Five Questions With: Rick Lemieux

RICK LEMIEUX, co-founder of itSM Solutions, recently was named one of Tech Collective’s 2015 Tech 10 award winners. / COURTESY RICK LEMIEUX

Rick Lemieux, co-founder of itSM Solutions, a company that provides on-demand, video training programs, talks with Providence Business News about being named one of Tech Collective’s 2015 Tech 10 award winners. The awards are given to Rhode Island IT practitioners and entrepreneurs “who excel in their practice, demonstrate a passion for contributing to the success of others and are pioneering in their technological and career achievements.”

PBN: Congratulations on the award – How does it feel to be named one of the top 10 IT professionals in the state?
LEMIEUX:
It feels great. I have been an IT entrepreneur all my career and have been involved in starting many companies along the way and have won a few awards, but nothing like this. I’ve been a Rhode Island resident all my life and to be recognized by my home state is a great honor.

PBN: Tell me what you do at itSM Solutions.
LEMIEUX:
Outside of being a co-founder of the company, I am responsible for overseeing the company’s sales, marketing and business development programs. I also play a key role in defining the markets we participate in along with defining our value proposition for each market.

PBN: Are more people becoming interested in receiving technical job training online instead of the traditional way, in classrooms? Is that how education is trending?

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LEMIEUX: Yes, just look at the success You Tube, Lynda.com (now Linkedin) and others have had in the home repair and application development space.

In the rapidly changing world of information technology, IT professionals are under daily pressure to keep their skills current or to quickly learn new ones to increase the value they deliver to the corporations that employ them. Due to current economic conditions and workload pressures, sitting [in] a classroom is becoming much less of an option for IT professionals.

IT professionals now need an on-demand education solution that deliver the value of the classroom (high quality instructor tutorials, support materials, testing, mentoring, peer to peer interaction and certification exams) direct to a smartphone, tablet or PC. These on-demand, “just in time” training solutions enable IT professionals to see the steps, hear the explanations and perform tasks in real time.

PBN: What interested you in a career in technology?

LEMIEUX: My uncle Norman who was a TV repairman back in the day when people repaired TVs. It’s been a very exciting journey as I have been part of many technological revolutions, including what I am doing now in changing the way IT professionals get trained and certified.

PBN: How active are you with social networking through your job?

LEMIEUX: I am a very active in the professional social network scene, especially Linkedin. Many of my leads have come from social media contacts that have read my articles and posts. Social media has allowed me to connect and sell to people and organizations across the globe.

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