#communityovereverything PlanetMagpie

Businesses across all industries are depending on external IT support to run more effectively as the world grows more technology oriented.  Fortunately, many businesses have partnerships with organizations like PlanetMagpie to aid them in navigating the complex but crucial world of IT. Recently, PlanetMagie relocated their business to CityCentral Fort Worth. They provided us with insider information on how their own Datacenter and award-winning digital marketing division set them apart from their rivals. To get to know them and connect, keep reading!

Tell us a little about you and your business.

Planet Magpie   is an IT Consulting agency with offices in California, Texas, and North Carolina.  We operate in four divisions:   

• IT Consulting (network design, Microsoft 365 migrations, Teams turnups, cybersecurity, disaster recovery, etc.)
• IT Support (day-to-day desktop and network support)
• Cloud Services (setting up and managing private clouds in our Datacenter, or at AWS/Azure)
• Creative Lab (web design, web development and digital marketing)
• Basically, all the IT services that SMBs need to operate and succeed!

What led you to what you do?

Our founder & CEO, Robert Douglas, has been in IT for over 35 years. For him the choice was IT or Air Force Officer’s Training.  Robert chose IT.  He started as a programmer, and through the years got into network engineering, systems engineering, datacenter management, cybersecurity, you name it.  He’s that rare IT generalist who has worked in nearly every area of our industry.

What sets your business apart from other companies?

Within the Planet Magpie   organization you'll find two things you don't typically find in other IT firms:  First, we own and manage our own Datacenter, and second, we have an award-winning digital marketing division we call our Creative Lab.  Most businesses forget that there are other options to AWS and Azure when it comes to business hosting.  Smaller, regional hosts like ours can be great options for companies who need to keep their data truly secure, want to reduce costs, and desire personal service.  Having our own Creative Lab is just a big bonus for our customers.  They don’t have to go source a new vendor when they need to rebrand, redesign their site, or increase their site traffic.  They come to us, someone who already knows them and just expands their relationship with us.  Our Creative Lab is really exceptional.

What is something you wish you’d known when you were just starting your business?

I would have hired a great operations manager from the start.  People who start companies in our industry typically don’t have operations skillsets.  They tend to be highly technical, business getters with big dreams.  You need someone who can actually run your operations and get things started off on the right foot.  There’s just not enough time to do it all.  The one thing I did do right, however, was dream so big that I always went with the best service providers I could find, regardless of cost.  That has paid off.  You get what you pay for every time.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

We love to support growing American companies.  If you’re a startup, setting up your network right from the start will make your IT growth so much easier and your support costs so much less.  For established companies, we love to do IT Turnarounds.  We take a broken network that is causing pain, upgrade all aspects of it, and give the client’s workforce the day-to-day uptime they need to perform at peak efficiency.

How do you navigate your work-life balance?   

The successful business owner gets a solid 8 hours of sleep.  Per month.

How has being a part of the CityCentral community affected you and your business?   

We just arrived at CityCentral last month, but the staff has been great, the offices are conducive to work, and the Fort Worth downtown location is great.  We hope to meet more coworkers here over time.

If you had a friend in town, and you could take them to one of your favorite restaurants or spots in your community, where would you take them to?   

Lonesome Dove in the Fort Worth Stockyards!

We'd like to thank PlanetMagmie for being a part of our member spotlight series! To learn more about them, visit www.planetmagpie.com!

If you are intersted in being a part of this series, please email info@citycentral.com