For 35 years, Keep IT Simple (KIS) has flipped the script on the IT-consulting modus operandi, jettisoning greed and subterfuge to opt for transparency, fairness, and a no-bull, client-first attitude.
Launched by Sean Canevaro in 1988, KIS may seem like an anomaly in the B2B IT game, but the seasoned founder and CEO feels he’s just doing what’s right for the type of business he’s running.
“The big tech companies want their clients to be nameless and faceless,” he said. “And we’re not interested in that. Our goal is to be as integral and connected to our clients as possible, and we work extremely hard for all of them — whether they’re a three-person law firm or West Valley College in Saratoga, California. We treat them the same way.”
A relentless dedication
Ask Canevaro what makes KIS stand out most saliently among its competitors, and he won’t hesitate: “The level of commitment we have to our clients is what separates us,” he said. “We’ll save them money and act as honest advisers.”
Consider this example: Without naming any names, Canevaro explained that KIS took on a new client with a software/hardware renewal option for $145,000. They’d asked KIS to scrutinize it. So, they did. After going over a series of questions and then digging in, KIS concluded that the client was being ripped off — confirming that they’d really need to spend only $91,000 for the renewal and could get rid of many items that were just superfluous and being pushed by a lazy and rapacious manufacturer.
Canevaro himself will drop everything if there’s a client in sudden need, and his company’s focus on customers based throughout California’s Bay Area — and from Fresno to Sacramento — is one of the reasons he’s able to do this. The firm’s smaller-scale geographic concentration allows him and KIS to provide unequaled, intimate devotion — whatever the client needs.
“For that small law firm, we do all the security, all the cloud, all the software, all the hardware, and all the proper planning for future needs,” he said. “For the bigger college, we’ll mainly do project-based implementation services. But we always look at where we can add more value for all of our clients — and then we execute.”
Maximum experience and elevated service
Given those four decades of establishing themselves in this field, Canevaro and his team now have a chiseled ability to deliver highly optimal IT solutions to a variety of companies — that, with a superior level of expertise and no-holds-barred sincerity.
“At KIS, our focus has always been solely on our client’s needs. We take pride in our ability to provide highly optimized IT solutions,” Canevaro said. “We are unafraid to challenge manufacturers to affirm the value of every single line item to make sure the client gets the best possible outcome. Our priority is always to advocate for our clients and ensure their satisfaction.”
Doesn’t matter much to him, in any case. Canevaro is more galvanized by how KIS can help resolve the confusion and expenses over transitioning to the cloud.
“A vast majority of companies want to move to the cloud as a way to get out of the IT business,” he said. “They don’t want to be responsible for all the servers, the storage, the maintenance. But also, many don’t know how to navigate the service, what buttons to click, what to purchase. An entire subset of clients want to be in the cloud but can’t because they don’t have the necessary knowledge.”
Naturally, KIS offers a full-service solution, managing all its clients’ cloud needs — monitoring them, upgrading them, and ensuring a continually robust infrastructure.
Ready for what’s next
However, there’s also the matter of cybersecurity, and Canevaro has identified two major concerns from smaller companies and bigger enterprises.
First, many of these end-users don’t have strong security practices — but they all know they need them. Second, maybe about ten years ago, so many businesses did not have any cyber-insurance (against, say, a ransomware incursion), and five years later, many do — yet still without having barricaded their front doors and setting up a battalion on constant alert right behind.
“The insurance companies have been ravaged, paying check after check for ransoms to get back data,” he pointed out. “But they’re going to start saying ‘nope’ or only paying 20-60% of ransoms, or canceling the coverage if businesses aren’t taking the proper measures to comply.
“Lots of clients have been coming to us with insurance paperwork, mentioning that they’re not sure if they’re compliant — and that’s keeping them up at night — and so KIS can check on that, what percentage of compliance they have, and then figure out the best way to make them fully compliant and much less vulnerable to attacks.”