BY EVA MAYS
“I knew in the fifth grade that I wanted to be in computers,” said John Gaddis, president and CEO of GADDIS Group, a Morgantown-based IT support company.
“Every book I read about the future job market, it pointed toward the computer IT space. So, I put my head down and my mom and dad bought me a Commodore 64 computer for Christmas, and I’ve been messing with computers ever since.”
Gaddis went on to study computer science at Alabama A&M, a historically Black, land-grant university.
A few years after graduation, Gaddis was working in the information technology sector when his employer suggested he take a product that he had helped develop and build his own company around it.
Gaddis took the advice to heart, and around 2007, GADDIS Group was formed as a certified minority-owned business. The guiding principle of the company is to allow individuals and companies to experience technology as “a help, not a hindrance,” Gaddis said.
“A lot of companies we dealt with early on were mom and pop-style companies. We helped them create websites and social media presences and moved them from pad and paper to accounting systems such as Quickbooks.”
The company has grown over the years and has clients as far afield as Hawaii.
“It’s been a wild ride,” Gaddis said. Despite this success, Gaddis is still committed to serving the local community. He served on Morgantown City Council, representing the 2nd Ward from 2008-11, and in 2012 he started a nonprofit called Black Business Association Supporting Entrepreneurs (www.bbase.org).
On the technology front, Gaddis still provides many individuals and companies in the Morgantown area with personalized IT support services.
Dominic J. Raymond II, DDS, whose practice is on the Mileground in Morgantown, said, “Gaddis is an essential part of our day-to-day business. He is available for support and is always working with us to keep current and relevant with IT needs while protecting patient information.”
Raymond also said Gaddis personally answers phone calls and continues to learn and expand his knowledge to better serve his clients.
Gaddis doesn’t up-sell to solve a technology problem. He recalled a client, a senior citizen, who was having issues with viruses on the PC she used for finding recipes and patterns for quilting.
“We actually found out that she didn’t really need a PC. She could use a Chromebook to do everything she needed to do. If anything happens with that, it crashes and reboots, and everything is saved on the cloud. So, we set up a Chromebook for her and made sure her WiFi was nice and powerful and connected her to a printer.” That system met the client’s needs and came at a low cost to her.
“He’s an all-around IT guy.” Steve Oyenik, owner of Signs Plus on Green Bag Road, said. “It keeps us from having to call different people to do different things. He takes care of our equipment, he takes care of our network, he takes care of our storage and backup. We have a lot of large art files for signs, and if we go down, then we’re in big trouble. He keeps us up and running.”
Potential clients can contact GADDIS Group at 304-470-0358 or email support@gaddisconsulting.com
