Striking it RICH: TelAdvocate Communications
Welcome to the second post in our “Striking it RICH” blog series! This series features Atlas clients, vendors, employees and supporters who embody one or more of our company’s Core Values:
Relationships
Integrity
Collaboration
Humor
This month’s post features TelAdvocate Communications, representing the Core Value of Relationships.
TelAdvocate Communications
Tampa-based TelAdvocate is one of the largest and most respected telecommunications and cloud services distributors in the country. As the industry’s premier master agency, the company provides cutting-edge tools, software, engineering, design and sales support to thousands of sales partners and enterprises across the U.S.
TelAdvocate works with IT solutions providers, integrators, value-added resellers (VARs), independent telecom agents, and Managed Service Providers (MSPs) like Atlas Professional Services.
The TelAdvocate-Atlas Professional Services Relationship
Mike Boland, founder and partner of TelAdvocate, first connected with Atlas’s CEO and founder Greg Zolkos around 15 years ago. Both companies were rather new to the Tampa Bay tech scene. Boland and Zolkos realized they provided complimentary services, and embarked on what has been a long-term collaborative partnership, with TelAdvocate also providing Atlas with telecom services.
“Over the years, we’ve worked with Atlas to build solutions together,” said Boland. “There’s been a tremendous amount of collaboration, where we really rely on each other to perform and meet the end-users’ needs. It’s been a fantastic relationship.”
According to Zolkos, TelAdvocate works hand-in-hand with shared clients and is transparent with Atlas when any issues arise.
“We know TelAdvocate is looking out for our clients, both tech-wise and financially,” Zolkos said. “This fosters great relationships all the way around.”
Relationships as a Way of Doing Business
TelAdvocate’s core values center around customer care, customer satisfaction, supplying top-notch network designs and offering innovative solutions. At the heart of it all is creating and enhancing relationships.
“Providing the best solution, customized for every client, every time, has been our credo since the inception of the company,” Boland said. “We put the customer at the center of every solution, which makes it a great experience for them.”
According to Boland, this level of commitment to building lasting relationships requires a long-term view of the world.
“If you have a short-term perspective on your business goals, that will be reflected in everything you do,” Boland said. “With a long-term view focused on relationships, you’ll do the right thing in every interaction and sacrifice short-term opportunities for long-term success.”
A Top-Down Approach
Boland emphasized the importance of company culture beginning with those at the helm.
“When it comes down to the nitty-gritty, the philosophy and standards your leadership embrace determines the company’s culture. Your actions define it. We’ve been focused on relationships since the beginning – and we’ve found partners like Atlas that have the same philosophy – and our customers have benefitted from that approach.”
We at Atlas are proud to work alongside TelAdvocate in helping build stronger relationships and more successful businesses for our clients.
To conclude with quote from late visionary auto executive Lee Iococca: “Business, after all, is nothing more than a bunch of human relationships.”
