Tom McDonald

President of NSI, Tom has been helping small and medium businesses succeed in Connecticut for over 25 years.

Recent Posts

5 Different Managed Service Provider Pricing Models (And How to Choose the Best One for Your SMB)

By Tom McDonald | May 16, 2017 8:00:00 AM

Small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) have an ongoing challenge managing their computing needs; they need to reduce their IT overhead while improving reliability. For most SMBs, it’s not cost-effective to maintain a full-time IT staff, and even if there is an IT team on site they can’t address every computing challenge.

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From Dead to Flourishing: 10 Connecticut Manufacturers Changing Their Industry

By Tom McDonald | May 9, 2017 8:00:00 AM

Connecticut has a long history of manufacturing innovation, starting with furniture and cabinet-making before the Revolutionary War to the manufacture of state-of-the-art aircraft and submarines today. Notably, gun manufacturing started in 1797 with Eli Whitney, and a few decades later, Samuel Colt began making his famous revolver in 1836. Additionally, Connecticut is famous for clocks, originally manufactured by Seth Thomas, and tool makers such as the Stanley Company, which still has its headquarters in New Britain.Today, Connecticut is at the forefront of advanced manufacturing and continues to develop new techniques and technologies to improve production and distribution techniques.

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Why CT Manufacturers Need Agile IT Infrastructure to Remain Competitive

By Tom McDonald | May 2, 2017 8:00:00 AM

Competing in today’s global market requires agility. Companies need to be able to quickly adjust to changing market conditions and consumer trends to stay ahead of the competition, and as business becomes more globalized, the pool of competitors keeps growing. Despite an economic downturn and increased global competition, Connecticut manufacturers continue to thrive, partly because of agile IT support.

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Unique Challenges Faced by Connecticut's Manufacturing Industry

By Tom McDonald | Apr 25, 2017 8:00:00 AM

Connecticut’s economy has always relied on manufacturing. Connecticut is host to thousands of factories and is a leader in industries such as aerospace, medical devices, and biotechnology. In fact, the state has more than 160,000 manufacturing jobs and hosts the headquarters for companies such as Pratt & Whitney, Sikorsky, and Electric Boat. However, manufacturing has changed over the years, and smokestacks are being replaced by computerized processes and automated assembly lines. The challenge is finding the personnel needed to run today’s factories.

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In-House or Outsourced IT: Which IT is right for your business?

By Tom McDonald | Apr 19, 2017 10:02:00 AM

Growing a small business is not easy, especially in a post-recession economy, so every decision business owners make needs to consider a return on investment.

For small business owners, the decision to outsource their information technology needs opposed to having someone in-house is an important one.

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