Ronnie Parisella

Current

Cigar Columnist (Volunteer) at Mob Candy Magazine
Chairman, New York City Chapter (Volunteer) at Cigar Rights of America
Co-Founder & CTO at Primary Support Solutions

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Past

Director of Information Technology at New York New Media Association
IT Project Manager at Scholastic Inc.
Consultant at McGraw–Hill Companies, Inc.

Consultant at Charles Schwab & Co, Inc.

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1 more...

Education

Brooklyn Technical High School

Recommended

55 people have recommended Ronnie

Connections

408 connections

Industry

Computer & Network Security

Websites

Ronnie Parisella’s Summary

12+ Years experience as an Information Technology professional in NYC

Developed strategic relationships with Industry-leading manufacturers and Distributors MSFT, SNWL, SYMC, DELL and IM

Acts as the outsourced IT department for over 50 companies in the NYC area

Strong understanding of the inner workings of the IT “food chain” (Manufacturer, Distributor, Reseller, End user)

Proven risk taking entrepreneur who leads by example

Featured or quoted in 9 CRN Articles:

http://v3.crn.com/TechSearch/Search.jhtml?queryText=parisella

The Renewal Game
8 Tips to Recession-Proof Your Buisness
VARs: Make Moves to Navigate Uncertain Economy
VARs: Six Tips For Successful IT Projects
7 Young VARs to Watch
Next generation VARs: Tuned In
Windows Database War: It's Microsoft Vs. Oracle
Channel Best-Sellers: Software
Channel Truths About Vista, Office 2007 And SharePoint Server

Quoted on the Channel Marker Website: "Tech Watch: Desktop Virtualization Movement Creeping into Customer Sites"
http://searchitchannel.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid96_gci1283955,00.html

Quoted on the Channel Marker Website: "SonicWALL's CDP Product Gets an Upgrade"
http://channelmarker.blogs.techtarget.com/2007/07/09/sonicwalls-cdp-product-gets-an-upgrade/

Client work was awarded a SonicWALL Case Study
http://www.sonicwall.com/apac/2076_6471.html

Quoted on the SonicWALL Corporate Website
http://www.sonicwall.com/us/5106.html

SonicWALL Press Release for client work with CDP Product Line
http://sonicwall.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=786

Quoted in a Press Release by SonicWALL - Partnership with RSA Security
http://sonicwall.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=705

Client work was awarded a Microsoft Case Study
http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/casestudy.aspx?casestudyid=53171

Quoted by Microsoft on the release of Open Value Licensing - 9/03
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2003/sep03/09-10OpenValue.asp

Ronnie Parisella’s Specialties:

Technical Sales, Selling into Large Accounts, Managed Services, Gaming, VPN, etc.

Microsoft Gold Certified Partner
SonicWALL Gold Partner
Ingram Micro Small Business Alliance Member
Symantec Partner
Dell Partner
Speakeasy Partner

Ronnie Parisella’s Experience

Cigar Columnist (Volunteer)

Mob Candy Magazine

(Publishing industry)

June 2009 — Present (6 months)

Mob Candy Magazine (distributed quarterly) has a readership of 120,000. It is sold at major newsstands and retail outlets (Hudson News, Duane Reade, Pathmark, 7/11, Barnes & Noble, etc.)

I am writing a column that explores cigars and the cigar lifestyle. The quarterly column includes cigar reviews, events, people and cigar culture.
Chairman, New York City Chapter (Volunteer)

Cigar Rights of America

(Government Relations industry)

May 2009 — Present (7 months)

A common misconception regarding the anti-smoking movement is that; it is solely geared toward cigarettes, however it is geared towards all smoking products including cigars. All 50 states in the US have some form of a smoking ban or a tax on tobacco products. The primary goal of the anti-smoking movement is to eventually outlaw all tobacco products.

There is an organization that is trying to preserve the rights promised in the Declaration of Independence, this organization is the CRA (Cigar Rights of America). “Cigar Rights of America (CRA) was founded on the principle of fighting for the freedom to enjoy cigars. CRA is a consumer-based, non-profit public advocacy organization that works with local, state and federal governments to protect the freedoms of cigar enthusiasts”
Co-Founder & CTO

Primary Support Solutions

(Privately Held; Computer Networking industry)

March 2000 — Present (9 years 9 months)

Responsible for infrastructure technology recommendations to companies of up to 1,500 workstations.

Acted as ‘the “first line of defense” for over 100 small and mid–sized businesses in the NYC tri–state area.

Selected as 1 of 2 (out of 50,000) customers to take part in Ingram Micro’s joint marketing initiative.

Handled HR related issues (hiring, firing, salary negotiation, promotions, etc.)

Managed extensive hardware installations (LAN, remote offices, VPN, etc.)

Excellent understanding of Industry differences related to computer support and customer service (attracted and serviced clients in over 40 industries).

Designed solutions from basic desktop software to robust Internet Security & E–Mail solutions

Designed and Implemented over 100 business networks (15 to 200 nodes) from scratch

Heavy business development responsibilities

Created new revenue streams by leveraging partner relationships, programs and promotions
Director of Information Technology

New York New Media Association

(Non-Profit; 11-50 employees; Online Media industry)

August 2000 — August 2001 (1 year 1 month)

Managed a revolving staff of Technicians, Webmasters, DBA’s, Programmers & Consultants

Analyzed & restructured all IT related contracts (lowered monthly IT related expenses)

Managed implementation of & supported the following technologies:
• Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5–2000
• Veritas BackupExec 8.5
• Windows NT 4.0 Server & Windows 2000 Server
• Windows 2000 Professional
• Norton Antivirus Corporate Edition 7.5 (Server & Workstation)
• Symantec Ghost 6.5 Network Server Installation
• LSoft Listserv installation (30 lists, 4000 subscribers)

Standardized & solidified network infrastructure from the ground up

Designed, implemented & maintained Ghost images for all NYNMA workstations

Responsible for procurement of all technical resources for all trade shows (including the 2001 “Super CyberSuds” event that attracted over 7,000 attendees).

Responsible for bartering services with other high–tech companies

Responsible for all IT agreements with vendors
IT Project Manager

Scholastic Inc.

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; SCHL; Computer & Network Security industry)

October 1998 — August 2000 (1 year 11 months)

Managed a staff of up to 20 technicians for various IT projects

Reported directly to the Director of IT and CIO.

Implemented improved procedures for how Desktop Support technicians resolved complex, time consuming issues, including Workstation Imaging

Designed & implemented procedures for Scholastic’s successful Y2k upgrade project (over 2000 workstations in 6 months)

Designed & implemented procedures for Scholastic’s Windows 2000 rollout

Responsible for administration of 700 remote workstations and laptops

Responsible for training & mentoring new technicians and consultants

Enterprise–wide problem resolution responsibilities regarding desktop support

Selected to represent IT at the 1999 shareholder’s conference in San Diego, CA

Dealt directly, and resolved issues with HW/SW vendors (Microsoft, Dell, Compaq, Toshiba & Symantec)

Responsible for maintaining Scholastic’s Microsoft Open licensing agreement and monthly software shipments.
Consultant

McGraw–Hill Companies, Inc.

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; MHP; Publishing industry)

May 1998 — October 1998 (6 months)

3rd level support of Windows 95 & Novell environment

User support for two midtown locations

Top–Level Executive Support (all executive officers)

Responsible for maintaining all desktop and infrastructure hardware (Servers and Desktops)

Lotus Notes support for 1400 local users

Remote access support for 200 dial in users (notebook users and telecommuters)

Windows NT 4/9x desktop support

Configured and implemented new desktop workstations
Consultant

Charles Schwab & Co, Inc.

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; SCHW; Computer & Network Security industry)

October 1996 — May 1998 (1 year 8 months)

Remote support of NT 4.0 & 3.51 domain

Built high end Compaq servers (models 2500–6000) for 65 Branches in the Tri State Area

LAN, WAN, connectivity support and monitoring via HP Openview

Microsoft Exchange support and configuration,

Exchange Server Backup with ArcServe

NT 3.51 & 4.0 Workstation imaging and configurations for users

1st and 2nd Level support for desktop related issues

Configured and implemented new desktop workstations

Upgraded 65 Schwab branches from NT 3.51 to NT 4.0

Upgraded 800+ Schwab workstations and terminals with new RAM and Operating Systems

Responsible for remote support of senior level brokers

Ronnie Parisella’s Education

Brooklyn Technical High School

1991 — 1995

Additional Information

Ronnie Parisella’s Websites:

Ronnie Parisella’s Interests:

Cigars, Wine, World Travel, Poker, Ice Hockey, Golf, Video Games, Tennis, Squash, Social Networking, Patents, Copyright Law, Managed Services, SaaS, TaaS, Grand Havana Room

Ronnie Parisella’s Groups:

Grand Havana Room

Microsoft Gold Certified Partner
SonicWALL Gold Partner
Symantec Partner
Ingram Micro SMB Alliance Member
ConnectWise Partner, Networking Pros