.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

VMware names SHI as SMB and Renewals Partner of the Year

Posted by Ed McNamara at 6:25 PM

Fourteen months ago, New Jersey Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno helped SHI officially open a new Worl d Headquarters that featured the SHI Cloud data center and plenty of office space for our continued employee expansion. Luckily, the renovated building features plenty of room in the trophy case.

Because earlier today, SHI picked up two more pieces of hardware, being named VMware’s SMB and Renewals Partner of the Year at VMware’s Partner Exchange in Las Vegas.

“SHI is honored to accept these awards, which serve as a testament to the strong bonds, support, and growth shared by our two organizations,” said Thai Lee, President and CEO of SHI International in our press release this afternoon. “Over the past five years, VMware has become one of SHI’s most trusted partners and has helped us elevate the level of conversation with customers to focus on more comprehensive and strategic data center solutions. Our relationship with VMware is a true partnership, one that benefits our customers above all else, and we look forward to nurturing that partnership for years to come.”

Driven by customer demand for VMware technologies, SHI’s VMware business has grown an average of 51 percent over the past five years, topping out at just under $200 million in 2012 (when SHI was named VMware Corporate Reseller Partner of the Year).

But more important that revenue growth, VMware technologies are continuously influencing the conversations SHI has with our clients. Last year, two thirds of the corporate customers who purchased VMware through SHI also purchased servers, storage, and networking hardware solutions.

For that, we are very thankful to VMware, and are proud to be named SMB and Renewals Partner of the Year!

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

SHI posts record year in 2012

Posted by Ed McNamara at 9:45 AM

In case you missed the headline this morning: SHI continues rapid growth, posts $4.45 billion in revenue for 2012. That’s an increase of 15 percent over last year, the final push needed for SHI to cross the $4 billion threshold for the first time in company history.

The press release we issued this morning has more of the details, including a breakdown of revenue growth across business segment and a recap of what it took to achieve another milestone: 2,000 full-time employees.

Friday, December 21, 2012

SHI joins Operation Shoebox NJ to spread holiday cheer to troops overseas

Posted by Ed McNamara at 8:15 AM

Earlier this month, our partners at McAfee joined more than 140 SHI employees and Operation Shoebox New Jersey at SHI Headquarters to assemble care packages for U.S. troops stationed overseas. We had been collecting supplies — toiletries, snacks, knick-knacks, Girl Scout cookies, etc. — since the beginning of September with the goal of mailing 500 packages to arrive in time for the holidays.

But on Dec. 7 (the 71st anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, a meaningful coincidence that was not lost on us), in a mere three hours, we exceeded that goal, packaging 647 boxes for our servicemen and women.

Operation Shoebox New Jersey is a great organization that has shipped 60,000 care packages over the past eight years to U.S. troops in the Middle East and around the world. In the below video, Executive Director Rod Hirsch talks more about the mission of Operation Shoebox and how volunteers (like you) can make it a success.

For a closer look, check out these pictures on our Facebook page.

From everyone at SHI, have a happy and healthy holiday season!