PCS: A customer-service business for all your IT needs

 

 

When Anthony Mongeluzo started thinking seriously about the kind of IT business he wanted to start, most people’s idea of a tech company was The Geek Squad – the guys who came to your house to fix computers. That wasn’t at all what the then Rowan University student had in mind.

“There were lots of people in the business of fixing computers,” Mongeluzo says about his college days in the late ’90s. “Technology was increasingly becoming the most important tool for all businesses. I wanted to help people use that tool more efficiently, but I also wanted my company to be friendly and a fun place to work. Even though I knew it would be 100 percent focused on technology, I saw myself as a business consultant.”

With those founding ideas, he created PCS, a customer-service first company that provides customized IT solutions to businesses of all sizes. Some 22 years later, PCS is sticking to that plan, giving its growing customer base a variety of IT support and consulting services that adapt to their ever-changing technology needs. With its approximately 200 U.S.-based IT professionals largely situated in South Jersey, PCS takes the time to learn about its customers and their needs to provide the best possible strategies, from help desk support to complete infrastructure overhauls. Offerings range from handling managed services (acting as a business’ virtual Chief Information Officer or in-house IT team) to project-based services and rapid response/emergency services for customers who need 24/7 access to an IT team. PCS helps for-profit businesses, nonprofit businesses as well as government contractors with assistance in data backup and protection, network connections and proactive cyber-security strategy.

“Even though I knew it would be 100 percent focused on technology, I saw myself as a business consultant.”

The company that started with one modest work space in Medford has expanded to include 6 offices in 3 states, including its Moorestown headquarters, offices in Vineland and a new location in Egg Harbor, which is set to open next month.

Looking back, Mongeluzo says the company has been growing steadily because technology changes so fast, and smart businesses understand that adapting to it is a necessary strategy. “We’ve actually had our best growth during some of the most challenging times, including the pandemic shut down, because we’re able to help businesses save money by operating more efficiently,” he says.

Mongeluzo learned about business cycles and the constant need to adapt to the times early on, observing how his parents successfully managed their business, a bar in Philadelphia. As a teen who was good with computers, he took over their marketing strategy and tech needs.

“I would design and create banners, posters and flyers advertising DJ Night and other special events,” he says. “They let me pick out and install security cameras when the technology became available and affordable, and loved that they were able to monitor the bar through the internet.”

Perhaps surprisingly, Mongeluzo was not a computer science major at Rowan. “I always thought I was going to be on TV or on radio,” he says, noting his major was communications.

Fate intervened when a South Jersey neighbor, a retired Coca-Cola executive, asked him for help with a broken scanner. “I fixed it in 15 minutes after one of the professional businesses charging $400 an hour couldn’t do it. He asked me what I was making at my job at a produce market, which was $10.75 an hour. He’s like, ‘Okay, you’re starting a computer business and your new rate is $40 an hour.”

As word spread, Mongeluzo got busy quickly, to the point that it was disrupting school. “I was actually managing clients while taking classes at Rowan and would have to take calls. One of the professors called me on it, asking why I left the classroom 3 times during a lecture. I apologized and explained that my client had urgent issues. He asked me what I was charging. When I told him he said, ‘Okay, you’re making more money than I am. Go take that call.’”

As PCS has grown, Mongeluzo has made it a priority to provide PCS team members the tools and training they need to develop as leaders and technicians, work/life balance and avenues to develop their interests inside and outside of work. Culture is emphasized and, one method of connecting both his new and established personnel is in team huddles. Held once or twice a month, team members can share what’s happening in the office as well as what’s happening at home.

The company also has a culture club, says Mongeluzo, where team members brainstorm ways to keep PCS’s work culture at its highest level. Members of the club strategize about how they can get other team members more involved in initiatives and foster a feeling of belonging. Ideas that came from Culture Club include adding arcade games on site, food truck lunch breaks, bowling, golf and game nights.

“Our strong culture, I think, is what got us through the pandemic,” he says. “It’s the little stuff like having team members wear Philly team clothes on game day. People are really into that.”

And when it comes to supporting organizations near and dear to his team members, PCS does more than write a check to support charitable causes – Mongeluzo encourages them to give their time.

Mongeluzo volunteers his time helping future entrepreneurs. Recently the company stepped up its giving through a relationship with the Satell Institute, a Philadelphia-based member organization promoting corporate social responsibility. Through the organization, PCS has pledged to give $100,000 over 4 years to 2 companies involved in addiction recovery and mental health services.

Mongeluzo doesn’t make these decisions in a vacuum. His leadership team, composed of longtime employees, hash out plans thoroughly before making big decisions. “We will sometimes have lively disagreements,” he says. “But when we finally come to a consensus and agree to a plan, we fully support each other, no matter whose idea it was. I think the fact that we all think so differently contributes to our success. If we all felt the same, we’d probably be out of business.”

 

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IT Service Highlights:

• Helpdesk
• IT Managed
• IT Co-Managed
• IT Project-Based
• IT Rapid Response
• IT Critical Incident Response
• Network & Server Management
• Virtual CIO

304 Harper Drive, Suite 130, Moorestown | 856-596-4446 | helpmepcs.com