Have office, will travel
By establishing a satellite office in a client’s backyard, a growing managed IT services firm improves engagement and support
Photo: Christian Munoz (photos: Reid Lucier)
TWELVE YEARS AGO, Christian Munoz was working from his dining room table, with one coworker, running Techdoz as a very basic IT repair shop. Think Nerds On Site or Geek Squad at a smaller scale. “That’s all we were for the first couple of years,” he recalls.
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It was steady business, but he could see the limitations associated with the model, and more importantly, what might be achieved by providing a more comprehensive kind of service. “The focus was to fix the virus, walk away, get paid,” he recalls. “I didn’t like that.”
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Preferring to work as collaborator and partner, Munoz began to pivot Techdoz towards managed IT services. “It slowly transformed into something where businesses were bringing us into meetings, getting us to consult on new technology and equipment,” he says. “We went from just simply fixing a virus or installing a printer to helping clients define the next couple years of their business lifecycle.”
Today, Techdoz finds itself in a growth phase, moving well beyond its original break-fix model to become a proactive managed service provider. For clients, it’s akin to having an experienced mechanic checking your car regularly instead of waiting till there’s smoke billowing out under the hood.
“Over Covid is when we started to really take off and experience major growth,” Munoz says, noting Techdoz now sits at 10 staff members — about double where they were a few years ago. “We started to add new staff members; we started to see stable percentage increases every year in the business in terms of clients, referrals and word-of-mouth growth.”
“A successfully growing business is all about its partnerships, and a great way to improve a business partnership is by being there” —Christian Munoz
Arguably the firm’s most prominent client is the Greater London International Airport Authority (GLIAA), a relationship originally forged back in 2015.
“GLIAA has been a cornerstone in our journey,” Munoz says, adding that the relationship is also emblematic of how Techdoz approaches its work — a concerted effort to make technology more streamlined and efficient for businesses of all sizes.
“One of the first things we did at the airport, for instance, was to scale things back,” Munoz recalls. “They were spending too much on networking equipment that was years if not decades ahead of what they required. So, we simplified things.”
As the relationship with the airport matured and the scope of services increased, so too did the time Techdoz was spending on site to initiate and support those services. And to fulfill those services in the best way possible, Techdoz moved to lease space at the airport this past October, opening their first satellite office.
The satellite office concept, says Munoz, came about as the company looked for ways to strengthen its partnership with GLIAA. Collaborating closely with a specific partner can be pivotal for success, he says, and by having a physical presence at the airport, the relationship has benefitted from improved communication and more efficient operations, as well as quicker decision-making and faster project execution.
“A successfully growing business is all about its partnerships,” he says, “and a great way to improve a business partnership is by being there. You can simply check in and say, ‘Hey, what can I help you with? Is there something technology-wise that you want to try?’”
In addition to providing benefits to both client and provider, Munoz says the satellite office has also provided a way for Techdoz to scale up with less risk and lower costs. While business and operational functions, such as HR and administrative tasks, continue to be managed from its primary office on Meg Drive, the satellite office concept is meant to directly support client-specific tasks.
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“The idea is not to relocate the company or build a complete secondary location. It’s about taking your services, supports and talents to where your collaborators are.”
With an aim to maintain its current growth trajectory and commitment to supporting local SMEs — 80 per cent of Techdoz clients are local, as are 90 per cent of their vendors and suppliers, and 20 per cent of their clients are non-profits — Munoz says the new satellite office has proven to be an ideal asset as the firm continues to build its business.
“At the risk of sounding like a broken record, it’s all about being a valued and trusted partner for our clients,” says Munoz. “If they succeed, we succeed, and maintaining that philosophy has helped to keep this business growing.” 
Kieran Delamont