For 60 years, Brookstone Construction has been serving the Houston area’s general contracting needs, and I am fortunate to be part of the team for the most recent 25 of those years. As the current CFO, I have watched our small business grow to nearly 60 employees, operate from multiple job sites across the area, and evolve our operations.

When I stepped into a leadership role at Brookstone, one of my main challenges was dealing with IT needs that fell under the finance and accounting department. It’s not uncommon for small businesses to pair the two functions in some way, but with limited technical knowledge and a growing dependency on technology, it became difficult for our internal staff to meet the organization’s IT needs.

When I talk with other CFOs around the country, I often hear similar stories. IT wasn’t always such a critical component for small businesses, but now, it’s impossible to operate without it. As IT requests began piling up and our ability to manage them dwindled, we began outsourcing more of our support to a consultant. We weren’t of a size to support an internal IT department, and our limited engagement with contract help wasn’t able to advance our IT strategy as our business changed.

Seven years ago, I decided we needed to make a change, and it turned out to be one of the greatest decisions in my leadership journey. I reached out to my peers through on an online forum that is run by the Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA) and asked if other leaders in the area could recommend an IT service provider that would partner with us for the long term and change with our business. Someone reached out to me from that forum and recommended Divergys.

I contacted Dewayne to explain our setup and where we were experiencing pain points, and following the first conversation with him, I felt like our needs were truly understood. He provided a high-level go-forward plan and shared more information about how our working relationship would look, and from there, the rest is history. From the start, Divergys offered a robust IT solution that we could rely on. They included cybersecurity, hardware maintenance, software integration help, and more in their services.

Now, the Divergys team feels like part of the Brookstone family. In fact, Dewayne and Tom were at our 60th-anniversary party earlier this year. Much of the work we do with them is virtual, but they are always ready to come into one of our offices when needed, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen them without a smile on their faces.

I think it’s important to remember that you get what you pay for in any situation, and with Divergys, that comes with top-notch service. As cybersecurity moves to the forefront of every leadership discussion, Divergys is two steps ahead, ensuring we are equipped to protect sensitive information and navigate the digital world without any bumps in the road. When I talk to other CFOs who have experienced a cybersecurity breach, they always say the same thing: “We would pay any amount of money to have been able to avoid that.” In those moments, I am reminded that we made the best business decision 7 years ago by partnering with Divergys.

The last 60 years at Brookstone Construction have been remarkable, and while we know change will be part of the landscape, we look forward to the opportunities that lie ahead with Divergys alongside us every step of the way.

Samantha Hutchison

CFO, Brookstone Construction