Just off the northwest corner of Highways 169 and 694, nestled near an Office Max Distribution Center and FedEx Ship Center, you’ll find what Minnesota Business magazine named one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2014 and 2016. But they’re also diligently working to be the best company to work for, and they’ve taken some practical measures to move closer to the goal.
Over 16 years ago, Maple Grove residents Shane Vinup and Igor Bogachev opened Cyber Advisors, a technology consulting/services company. They specialize in the infrastructure, server, storage and networking systems that make a business run. Since then, they’ve grown into a multimillion-dollar tech company; they previously had two offices in Maple Grove and one in Bloomington.
They are also top Dell and Microsoft partners in the state of Minnesota. Their relationship with Dell in particular started because they share a way of thinking. “Dell needed to give personal attention to the Midwest region; those companies with ‘high-touch’ needs,” says Dan Sanderson, vice president of sales and marketing.
Positioning themselves for future growth, the owners knew they wanted to bring the entire staff into one location. And they were insistent about being in Maple Grove. Building computers means that Cyber Advisors does a lot of shipping, which also played into the choosing of a location. Their new space was completely gutted to build the exact environment the leaders envisioned. “We wanted it to be light, bright and inviting, good for employees,” Bogachez says, “a space for people to make friends and relationships and strive for success.” The new space is conducive to building teams and it’s expandable for additional growth in the future.
“We’ve grown double digits over the past two years,” says Sanderson, who also claims that steady, safe growth is their goal. During this growth, “we get smarter and work more efficiently,” he adds.
Cyber Advisors’ new office space finally brings all of their employees into one location. It opened in late spring. The open office concept they’ve employed includes a windowed wall conference room, a configuration room for building custom computers, a lounge space, a fireplace, a nursing/prayer room, a full kitchen and break room with electronic games to provide fun and relaxation, and a large training room, all with a white noise system that allows workers to concentrate on their own projects while having easy access to team members.
The commitment to open office space extends to managing partner Bogachev as well. His office is completely open to all who enter the space; not even a half-height cubicle wall shields him from working eyes and passing guests.
Bogachev understands what it is to be (and stay) on the cutting edge of technology. He and the leadership team also intentionally hire many young employees and watch them—their habits and tendencies—to get a sense of the forward motion of the industry. Employees of all ages at Cyber Advisors also benefit from the flexibility to work from home when needed.
Besides attracting great employees (the reason for their recent awards), Cyber Advisors also has a heart for charity. They provide ad hoc services to the nonprofit Wilder Foundation and a women’s shelter, to name two partners. The families of employees join for hands-on service as well, packing food for hungry mouths in foreign countries at Feed My Starving Children.
“We try to be experts in anything we do, and if we don’t have answers, we will find answers for you,” says Bogachev. “We always find a way to help customers.”
Sanderson explains that many would-be competitors consider them friends, because Cyber Advisors refers clients to them. “We just want things to work, to make it easy for people,” he adds.
That’s music to all our ears when it comes to living with technology.
