Who Is Kelser Corporation?

If you've been researching managed IT service providers (MSP that serve Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York, then you may have come across Kelser Corporation.

So, who are we?

Established in 1981, Kelser is a family-owned and operated business based in Glastonbury, Conn. We provide customized, proactive technology and cybersecurity solutions to help you grow your business, control costs, and gain a competitive advantage.

We understand that you have enough on your plate just trying to run your business and keep up with today's frenetic market changes to also have to worry about managing and maintaining your technology.

That's where Kelser comes in.

We have an experienced team with the specialized skills and expertise to deliver day-to-day IT maintenance, fully-managed or co-managed IT support, or special projects to align your technology with your short and long-term business goals. We pride ourselves on offering a people-centered technology approach that works on behalf of businesses, not the other way around.

Our technology support and services include: managed servers, network monitoring, license management, managed workstations with automated patching, virtual chief information officer (vCIO) services for strategic IT planning and budgeting, managed DNS-based protection, technical alignment manager (TAM), managed employee awareness training, mobile device management, vulnerability scans, penetration testing, data backups, unlimited 24/7 helpdesk support, remote and onsite support, incident response and remediation, disaster recovery and business continuity planning, and advanced cybersecurity monitoring.

To learn more about our comprehensive services, click here.  

Kelser's clients encompass businesses of all sizes in a variety of industries, including healthcare, manufacturing, auto dealerships, legal, insurance, financial services, and higher education.

Kelser CEO Barry Kelly gave two extensive interviews, one with Authority Magazine and one with CEO CFO Magazine. Both articles present a clear picture of what we're all about as a company and how we operate. 

These interviews provide a glimpse into the roots of our company, our mission, our culture, and more.

Read on for a selection of highlights from each interview to learn about Barry’s management philosophy and get insight into his perspective on the fabric of the company he leads.

CEO CFO Magazine: What Kelser Corporation Does And How We Do It

Our approach is to help companies form an IT strategy for today, as well as the future, that is part of the fabric of the business, versus just transactional.

Surprisingly, there is a lot of human interaction in our approach to IT, and that’s something I think both our employees and clients enjoy.

While some of our clients outsource 100% of their IT to our team, many maintain some aspect of IT in-house. Either way, our role is strategic, collaborating with the client to implement the technology that makes the most sense for them, staying ahead of cyber threats, and planning for technological and business shifts on the horizon.

When clients let us in to the big picture of their business—where they’re trying to go and why—we’re able to make connections for how technology can get them there.

We work with companies in a wide variety of industries. Here in Connecticut, we are located in a manufacturing hub, especially for defense. When the manufacturing industry recently introduced strict cybersecurity guidelines with NIST 800-171, we’ve been a leader in helping manufacturers become compliant. Hartford is also the insurance capital of the world, and several of the companies who form the Hartford skyline are our long-term clients. In addition, we support industries that are highly targeted by hackers such as financial services, banking, and healthcare, as well as industries that technology is rapidly reshaping, such as construction and law. We work with municipalities, schools, nonprofits, and even consumer businesses such as auto dealerships. For more than 20 years, we [have] provided the IT for the Travelers Championship PGA TOUR event. Our client base truly spans a wide range of industries because technology is increasingly so essential to every type of business.

Kelser is part of something really special here in Southern New England. It’s a way of doing business that puts people and the community first. We recognize it in our clients and partners and they recognize it in us. Working here is not just a job. It’s about building something bigger. Our high level of customer satisfaction reflects this approach. We have a pretty amazing customer retention—we rarely lose them. I am not saying it doesn’t happen, but I think our philosophy of being out for more than ourselves is what helps us build these relationships that last decades, and why we have survived and thrived in a volatile industry for nearly 40 years.

Read the full CEO CFO Magazine interview with Kelser CEO Barry Kelly here.

Authority Magazine: The Kind of Company Kelser Corporation Is

The “scribbling on a scrap of paper” story

When we first started out, we were struggling. Our big break came in a dramatic and unexpected way. In 1982, my brother [Kelser founder Bruce Kelly] thought it would be a good idea to become a dealer for AutoCAD. We were the first dealer in the area, and a referral came to us from AutoCAD for one of the major insurance companies based in Hartford. The meeting was a whirlwind. It turned out the buyer didn’t want AutoCAD after all, but had quite a few other needs. We scribbled them down as fast as we could and left with a handwritten list of 30 pieces of technology to get for her. It was the beginning of a fantastic client relationship — one that continues today! It shaped the direction of our business, and it’s funny — we never did sell AutoCAD to anyone.

Barry’s management philosophy:

The World We’re Trying To Build

We proactively seek out other organizations that have a healthy workplace culture for our clients, partners, suppliers, and vendors. We support each other and collaborate however we can — whether that’s getting involved in each others’ charity events, bringing forward stories in the media that highlight our relationship, or just consistently doing business over a prolonged period of time. By creating small ecosystems of companies that are stewards of a new kind of workplace culture, we can eventually make this way of doing things the norm.

Everyone wants to be useful and contribute to something bigger than themselves — it’s human nature. We spend so much time at our jobs, that I think the way to do the most good for the most people is to transform the way we work so that every level, it’s not just something we do to pay the bills, but something that is also fulfilling. The movement I’m working to inspire in my own small way with one technology consulting firm in Connecticut and a group of companies around us is to build a culture where everyone shares in the success of what we do and takes pride in the impact that we have. Kelser isn’t just about technology. We help businesses do what they do better. We help them stay safe from cyber criminals looking to take and destroy what they built through hard work. Along the way, we give our resources and energy to nonprofits that make our community a better place. We need to constantly remind ourselves of what this is all about and why we come here every day. We need to make sure everyone can see that they’re an integral part of a growing business, and ensure they feel they are benefitting from that growth personally and professionally.

Read the full Authority Magazine / Thrive Global interview with Kelser CEO Barry Kelly here.

Learn more about Kelser's onboarding process in this article. 

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