During #NationalVeteransMonth, we’re featuring stories and interviews with veteran entrepreneurs from across the Greater Manhattan region. Want to read more stories of veteran entrepreneurs? Click here.
Army veteran and owner of Intelligent IT, Pete Frasco, has always enjoyed tackling technical challenges, a discovery he made early in his military career. Pete tells the story of when he was stationed in Bosnia in 1996 as a young Soldier, and he was able to rig a solution to a problem no one had yet been able solve. “We had a server, three printers and a suitcase-sized satellite, and I was working with an IT guy back in the States. We were the first to deploy the Interim Battlefield Finance System in theater, and we were able to print Leave and Earnings Statements for the first time in a hazardous duty zone,” says Pete. During the late 1990’s, technology was taking over and developing new processes, and this achievement that Pete and his team had reflected these technological developments.
In 2011, Pete retired from the Army as a Signal Corps Warrant Officer after 20 years of service. He continued in the technology field, working with BlackBerry and earning his Master’s degree in 2017. In order to gain more knowledge about running his own business as a veteran, in 2018, he completed the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans (EBV), an online program with a nine-day intensive resident training, hosted at the University of Missouri. Pete believes the education and resources designed for veterans was the foundation of support he needed to finally start his own business. “I can’t speak enough about this program,” Pete says. “I think they’re incredible. They have education, on-going support, and community aspects.”
Pete Frasco, founder of Intelligent IT, in his office at The Local Desk, a shared workspace he co-owns located on the west side of Manhattan.
Pete’s military experience uniquely prepared him to own a business in a field where the stakes are always high. He describes how the exposure to combat environments helps him keep perspective while running his business in a civilian space. “I went from operating in a high stress environment where satellite speeds were low and lives were on the line, to ‘Okay, I might lose some revenue,’” says Pete. He recalls handling a data release incident for a client shortly after his military retirement, and despite the intensity of the situation, Pete remained calm. One of his coworkers asked him, “How are you so calm about this?” Pete responded, “No one is going to die today. I tell myself, the worst that is going to happen is I file bankruptcy and I start over,” says Pete.
While Pete was employed with BlackBerry, he started working out of a Manhattan-based coworking space, The Fellow, and while there, he started building a network in the Manhattan Area. At the end of 2020, he recalls a realization he had. “I was tired of working for other people.” With his decades of IT management experience, veteran business education and local network of relationships, he decided to venture out on his own, and in early 2021, he went full-time with his managed IT and cybersecurity services business, Intelligent Integration Technologies.
As Pete got started with IIT, he became increasingly aware of how he could meet a critical need for IT services in the community. While he was working from The Fellow Coworking, Pete and the other coworkers were reliant on shared internet and when there was an issue with the connection in the space, their office had to wait on IT services to respond. “We would call, and someone would come out two days later, but the problem would often not be solved.” More often than not, Pete stepped in himself to solve issues with connectivity and service in the space. As his business grew, his goal for IIT was to serve the Manhattan area as he served his coworking community at The Fellow, but at a larger scale, filling a gap for local managed IT services and cybersecurity.
As a Service Disabled Veteran and retired from his first career, Pete feels fortunate that he can run his current business driven by a passion for the work and meeting needs for others. He admits he was not always motivated by service but being part of the EBV program gave him the desire to give back. “I don’t do this work because I have to,” Pete explains. “I do this to provide that service for others.”
Pete and the IIT team feel compelled to educate the businesses they support to think differently about cybersecurity and IT. “People think of cybersecurity as a capital expense, but it really is an operating expense for your business, like a form of insurance,” Pete says. Treating cybersecurity as a form of insurance decreases costs in the long-term for a number of reasons, not only from the perspective of safety. “When a business treats IT and cybersecurity as an operating expense, they also pay the least amount in the long term because they avoid a large-scale migration project when they expand and hire a team.”
Manhattan Area Technical College student, Sophie, recently joined the IIT team, part of their commitment to hiring and training locally.
After partnering with a new business client, Pete makes sure to build a relationship that will establish trust. “We are there to defend their environment and their business. We are the security perimeter you can’t see,” says Pete. The IIT view of cybersecurity as prevention, a form of insurance, means thinking of the service as an investment. “If you’re looking for the lowest cost in town, I am not your guy,” he acknowledges. “If you are looking for the best service and security, we are the one for you. And then we become family,” says Pete.
A key priority for providing timely and responsive customer service is finding staff that value the work that they do. In the nearly two years since starting IIT, he has added to his employee base several times. His core leadership team is comprised of employees with a combined total of 80 years of industry experience, allowing him to prioritize hiring local talent, from Service Members leaving military service to local students at Manhattan Area Technical College. His military experience instilled in him a value for training and service, inspiring him to create an environment of training for the next generation of tech professionals to learn. Pete refers to his entire team as “Tech Adepts,” people who are skilled individuals, who love what they do and carry that passion over to their customer service. “That’s the kind of people I want to work with, the kind of people we have, and the kind of people I want to partner with,” says Pete.
Curious about how IIT can help support your security in cyberspace and build a preventative mindset in your business? Check out their website to learn more about their services, or get practical insights on IT and business on their blog.
Want to read more stories of veteran entrepreneurs? Click here.
