The Solution For IT Professionals

Linda Dela Cruz
Wednesday - May 19, 2010
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Ross Battaglia says Aloha Technical Solutions lives up to its name

To provide an island presence for information technology professionals using IBM products, Aloha Technical Solutions keeps customers needs at the forefront.

“If you have an issue with technology, we are here to help,” says owner Ross Battaglia. “Before, if you needed something, you got it from the Mainland. You had to go there to go to school or see the demo. We provide local IT services.”

There are two main ways his company of 10 employees provides local IT services for IBM to small businesses as well as state and federal government offices. First is the business partner innovation center, or BPIC. Battaglia says Hawaii is the only business partner that allows customers to give the equipment a try in their own office.

“If there is a piece of equipment here that you’re interested in, bring it back to your place,” Battaglia encourages. “Make a live demo of it and put production on it to see how it works.”


 

One of the reasons he does it that way, he explains, is because he believes you have to do things differently in Hawaii.

“When you look at our name, it has a value of why it is Aloha Technical Solutions,” he says. “It tells you how we want to do business, the kind of business we do and what we provide. In Hawaii, you have to live it, you can’t just talk it. Our business culture is our life culture.”

The second way the company helps local IT professionals for IBM is with its training center. Having an instructor here saves residents airfare and travel time. With 18 workstations, customers can learn a variety of skills, such as how the new software works, or what Lotus Notes can do, or the disadvantages and benefits of the Power 7 UNIX.

Battaglia says he is an original developer of the Tivoli software product and owns Tivoli Associates, which provides backup solutions for IBM worldwide. It was while working as an IBM expert that he saw a need for a local presence in Hawaii, so he started Aloha Technical Solutions in September 2006. Vice president of operations Jackie Branch and director of IBM sales Mike Kebo were there from the start.

Since its humble beginnings, Battaglia says the company has become one of the top 10 business partners in the country for IBM, and last year it was No. 9 in sales of the X series of Intel computers.

To demonstrate his commitment to his employees, he allows six weeks a year for employee training.

“An investment in their future is an investment in our future,” says the Kailua resident.

He acknowledges the support of his clients, staff, friends and family, especially wife Betsy, his seven children and 12 grandchildren.


In addition to the BPIC and the training center, the company also has a build shop where they can quickly put together a component for a customer.

“When I do business with somebody, I do it as if I were buying it for myself,” says Battaglia. “What would I want (in customer service)? I’m straight with you, and we help with an IT solution that is best for you.”

Aloha Technical Solutions is located at 677 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 402. For more information, call 254-6200, or log on to www.alohatechnical.com.

 

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