James Thompson knows what it takes to stand out in the increasingly crowded managed services field. The owner of Lake Mary, FL-based TechBay USA said it isn’t about jumping on the latest technology bandwagon or dialing up marketing. It’s about keeping business personal, delivering high-quality services, and resolving problems.
“A lot of VARs and MSPs attempt to be everything to everybody, but they lack the infrastructure and expertise to back it all up. We take an old school approach. We specialize in what we do.”
Subject Matter Experts
TechBay USA provides services for dozens of companies and other entities in the Central Florida region. This includes PC and mobile device repairs, network support, data recovery, cybersecurity, and compliance. In addition, the 20-plus-year-old firm has forged strong relationships with other MSPs so it can leverage its capabilities further.
That has made TechBay USA a subject matter expert with vast resources, Thompson explained.
“We have carved out a solid business with loyal clients. We aren’t competing against other firms; we’re competing against ourselves to be the best we can possibly be.”
Building a Sense of Security
TechBay USA addresses the needs of a diverse array of clients. This includes a 100-seat mortgage company, law firms, and medical offices with 10 to 15 seats. “By keeping the company small, using modern tools and resources, and maintaining relationships with other MSPs, we have a high degree of flexibility in how we run the business.”
Thompson maintains an extensive library of NIST publications and devotes time and resources to staying up to date on standards. He also focuses on industry best practices that extend across individual technologies, vendors, and products. “It’s important to manage permissions, access, and controls across all systems,” he noted.
However, Thompson does not underestimate the value that vendors bring to managed services. It’s just important to understand how each vendor approaches the MSP and cybersecurity spaces, he emphasized. “The consequences of bad vendors and bad products are multiplying — particularly as bad actors learn how to use AI and the complexity of IT and cybersecurity grows,” he observed.
A long-term vision and commitment to excellence is essential, Thompson says. “I’m not interested in working with companies that are backed by venture capitalists looking to resell firms for a big profit. When a company like this is sold, products and interfaces often change. You can wind up scrambling to adapt.”
Launching a Future Career
Thompson began on a tech career trajectory from an early age. His parents, executives at IBM, worked with NASA engineers assigned to the Apollo Space program at Cape Canaveral.
“I was surrounded by engineers and scientists from an early age. Technology was an important part of my life growing up,” he shared.
By the 1980s, Thompson saw the first personal computers take shape. “I was in my dad’s office and a product development team working on a portable computer came in to show their prototype.” It was a more than 50-pound portable PC. “They thought that people would want a desktop computer they could move around on wheels. They asked my option and as a 12-year-old I said: ‘You need to make the device smaller.’”
IBM, after developing its first portable computer at roughly 30 pounds in 1984, eventually released a ThinkPad that weighed 5.2 pounds.
That pragmatism — and keen insight — has followed Thompson throughout his life. In high school, he began coding on a Commodore 64. While in the U.S. Air Force academy and serving as an IT specialist in the Marines, “I would get tapped for every assignment involving tech,” he said. After that, he obtained a bachelor’s degree in computer science at the University of North Carolina, Ashville.
Not an ‘Easy Money’ Play
In the early 2000s, Thompson swung open the doors to his new company in a 2,000-square-foot building. He had no idea how things would turn out, but he had a clear vision of how to run the business. “I had an advantage of working for the military. Dealing with sensitive data and classified information was part of the job. So, I brought the same sensibility and commitment to excellence to this company,” he explains.
Over the years, cybersecurity has evolved from antivirus software and firewalls to Zero Trust and AI, reaching across multicloud environments. Yet, Thompson’s attitudes and values have remained consistent.
“Central Florida, like many places, is littered with people who start IT companies because they think it’s easy money. They may have taken a course at a community college. So, they start a company and go out to sign up as many clients as possible. Three months later, they are in over their head.”
Making Connections Count
Thompson keeps the business small and hyper-focused. He ensures that he or one of his three employees is always available to respond to a client issue or problem.
If he is out of the office for a few days or on vacation, he has all his bases covered. “I take a hands-on and personal approach to business; I don’t try to be a Jack of All Trades,” he insisted. “I know what I do well, what I don’t do well, and when it’s advantageous to find others to handle specialized tasks.”
The latter is central to Thompson’s business philosophy. With connections to other MSPs and a network of IT professionals he connects with on social media site Reddit, it’s possible to share expertise and subcontract specialized jobs. That includes when he doesn’t have the internal resources to handle it at that moment, he said. “If my team is busy and I need someone to pull cable or install an application, I can access techs to handle the job.”
Ready for What’s Ahead
Retirement isn’t in the foreseeable future for Thompson, who’s still in the same building, pursuing his passion for technology and cybersecurity. “You have to change with the times and have an open mind. But I think that the basic business model works.
“The way I view things, I don’t have competitors. We’re all in this together and by supporting and helping each other we all come out ahead in the end.”
JAMES THOMPSON
Owner, TechBay USA
- Founded: 2003
- Headquarters: Lake Mary, FL
- Employees: 4
- Websites: techbayusa.com; compliancesolutions.legal
- Company focus: Managed cybersecurity and compliance
- Professional memberships: ISACA, ACM, IEEE, COMPTIA, ISC2, ISSA
- Recommended book: “The Hacker Playbook” by Peter Kim
- Favorite part of my job: Overcoming a good challenge.
- Least favorite part: Dealing with people with bad attitudes.
- What people would be surprised to know about you: Cryptocurrency expert and trader
Image: James Thompson
