Craig Petronella – CIO/vCIO/CTO, IT Cyber Security Expert
CCNA/MCNS/Microsoft Cloud Essentials/Hubbell/Belden/Proxim Certified
Craig Petronella has spent his 23-year computer career supporting such operating systems has Microsoft, Apple, Linux, Unix, and DOS. In addition, Petronella has supported the small business community with the installation and development of blade servers, fiber optics, iSCSI SANs, VMware virtualization configurations. He is certified through all seven layers of the OSI model, spanning from network cabling through to the cloud.
It all started in 1985 when Petronella started working on his computers in his dad’s office with an 8008 Compaq and a Franklin Computer, the first Apple clone. It didn’t take long for Petronella to make the leap to the Commodore 64 and soon thereafter, his sister’s Dell 386, which he quickly disassembled to figure out how it was configured and operated. After seeing him so enthusiastically tackle that project, his parents soon realized his new hobby and purchased an 80386-clone computer. After that purchase, it didn’t take him long to take it apart, reassemble and upgrade it much like he did his sister’s Dell.
In 1989, Petronella jumped head first into the online world by starting his own BBS that ran off DOS, quickly growing to over 300 users — all by using Dad’s fax line. By working with his BBS members and chatting over Internet Relay Chats (IRC), he was able to rapidly grow his knowledge and understanding of all things computers, networks and software. At 14, he landed a job at i-Data, where he soon would learn how to flash and re-program PLCC chips and printer protocol software with DOS, solder and make customized circuit boards and upgrade scanners and CB radio equipment.
In 1995, he moved to the Raleigh area from Long Island, New York and entered the computer business as a technician with a local service company.
Before the decades close, Petronella was hired to help with the Y2K scare. He learned how to build and troubleshoot servers as well as the need for quality structured cabling in business environments. With his ability to grasp new technologies quickly, Craig became Cisco certified and graduated to a network engineer position. He was responsible for managing the entire networks of small towns and cities throughout the North Carolina area.
In 1999, Craig worked for a systems integration firm in Cary, NC. Deployed many cabling, cisco enterprise wireless, structured wiring and cabling projects. He was the lead network engineer responsible for all IT Outsourcing tasks for many local governments in North Carolina. Designed and deployed Cisco and Server projects for:
- City of Raleigh, NC – Installed and Configured several Cisco Switches, Cisco Routers, Security and VLAN Configurations
- City of Wilson, NC – Installed and Configured several Cisco Switches, Cisco Routers, Security and VLAN Configurations
- Town of Rolesville, NC – Installed and Configured several Cisco Switches, Cisco Routers, Security and VLAN Configurations. Helpdesk support for Helpdesk support for Town Hall, Police Department, Fire Department, etc.
- Town of Zebulon, NC – Helpdesk support for Town Hall, Police Department, Fire Department, etc.
- Town of Wake Forest, NC – Managed Windows Server with Microsoft Exchange, Helpdesk support for Town Hall, Police Department, Fire Department, etc.
- Town of Southern Pines, NC – Managed Linux and Oracle Server in the public library. Helpdesk support for Town Hall, Police Department, Fire Department, etc. Kiosk management
In early 2002, Petronella started Petronella Computer Consultants, Inc., dedicated to provide comprehensive IT outsourcing and managed services to business companies in need of either a completely outsourced IT department or assistance with a specific area of specialization. Our clients value us as a technology partner and a seamless extension of their IT staff. Eventually, Petronella Computer Consultants established a solid reputation of excellent service, growing the firm with satisfied customer referrals. Since the firm’s creation, they have performed services ranging from focused technical support to complete system designs. We continue to strive towards excellence in service and reliability having served over 2500 customers in just over ten years in business. We have helped over 2500 customers in just over ten years in business.
Dave LaFontaine
CCNA/A+/Net+
From help desk to network engineer, Dave LaFontaine’s 16-year career has involved supporting large scale enterprises, including work for the Federal government. LaFontaine holds top-level government clearance has worked extensively implementing and maintaining security aspects for the Department of Homeland Security and other government agencies. LaFontaine holds a Cisco Certification as an associate (CCNA) and is IT Service Management (ITSM) trained, giving him the knowledge and experience necessary to understand what IT can do for you — and how to leverage it properly for your business.
Sara Petronella
Sara Petronella brings over 5 years of experience to Petronella Technology Group, Inc. As Chief Operating Office (COO) she specializes in business development, marketing and finance. Sara Petronella drives PTG’s success through financial planning and organizational management. She has been instrumental in refining internal processes to help fuel the growth and stability of our company.
Robert Williams
Robert Williams is a 1999 graduate of North Carolina State University, and is a 10-year veteran of the IT industry. Williams has a strong background in systems and network administration and customer support for small businesses. Williams also has extensive experience in Microsoft, Linux, and Mac OS X server and desktop technologies, web & software development, and network security best practices.
Jonathan Wood
If there’s a computer hardware component out there, there’s a good chance Jonathan Wood has an extensive experience and knowledge of computer hardware components, peripherals, software, and operating systems. He also has a strong knowledge of networking and virtualization solutions with experience using VMware, ESXi, VMware’s vSphere and iSCSI SANs.
Dwight Snow
Dwight has been working with Information Technology for 22 years. He enjoys the challenges and variety that technology brings in his career as a Network Administrator. He has been involved with Small to Enterprise class networks, and is knowledgeable with all areas of Computer Networks.
Dwight enjoys working with people and finding cost effective solutions for businesses with respect to technology. IT is a constantly evolving industry and that’s what he loves most.
In his personal life he enjoys volunteering with Homeless Shelters and Street Ministry. He’s an avid outdoorsman, and you can find him in the great outdoors fishing, camping and hiking during his time away from work.
Michael Dinn
Michael has been providing creative, flexible and robust solutions for the Internet and ISP industry for the past 20 years. His depth of experience spans both transport technologies (routing, switching BGP, DSL, wireless) and hosting / server technologies (Linux, Unix, scalability, web, email). He brings fresh perspective to implementation of any project.
