Intermedia Partner, A Better Choice Network Solutions, Scales from One Client to 15 in Under 18 Months

Retired police officer puts his passion to serve and protect others to work as an Intermedia partner

The Background

For David Thornton, helping people is part of his DNA. Following a 26-year stint in law enforcement, Thornton recognized a tremendously underserved need and wanted to do something about it.

He explains, “During my last couple years of police work, I noticed a severe uptick in identity theft. In fact, our local agency was getting 2-3 cases a day. After researching where the major breaches were coming from, I realized that businesses needed to be doing a better job of protecting their customers’ personal data.”

Thornton’s passion to serve and protect ultimately led him to found A Better Choice Network Solutions.

A Better Choice Network Solutions

Company Profile:
A Better Choice coins itself as a one-stop shop to SMBs for all things IT.

Headquarters: Brandon, Florida

The Challenge

Thornton knew he wanted to help business owners by providing them with secure and reliable IT services. He knew getting better tools in the hands of SMBs would, in turn, help businesses protect themselves and their customers. But Thornton also knew that he was a man of one with limited resources. How could he grow his one-stop shop of cloud services while managing the complexities of running the business?

The Solution

“I was lucky to have a mentor who had over a decade of experience working as an IT professional,” shared Thornton. “He told me that the partners you work with are everything. They can make or break your business. His advice was to look for partners with top notch support, that are easy to work with, and reliable. Some of the best advice I’ve gotten.”

Thornton continues, “My mentor pointed me toward Intermedia and the rest is history. Two weeks later I was using Intermedia’s Cloud PBX phone system, getting myself used to it. My experience was outstanding. I found the phone system incredibly easy to deploy, which was very helpful as I was starting out. After that, I couldn’t wait to add more Intermedia services to my portfolio. The explosion of ransomware outbreaks made me think to sell Intermedia’s backup and file sharing solution, SecuriSync. From there, I added Hosted Exchange with email archiving and encryption, an important must have for clients striving to comply with HIPAA or PCI regulations. I’m continually impressed by the quality of every Intermedia service.”

Thornton believes that selling Intermedia’s Cloud Voice services regularly opens other doors of opportunity. “Intermedia’s Cloud PBX system practically sells itself. I will physically take my phone to a client’s office to have them experience the HD quality themselves. They are immediately sold after one listen. From the dependability, the ease of portability, and the features, everything about the phone service is great. I also find that Cloud Voice is a great way to start up a conversation that often leads to identifying other ways I can help.”

With ransomware on the rise, Thornton has also found Intermedia’s backup and file sharing offering to make for an easy client conversation. “Talk about backup and people’s eye glaze over. But talk about an affordable ‘set it and forget it’ way for people to back up their files and folders that can also aid in a speedy ransomware recovery – their attention is captured. My favorite client reaction to SecuriSync is that it’s ‘Dropbox® on steroids!’”

Having Intermedia’s J.D. Power-certified 24/7 support team behind me has been a huge benefit. From my sales rep helping me work out quotes to the attentiveness of the onboarding team, Intermedia saves me time that I can then spend on identifying new clients.

David Thornton,
Founder, A Better Choice Network Solutions

Products They Use

The Benefits

“As of June 2016, I had one client. Less than a year and a half later I have 15, most of which were added in the last four months after I figured out my narrative and established my expertise. Every one of my clients is using at least one Intermedia product,” exclaims Thornton.

“Having Intermedia’s J.D. Power-certified 24/7 support team behind me has been a huge benefit. From my sales rep helping me work out quotes to the attentiveness of the onboarding team, Intermedia saves me time that I can then spend on identifying new clients,” states Thornton.

Freeing up time is a big deal considering Thornton also attributes a great deal of his business success to speaking with people face-to-face. “Networking is an inexpensive way to build your brand. There is no replacement for getting to know people when looking to earn their trust. Joining the Brandon Chamber of Commerce has given me great networking opportunities to establish trust and hear how I can help our local businesses.”

With Intermedia by his side, Thornton shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, he’s already obtained Gold partner status and has his eyes set on becoming Platinum.

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