Message from the CEO: January 2020

To our clients and partners,

On behalf of the entire NetGain team, thank you for your continued partnership. People are really everything in our business and we could not ask for a better group of people to work with each day. Our theme last year was winning together. The team truly lived up to that theme, collaborating to ensure we could chase all the opportunities in front of us. Together, we accomplished much in 2019 and look forward to continued growth this year. I wanted to take a moment to share a few reflections on last year and look ahead to our plans for 2020.

Reflecting on 2019: A Year of Celebration, Change, and Growth

NetGain celebrated its 35^th anniversary this past August. Such longevity, in an industry marked by transience, is a testament to the leadership of the Jacobson family as well as the hard work of our team. The rich history and culture of this organization will serve us well as we look to add new teammates, grapple with an everchanging technological ecosystem, and pursue aggressive goals. As we will detail further below, we also took time in 2019 to celebrate the accomplishments of our team members.

Celebrations were also paired with meaningful change in our business. It is amazing how different NetGain looks today than it did this time last year. We have a new branch, a new leader, new product offerings, and new clients. Behind all these changes are dedicated members of the NetGain team stepping up to do what is necessary to succeed. Change is never easy and oftentimes comes with uncertainty. I am extremely grateful to work with a team who has been openminded about these changes and resolute in their commitment to NetGain and our clients.

Finally, in 2019, NetGain experienced growth in material ways. We grew our product offerings, developing a security package designed to protect our partners from the growing cybersecurity threats in the market. We also grew the team, adding over thirty new members to the organization. And finally, we grew inorganically, completing our first acquisition since 2013. Welcoming our new North Carolina teammates has been very exciting. The growth we experienced, again, is emblematic of the attitude and work ethic of the members of our team.

The NetGain Team: Celebrating those who went above and beyond.

Recognizing and rewarding employees for a job well done has always been an important part of our culture. NetGain has two annual rewards trips, Chairman’s Club and President’s Club, as well as Quarterly and Annual Awards to recognize employees who have gone above and beyond for the business while embodying NetGain’s core values. Below are the recipients of our key awards. We thank them for their commitment to NetGain. And we thank those team members not listed for their contributions as well. Our results in 2019 were truly a team effort.

• Chairman’s Club Winners

  • Carl Crosby
  • Robin Fischer
  • Jesse Kuykendall
  • Wayne Logan
  • Dave Thomas
  • Deuce Towe

• President’s Club Winners

  • Terri Snider
  • Dustin Nichols
  • Madeline Regis
  • Randy Preston
  • John Johnson
  • Chris Ruck
  • Tina Warner
  • Drake Woods

• Honor and Recognition in Q4 2019

  • Sales, Professional Services: Wayne Logan
  • Sales, Technology OneSource: Brittany Dunigan
  • Finance and Administrative: Madeline Regis
  • Technology OneSource Engineer: Chris Ruck
  • Professional Services Employee: Robin Fischer
  • Tactical Operations Team: Braxton Molton
  • Client Success: Deuce Towe
  • Sales Support: Randy Preston

• Core Value Awards for 2019

  • Family First: Jay Knight
  • We Always Win Together: Alex Featherstone
  • Fight Every Day for What’s Right: Julie Rogers
  • Every Client Should Be a Promoter: Terri Snider
  • If You Think You Can or You Can’t, You’re Probably Right: Jason McRoberts
  • Only Do Things Where We Can Be the Very Best: Danny Campbell
  • If You’re Having Fun, You’re Doing It Right: Tom Marvin
  • Constant Pursuit of a Better Way: Noah Fister
  • Leave It Better Than You Found It: Kevin DuPlanti
  • Be the Workplace of a Lifetime: Julie LaVigne
  • The NetGain Way: Scott Logan

Looking forward to 2020

As we look forward to 2020, we first wanted to highlight the trends we are keeping our eye on in the marketplace.

Trends in the market

• More and more businesses are making the decision to outsource their I.T. According to Markets and Markets, the managed I.T. services market is expected to be worth roughly $258 billion by 2022, which is nearly double what it was in 2017: $152 billion. That’s a significant increase which is a testament to the value managed services providers can bring to client environments.
• Cloud adoption continues to rise as more and more businesses recognize the benefits of a cloud-based model. Many businesses are leveraging a hybrid approach to their cloud strategy with a healthy blend of cloud and on-premise infrastructure. The RightScale 2019 State of the Report from Flexera reveals that 84 percent of enterprises have a multicloud strategy, up from 91 percent last year, while 94 percent of survey respondents are using cloud computing in some form — public (91 percent), private (72 percent) or hybrid (69 percent).
• Given the increasing volume of cyberattacks, security is becoming top priority for businesses. According to Datto, on average, 1 in 5 small to medium size businesses report they’ve fallen victim to a ransomware attack. Properly training employees on social engineering tactics as well as ensuring systems are adequately protected are essential to preventing cyberattacks.
• Automation and data driven decision making has become a key component of business operations and allow businesses to solve their problems more efficiently. According to the NewVantage Partners report, spending on big data and AI continues to increase, however, it is leveling out due to major challenges like people, process, and culture. Still the percentage of firms investing greater than $50MM is up to 64.8% in 2020 from just 39.7% in 2018, with a total of 98.8% of firms investing in Big Data and AI initiatives.

Our focus and theme for the year

Kicking off 2020, we decided to implement a new company vision. While it encapsulates our previous vision of creating happy clients, it increases the focus we place on the growth of our own employees. Our partnerships rely on us being at the forefront of information technology which is only possible if we have the best of the best working at NetGain to support our clients. That is why our company vision going forward is “Exceptional talent working together for the success of our clients and employees”. This year, we will have intentional focus on our people, processes, technology, and above all, our clients. In tandem with this new vision, our theme for 2020 is “Every Client and Every Employee Matters”.

As always, our goal is to continue to grow organically and inorganically throughout our markets. 2019 was a great year, and we can’t wait to see how we can make 2020 even better.