DATAYARD - A "Force for Good" Team
30 years and still going strong!
Almost a year ago, I cold-emailed David Mezera, President and CEO of DataYard.
My goal?
To convince him to try out our Coffee with Champions team program. Yeah, it was a sales email. And he responded.
What really stood out to me about his initial response was his kindness. He was nice. He was courteous.
Fast forward to the present day.
David and the DataYard team are now “Champions,” as we like to call them.
I’ve gotten to know them a little, and we are impressed on many levels. They get what it means to be a Force for Good.
So we were extremely thrilled to nominate them as a “Force for Good” Champion Team.
I recently asked Natalie Mezera, DataYard Manager of Client Relationships, to tell us a little more about the company. Here’s what she said.
What’s the backstory?
My dad started DataYard (formerly Donet) about 30 years ago with a couple of his buddies. We started out as a residential email and internet service provider, and have pivoted to a variety of different technology focuses as the tech landscape has changed over the last three decades.
Today, we're experts at providing secure and reliable cloud computing for organizations who can't afford downtime.
The only thing that hasn't changed at all in 30 years is our dedication to client satisfaction!
Tell us about your team.
We've got 15 team members at the moment! As a small team, everybody has a lot of influence over a number of different areas, but we each have our own focus: from account management and marketing, to network and firewall security, to Linux and Windows cloud environments, to infrastructure improvements.
We're more than just coworkers—I consider us friends (and, for some of us, quite literally, family!). The current team's average tenure is more than six years.
How long has your company been serving the Dayton community?
Donet's first office was on Arbor Avenue in Dayton nearly 30 years ago, and we've stayed local to the Dayton area ever since!
One of the projects we're most proud of was the IT buildout for the Arcade Innovation Hub (AIH, a joint venture between the Entrepreneurs Center and the University of Dayton).
Between 2020 - 2023, we worked to design, configure, and deploy the entirety of the technology stack for AIH, and we've been supporting them and the businesses surrounding the iconic Dayton rotunda ever since.
How do you view clients?
Our biggest focus is our client satisfaction.
We want every interaction with a client to let them know that we've heard them, we care about their problem, and we want to get it resolved as badly as they do. Because of that, responsiveness, reliability, integrity, and communication are huge factors in our team as a whole.
We do what we say we're going to do, in the time that we say we're going to do it.
What advice would you give other companies?
This could vary depending on who you talk to at the company...but I'd say,
"never stop learning, and pivot when you need to."
Things are constantly changing, especially in the tech industry. You have to be willing to learn new things continuously and make adjustments as the world and business technology needs change.
What resources have most influenced your organization's growth?
All of our leadership team has attended at least one training program at Aileron, a nonprofit organization focusing on professional management training.
We also participate in a weekly book club, where we read professional development books like "Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done" and "Crucial Conversations."
Our entire team is encouraged to continue learning through certifications, courses, training programs, etc, to continue their personal and professional growth.
How do you give back to the local community?
We sponsor a number of local organizations (the Air Force Marathon, Sicsa animal shelter, and numerous nonprofit and religious organizations) by providing free website hosting.
We've sponsored and attended countless networking events in the Dayton area (Startup Week, Launch Dayton, Taste of IT, etc). We're always looking for more ways to be involved!
What makes your company culture memorable?
We love a good food challenge! In the last few months, we've done: a hard boiled egg eating challenge, a Saltine eating challenge, a powdered donut eating challenge, a spicy "one-chip" challenge.
We try to gather as a team at least twice a month to do something fun -- play Pictionary or GeoGuessr, get lunch as a team, go on an outing somewhere new...we've got a team of competitive people, so any time we can all get together to win something, we have a good time!
How do you use the “Coffee with Champions” program?
Over the last five months, we've met as a team every Thursday morning to discuss the CWC topic. We typically have 8-10 team members in attendance, and somebody brings in a tasty snack to share.
I've definitely noticed team member interpersonal growth -- better communication, improved relationships at work, and increased understanding of our individual differences...only good things have come out of implementing this program!
What’s in DataYard’s future?
We've all felt lately (since Covid, really) that customer service has taken a turn for the worse across the board. We want to be the exception -- always providing a stellar customer service experience to everyone we come across.
Additionally, we plan to continue our expertise in the IT security front; with the ever-increasing threat of cyberattacks, the introduction of AI, etc, we think preventing against those security risks is something every business, regardless of industry, should be aware of, and we want to be prepped and ready to help.
Thank you, DataYard team, for being a Force for Good! You are truly making a positive impact at work, at home, and in your community.
- Lance
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