Daren Payne | Level 3 Technician Providing Texas-Size IT Support

In Bit by Bit’s Texas office, Level 3 Technician Daren Payne proudly declares himself a “boomerang,” one of the many technicians who have worked for the company, branched out to another job to gain more experience, but have returned – just like coming home.

In the process he’s gone from fielding 24/7 requests at the Help Desk to onsite troubleshooting and becoming a dedicated resource for one of our largest clients to maintaining the Texas back up co-location – all throughout an eight-year tenure.

A native of the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex, Daren first came to Bit by Bit after crossing paths with Robert Blake during their volunteer work at the River Legacy nonprofit organization in Arlington, Texas. He had been working in the alarm and information systems industry and when he talked to Robert he felt that switching to an MSP was a natural extension.

“I’m left handed, so I always figure the world is against you, so I saw the writing on the wall with technology. It was the future and I better get into it. It ended up that I enjoyed helping people with what was on their desktop instead if what might be hiding in their closet.”

As part of Bit by Bit, Daren is dedicated to assisting clients in any capacity he can, always expanding his technology skills by working with other technicians in the company if need be. He’s able to help all clients -- from a CEO to the drivers in the warehouse -- with their IT server and infrastructure issues. He still works the Help Desk to escalate desktop and operational issues as well.  Acknowledging that everyone interfaces with the same technologies differently, he tailors his assistance in ways that work specifically for them.

Daren believes that the pandemic taught people a new skill in the workplace: resilience. Once his clients got over the panic of getting all their technology in place, he saw they were more flexible, and open-minded. Now working in a remote or hybrid environment, or even back in the office, they have learned how to take chances and embrace technology to utilize it in new ways.

During the height of COVID, when Bit by Bit brought in a large client with multiple locations and needed to get up and running quickly, Daren had to face down many supply chain and logistical issues. The client had a warehouse waiting for network and infrastructure set up in another state and how could he do it? An avid camper, he offered to drive there, bringing boxes, tools, and equipment with him. A few nights on the road, a flexible schedule, and some creative thinking and problem-solving later, he spent the time necessary to turn up the new warehouse. “There’s very little you can’t do,” he believes, “when you don’t give up on an opportunity to help out others."