This interview was filmed at the HIA-LI 31st Annual Business Achievement Awards, where Flexible IT was honored as the winner in the Large Business category. As part of HIA-LI's "Long Island Talks" series, David Wasserman, Chief Value Officer at Flexible IT, sits down for a conversation about what modern IT really means for a Long Island business.
David reflects on his 20 years at Flexible IT, the autonomy and mentorship he received from co-founders Seth Belous and Joe Saggio that shaped his path, and how the categories of "IT" have grown over the years from cabling and networking to cybersecurity, cameras, devices, and far more.
The bulk of the conversation centers on what working with Flexible IT actually looks like for a small or mid-sized Long Island company that does not have internal IT. Rather than reactive day-to-day tickets, David explains how the team takes full ownership of a client's technology and prioritizes the strategic side — meeting with clients regularly to understand their business, their sources of revenue, and how technology can create opportunities for growth. Get the strategy right, and most of the downstream issues simply do not happen.
David also speaks to Flexible IT's long-running partnership with HIA-LI. The 40,000 square-foot Flexible IT headquarters on Motor Parkway hosts many HIA-LI events, and Flexible IT is proud to give back the space to the Long Island business community.
Flexible IT supports Long Island businesses with managed IT, cybersecurity, compliance, technology planning, and IT advisory services, all under the Effortless IT umbrella. We are headquartered at the Long Island Innovation Park at Hauppauge.
Read the full transcript
[Host] Now we're speaking to the fourth of four finalists. Remember the categories: Large Business, Small Business, Nonprofit, and Rookie of the Year. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're the Large Business finalist.
[Host] And I have with me David Wasserman of Flexible IT. I read a little bit about your website before getting here, and you guys do it all — which has to happen today, right? It used to be like plugging in Ethernet. Now what is it today?
[David] Yeah, so IT today connects businesses to other businesses and their customers, allowing them to run their businesses. Without technology, we can't operate today.
[Host] But the categories of technology now include cameras, networking, computers, small devices, and probably things I don't even know about. The categories grew through the years.
[David] Yeah. I've been with the company for 20 years. I started right out of school, thought I knew a lot about technology when I first joined, and within a few months realized I had a lot to learn. Throughout the years I was granted the opportunity to continue to move up — to continue to add value to our clients — and given autonomy through the owners, Seth Belous and Joe Saggio, that allowed me to be in the position I am today.
[Host] Can you give me a typical scenario of how you might service a 20-person business? And these are probably continual services, not one and done, right?
[David] Yes. Typically we work with businesses on Long Island and in the Tri-State area that don't have any internal IT whatsoever — and they may not want it. For businesses of that size, it's not cost-effective to have a full-time person, and there are limitations in their capabilities. They also get sick and go on vacation. We use technology 24/7 to run our businesses, so we need people supporting our businesses 24/7. One person is not always enough — there's no continuity.
[David] So we take full ownership of all of their technology needs through our IT management services. Day-to-day support is part of it — helping employees if they have any issues — but really where we focus our attention is on the strategic side. That means meeting with our clients regularly, understanding the business, how they operate, their sources of revenue, and working with them to use technology to create opportunities for growth.
[David] That's the main value we provide and what's most important to us. If we're doing a really good job on the strategy, it eliminates all of the issues they would have downstream.
[Host] Get it right from the beginning, manage it, keep up with it, no surprises later. [David] Correct.
[Host] Can you comment on your affiliation with HIA through the years? How has being part of this organization been advantageous to your team?
[David] We've had a really great partnership. We have a 40,000 square-foot building in Hauppauge on Motor Parkway, and we serve as the place where HIA-LI holds a lot of their events. We're happy to give back and allow the community to use our space for meetings and events. We had a HYPE event the other day where people came and were able to network.
[David] It was always interesting how the HIA was originally called the Hauppauge Industrial Association and changed to the Innovation Park. The park changed from what it used to be and what it was founded to do.
[Host] It was a good move because it also allows us to compete nationally. You always heard Silicon Valley — and now we're part of that conversation.
[Host] David, I want to congratulate you for becoming a finalist. I wish you the best. I'll see you out on the Long Island landscape.
[David] Great. Thank you for your time.
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