The story begins where most often do: at the beginning, but to be more specific, it begins with a PC video game..
One of PCSDesk’s founding partners and current managing partner, Brian Gallutia, purchased his first PC in 1992 to assist with obtaining his Bachelors Degree in English Education. The PC was a low-end Packard Bell 486SX/25 with a whopping 2MB of RAM and a 170MB hard drive. This PC was enough to run a word processing program and send jobs to a printer, but when a friend of Brian’s introduced him to the video game Doom, Brian wanted to play it on his PC but unfortunately the Packard Bell was woefully under-powered.
To compensate, Brian learned how to tweak the DOS operating system and streamline system performance to make the game playable. This not being enough, Brian saved his money and plunked down $380 on a 2MB upgrade (yes, you read that correctly) and taught himself how to upgrade a PC.
Brian’s technical knowledge continued to grow when his bartending clientele realized that he “knew ‘puters” and was being asked to make house calls to troubleshoot and solve PC problems. It was during this time Brian realized that he loved technology and loved helping others, which solidified his decision to work for a local computer store, Franklin Micro Systems.
Brian started in the parts department of FMS and it was here he realized that there was a LOT more to learn, not only about PC hardware but “the business” of the booming personal computing space. Brian was fortunate enough to be involved in all aspects of a computer store, from sales and store management to marketing and customer relations.
At the time, Franklin Micro Systems was “the only game in town” and was growing until Computer City and CompUSA found their way to Nashville and crowded PC retail space. It was in 1995 that Brian and three other managers read the writing on the wall: retail sales is no longer where it’s at – the focus must be on services. Motivated by this realization, the decision was made to spin up Phoenix Computer Services.
PCS hit the ground running in January of 1996 by providing hardware sales, service and support to businesses in the Middle Tennessee area. With the addition of Brian’s friend and former FMS employee Chris O’Neal taking on the roll of Chief Technology Officer, Phoenix Computer Services evolved into PCSDesk and expanded it’s service profile to include computer networking, Internet access, email, web site development, application development, telephony sales and service, data security and compliance solutions.
Even though the days of just “fixing ‘puters” are long gone, PCSDesk strives to stay ahead of the technology curve to benefit it’s small business clientele in Middle Tennessee and Central Kentucky.
