SEPTEMBER 2017 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 29
Spotlight Long Island
Greg Galdi is an entrepreneur, visionary and computer geek. The founder of Custom Computer Specialists, Inc., Galdi describes the Long Island company as “the little
engine that could.” Founded in 1979 as a three-man shop in Riverhead, it is believed to be the oldest IT company on Long Island. Now expanded to four oces with
120,000 square feet of industrial space, the headquarters today are in Hauppauge.
LIP: What is your business philosophy?
GG: Our belief and commitment is to use technology to improve business outcomes. We work with many school districts – we use technology to enhance learning.
In hospitals and healthcare, it’s about improving the patience experience and outcomes. For business, it’s about using technology to improve eciencies.
LIP: How did you get started?
GG: I started this company in the late 70s before many businesses could aord
IT or knew where this industry would go. It started as a small company out East
on Long Island in Riverhead. We now have headquarters in Hauppauge, a large
development facility in Lincoln, RI and sales oces in NYC and NJ.
Success in this business is all about the customer and it always has been. We started
writing software for Hampton Jitney in the 80s to automate their transportation
systems. They used to have to shue through books to nd schedules and routes.
We helped them automate.
We’ve always had a strong anity for K-12 schools. Kids learning to use technology
– fast forward to today and it’s amazing what kids are accomplishing with
technology, programming and robotics.
LIP: Tell me about your commitment to LI communities?
GG: During Superstorm Sandy, we lost power but we have a backup generator so we were able to open our doors to other businesses so that they could run. Our
non-stop disaster recovery facility enabled us to share electricity with our next door neighbors. We did our part to help keep Long Island running. We employ more
than 300 sta members, the majority from Long Island.
LIP: What is the most memorable experience in your career?
GG: We sold the rst Apple Macintoshes and IBM PCs to China thru the United Nations in 1985. Later that year, the UN sent me to China. This was very early in our
relationship, before the Tiananmen Square incident. There was only one building that was taller than 4 stories in Beijing at the time. I was a young kid. It was an
exciting time. We developed as the industry developed. The 80s was a big time for desktop publishing. The systems we created were used to create magazines
and newspapers. At the time, we serviced a major conglomerate, headquartered in NYC, they had a big pre-press operation as did a major nancial newspaper.
The business has changed incredibly since then.
LIP: How would competitors describe you?
GG: As a specialty professional services rm. We’re not everything to everyone. Of our 300 people, 80 or 90 of them report to our clients every day to provide
technical, help desk and programming services. They are backed up by people who are here, doing research, have strong connections with manufacturers, and
can work through problems.
LIP: What is your mission?
GG: Our mission is very simply to apply the latest technology and applications to generate successful business outcomes for our clients. For example, in the
healthcare space, connecting doctors with remote patients via video so they can “visit” from anywhere in the world. Employing a unied communications strategy
to move seamlessly from one device to another to see and interact with individuals with business-quality video and sound. A lot of us have experienced free video
conferencing capabilities – it can be very disruptive if your video or sound is dropping out or making interfering noises. With a platform like ours, like Cisco’s, we
can create a quality system so when a large local K-12 district’s child can’t go to school, they can attend virtually. Or when a student can’t access a second oor
classroom due to a disability, they can “attend” via video.
With the advancement of Student Management Systems, enabled by Innite Campus, schools are able to customize curriculum for special needs students, track
their success and give them a greater individual focus of attention.
It’s very fullling and interesting to see where the industry is taking this.
LIP: What is the best part of this company?
GG: The people who work for me. I hold them in the highest esteem. They are all Long Islanders, committed to making our local communities better.
Custom Computer Specialists, Inc., 70 Suffolk Court, Hauppauge, New York 11788, 1-800-598-8989.