Ben Coan is a business development manager with Odyssey Information Services. Ben’s ability to develop long-lasting professional relationships has driven him to fully understand his clients’ technology needs and provide them with the best solutions. In addition, he has more than 20 years of experience in providing HPE NonStop support solutions for companies in oil and gas, healthcare, retail, banking, and financial services.
Connection: How does Odyssey Information Services help its clients succeed?
BC: In addition to technical expertise, successfully completing any IT project comes down to two things: communication and project management. We make sure all of our project managers have the ability to communicate on every level. We expect them to be able to clearly define the project’s goals and objectives to senior leadership, provide mentorship and guidance to team members and make sure everyone from the top down is in agreement on direction, deliverables and timetables to avoid misinterpretations and costly delays.
Connection: Why are long-term relationships important to you and what’s been your secret to developing them?
BC: I’ve been fortunate in my career to maintain long-term relationships with several clients, and just like any relationship, you run into difficult situations from time to time. It’s how you resolve the issue(s) and learn from them that helps develop longevity. I believe open communication—where both parties understand that we are in it together—is the key. Long-term relationships are built on trust, and trust is built over time.
Connection: What makes Odyssey’s managed services unique?
BC: Our team-based approach includes experts and support personnel who work together to provide our clients with comprehensive 24×7 coverage over their entire production environments. What makes our services stand out is the high level of detail we put into understanding everything that’s going on in each individual environment. Our team creates boundaries and edges to monitor performance in real time and quickly react to issues that are out of bounds. Another thing that makes us stand out is the amount of time we spend on documentation. We document EVERYTHING. In fact, we may actually be the only IT company that enjoys documenting an event because we understand the value and significance it has on long-term success and keeping everyone in the organization up to date.
Connection: Which IT services do you see businesses needing in 2021 and beyond?
BC: What we’re seeing and hearing from our clients is their biggest IT needs this year will be centered around continuing to adjust to work-from-home changes brought on by the pandemic. That means they’re looking to:
- Improve security to prevent a new wave of cyber threats
- Upgrade infrastructure and network environments to accommodate remote employees and, in particular, for retail companies to handle an increase in online purchases
- Enhance their compliance programs to adhere to stricter guidelines and significant changes to their infrastructure
- Ensure their business continuity plans are up to date to monitor and respond to new risks from all of these changes
Connection: If you weren’t in IT what would you like to do?
BC: The most rewarding part of my job is helping people better their lives. Over the years, I’ve become somewhat handy with home projects so I think it would be great to be able to use what I’ve learned to help out nonprofit programs. Honestly, I’d be happy in any field where I could continue to make a difference in people’s lives.
Connection: What is your favorite activity outside of work?
BC: I’m a kid at heart so I enjoy pretty much any outdoor activity. I really enjoy playing golf so in the perfect world being in the PGA would be awesome. I also enjoy hitting the long ball (driver) so I’ve thought about entering long-drive contests for fun.
Connection: What inspired you to get through 2020?
BC: When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in March 2020, the world as we knew it changed in the blink of an eye. Business as usual as was no longer an applicable concept. Millions of Americans lost their jobs and thousands of businesses closed their doors for good. Those who were fortunate enough to have the ability to work from home scrambled to make the most of their new reality. The future was bleak and uncertain, but we had to keep moving forward. To help our recruiting and sales teams at Odyssey Information Services remain focused, encouraged, and inspired to reach their goals, I began researching inspirational quotes and presented a different one at each of our morning meetings. I’ve accumulated more than 100 quotes since then, and I want to share them with you. As Tony Dorsett once said: “To succeed, you need to find something to hold on to, something to motivate you, something to inspire you.” Finding and sharing these quotes helped build my spirit and resolve, and I hope they will do the same for you.
“Always do your best. Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.” — Don Miguel Ruiz
“If you have a positive attitude and constantly strive to give your best effort, eventually you will overcome your immediate problems and find you are ready for greater challenges.” — Pat Riley
“To succeed, you need to find something to hold on to, something to motivate you, something to inspire you.” — Tony Dorsett
“You are the sum total of everything you’ve ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot — it’s all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive.” — Maya Angelou
“When you are enthusiastic about what you do, you feel this positive energy. It’s very simple.” — Paulo Coelho
“You’ve done it before and you can do it now. See the positive possibilities. Redirect the substantial energy of your frustration and turn it into positive, effective, unstoppable determination.” — Ralph Marston
“Friday is a day to finish your goals for the week. It is a day to celebrate that which you set out to accomplish at the beginning of the week. Well done.” — Byron Pulsifer
“Work hard for what you want because it won’t come to you without a fight. You have to be strong and courageous and know that you can do anything you put your mind to. If somebody puts you down or criticizes you, just keep on believing in yourself and turn it into something positive.” — Leah LaBelle
“It’s not the situation, but whether we react negative or respond positive to the situation that is important.” — Zig Ziglar
“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the ‘present.’” — Kung Fu Panda
“In times of great stress or adversity, it’s always best to keep busy, to plow your anger and your energy into something positive.” — Lee Iacocca
“The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.” — Jimmy Johnson
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” — Winston Churchill
“A year from now, you may wish you had started today.” — Karen Lamb
“If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done.” — Bruce Lee
“There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative.” — W. Clement Stone
“Individual commitment to a group effort — that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” — Vince Lombardi
“Stay hungry, it’s the only thing that will ensure you don’t go hungry.” — Grant Cardone
“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” — Walt Disney
“Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.” — Sam Levenson
“You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.” — Henry Ford
“There is no substitute for hard work, 23 or 24 hours a day. And there is no substitute for patience and acceptance.” — Cesar Chavez
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” — Mark Twain
“Success is the sum of small efforts , repeated day in and day out.” — Robert Collier
“You don’t have to swing hard to hit a home run. If you got the timing, it’ll go.” — Yogi Berra
“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” — Henry Ford
“There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he does not mind who gets the credit.” — Ronald Reagan
“I will prepare and someday my chance will come.” — Abraham Lincoln
“Don’t limit your challenge…. Challenge your limits.” — Jerry Dunn
“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” — Albert Einstein
“Don’t count the days, make the days count.” — Muhammad Ali
“Don’t wish it was easier, wish you were better. Don’t wish for less problems, wish for more skills. Don’t wish for less challenges, wish for more wisdom.“ — Jim Rohn
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” — John F. Kennedy
“By failing to prepare, you’re preparing to fail.” — Benjamin Franklin
“It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.” — Lou Holtz
For more inspirational quotes check out Ben‘s blog
Odyssey Information Services is a complete IT services firm offering consulting, recruiting, and professional and managed service solutions. Headquartered in Plano, Texas, with an additional office in Houston, Odyssey has placed thousands of IT consultants in Fortune 1000 companies throughout the United States and around the world. In addition, Odyssey’s qualified teams of experts provide enterprise-level solutions that are scalable to meet the IT needs of any business, including agile software development, 24/7 monitoring support, database analysis and support, network connectivity, operations support, disaster recovery and backup, modernization, system migration, application implementation, and data center services. By partnering with Odyssey, our team will work with your IT department to identify gaps in your enterprise support plan and develop customized solutions to help your organization operate at peak efficiency and reliability. OdysseyIS.com
Corporate Headquarters
5801 Tennyson Parkway, Suite 200
Plano, TX 75024
800.982.4319
Houston Office
15377 Memorial Drive, Suite 200
Houston, TX 77079
888.886.6293
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