Professional System Support is your IT Department

It was while finishing their Bachelors of Science degrees in Information Technology at the University of Phoenix’s Kansas City campus that Michael Carter and Jeff Fairlie had the vision to begin their own Information Technology (IT) Company. It was that vision that lead them to create and found Professional System Support (PSS) in March of 2005. Carter, a Lead Technical Analyst currently working on his Masters in Management Information Systems, and Fairlie, a Systems Engineer Supervisor currently working towards his Masters of Business Administration and Information Technology, took their combined thirty years of experience in information technology and computer mainframes and came together with a simple idea. The two Kansas City natives wanted to reach out to the community that they knew and loved. They wanted to take the knowledge and skills that they had acquired while working for large corporations and through their courses and bring that same level of talent and support to the small businesses in the area.

“Michael and I saw the need those small businesses (mom and pop through 400 employees) were having keeping IT staff. We also saw the larger companies sending IT jobs to India. These small companies either could not leverage that same talent pool or would not,” says company President, Jeff Fairlie. PSS has made it their goal to be the IT department for companies that would otherwise not be able to afford or have the means necessary to have an in-house IT department. Michael Carter, company Secretary/Treasurer and Operations Manager says that what sets them apart from other IT companies is their eagerness to help the small businesses in town. “Our target market is the small company, 400 users or less.” Carter and Fairlie have designed PSS to move alongside businesses in need of a corporate IT department without the IT department expense. This allows a small business’s staff to put their focus and energy back on their own projects, allowing Professional System Support to handle their IT needs.

At Professional System Support, Carter and Fairlie believe in the three P’s: People, Product, and Process. It is PSS’s belief that when these three converge one is able “to create compelling, high value, low-cost solutions in record time.” It is through the basic and proven methods of design, implementation, documentation, testing and communication that PSS works to achieve their goal of being your IT department.

As part of PSS’s continued effort to be a full service Information Technology company, PSS offers many services. A company can call upon PSS for everything from monthly support contracts and on-call support to software and hardware sales and support. PSS also offers server and desktop builds, web development, custom application development, integration services, and extended service warranties.

Right now, PSS is just a two-man show, but Carter and Fairlie hope to see their company grow and flourish to the point that they can’t do it all on their own. Fairlie says, “Our goal for employees is to ‘grow’ talented people into productive enterprise solution practitioners. Seeing people improve themselves as well as have the freedom to innovate solutions, that is our goal.” Smiling, Fairlie continues, “Who knows what employee empowerment can do? The next IT breakthrough could come from a free-thinking PSS employee.” For now, Carter and Fairlie remain encouraged by their company’s future and their continued growth. Their company’s motto is “We are your IT department,” and it is Carter and Fairlie’s hope that this can soon be said for many more Kansas City area businesses.
By: Victoria Hoffman

Visit them online at http://www.psskc.com

Originally Published in the July 2006 Cass County Conservative