{"id":69572,"date":"2026-05-30T11:01:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T18:01:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=69572"},"modified":"2026-05-31T02:52:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T09:52:16","slug":"from-sports-marketing-to-ai-and-it-allied-business-solutions-is-a-true-gem-of-the-mountains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/dealer-spotlight\/2026\/05\/from-sports-marketing-to-ai-and-it-allied-business-solutions-is-a-true-gem-of-the-mountains\/","title":{"rendered":"From Sports Marketing to AI and IT, Allied Business Solutions is a True Gem of the Mountains"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Tom Beeles,
Allied Business Solutions<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Everyone likes a little rest and relaxation, and Tom Beeles is no exception. The president and CEO of Allied Business Solutions, a $21 million mixed-line dealer in the heart of Boise, Idaho, was in the process of enjoying his president\u2019s club excursion to Cancun but nonetheless carved out some time to relate his success story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Beeles started his dealership in 2003, the thought of reaching Allied\u2019s current scale\u2014which includes 60-plus team members\u2014wasn\u2019t initially factored into his business blueprint. Now, at age 54, he\u2019s still young from an executive standpoint, but he\u2019s hashing out a 10-year plan that will see him ultimately dial back to a couple days per week. He\u2019s looking to spend more time with his family, but\u2026there\u2019s only so much hunting and fishing one can do. Plus, Beeles admittedly isn\u2019t much of a golfer. He\u2019s hoping to strike a balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want to enjoy life,\u201d he noted. \u201cBut I don\u2019t want to ever stop learning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One thing he\u2019s discovered in the past couple years is that AI is poised to impact not only the office dealer space but the entire business landscape in ways we can\u2019t begin to understand. Beeles is soaking up every bit of knowledge he can acquire, and he\u2019s already implementing it in many aspects of the company\u2019s operations (more on this shortly). It\u2019s the thought of possibilities that has him excited for Allied\u2019s future, but it isn\u2019t Copilot, Claude or ChatGPT that\u2019s enabled the dealer to thrive in the great northwest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allied sports a wide OEM catalog that features Kyocera, Xerox, Toshiba, Lexmark, Brother, HP, Epson and Canon on the office MFP and light production front, which is a big market for the dealer. Clients also enjoy ancillary printing options from wide-format (courtesy of Canon) to thermal and receipt printing (Toshiba), finishing equipment (Formax, Duplo), unified communications (Crexendo) and mailing systems (FP Mailing).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of geography, Allied has six offices in Idaho, Utah and Oregon, but its coverage area is way more expansive, from New York to Connecticut and Florida and beyond the lower 48 to include Alaska and Hawaii. Client types are equally varied, from larger enterprise to up-and-down-the-street business in addition to popular verticals such as education, healthcare, legal, manufacturing and finance, among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing diverse and not relying on one particular vertical has been really beneficial,\u201d Beeles said. \u201cIt\u2019s good not to have them clustered in one spot. We grew by about 20% during the pandemic, and that diversity of clients had a lot to do with it. The idea of having 25% of your business in one vertical would be, in my mind, a cause for concern.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
President and CEO Tom Beeles (second from right) receives an award from Kyocera. Shown from left are members of the OEM’s executive team: Frank Zupa, senior vice president of operations; Jose Estebanez, vice president, corporate marketing group; and Don Duvall, vice president of channel sales<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the Beginning<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An upstate New York native, Beeles initially partnered in a copier dealership in San Diego. After selling the business, he wanted to find the perfect place to take root and raise a family. He kicked around a few options that included Austin, Texas and Denver before deciding on Boise. That was challenging in itself. Beeles needed immediate success but had no prior Boise connections and was competing against long-established businesses with deep ties in the community. Despite the challenge, Allied\u2019s growth was steady during those early years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The turning point came about a dozen years ago when Allied captured a bid for enterprise content management software. It was an $800,000 deal with the Idaho Department of Lands, and it forced Beeles and Co. to become proficient at project management and integrations. It was, as he observed, time to step up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe integrated four different systems with just about every technology we had at the time, from capture to digital signatures,\u201d he said. \u201cWe had no choice but to get really good at it. And they\u2019re still a customer, still use the technology and get support from us. We\u2019ve expanded into other areas with them as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
There is but one Tom Beeles, although team members provided their best impersonation of him for Halloween<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Better Days<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2025 campaign left much to be desired, according to Beeles. The dealer endured supply chain issues on the copier end. Shipping costs were brutal, and import tariffs sent OEM prices soaring. As a result, margins took a beating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, Allied has enjoyed a much stronger start to 2026, with solid profits and growth, a healthy dose of net-new clients and strong customer retention. All the key process indicators are pointing skyward, and Beeles has made some significant investments. Perhaps the most notable outlay is the construction of a 43,000-square-foot building just off a major freeway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new headquarters will enable the dealer to consolidate its three offices in Boise into a single, state-of-the-art facility complete with a network operations center. Bringing all the HQ team members under one roof will provide a boost to morale and remove the negatives that accompany being spread across locations. A ground-breaking is scheduled for this month, and Beeles estimates the project will be completed by June or July 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the saving graces to 2025 was the success Allied enjoyed on the managed network services side, which reaped 18% growth with an assist from cybersecurity solutions and AI consulting. Beeles credits much of the success to having good processes, documenting them and holding people accountable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re off in any areas such as onboarding\/offboarding employees, managing projects, triaging tickets and managing updates, the customer really sees and feels the pain,\u201d he added. \u201cYou must have processes documented, and your people must follow them. Plus, you need to have the right clients that are willing to invest in technology, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dealer touts a \u201c5 for 5 Service Guarantee\u201d that consists of a 63-minute response time for initial responses, a 98% uptime guarantee over the life of the service contract, life of lease protection with equal or greater replacement machines for non-serviceable equipment, free loaners for downtimes exceeding eight hours and a three-year performance guarantee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Tech Robert McKenzie (left) receives the Service Professional of the Year award from President and CEO Tom Beeles<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Keeping it Real<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The more compelling value proposition in Beeles\u2019 eyes is responsiveness, particularly having real people and not chatbots greeting customers in their time of need. \u201cWe could automate a lot of that, but we\u2019re not going to because it\u2019s important to have great communication with your customers,\u201d he remarked. \u201cNo one wants to be stuck in a huge phone tree.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a region that\u2019s littered with $100 million-plus dealers, Allied leans on its ability to leverage the benefits of local ownership\u2014decision-making, access to leadership and doing business with a company that\u2019s able to pivot quicker. The Allied team is also quite conspicuous within the communities it serves and supports, including participating in civic and charitable organizations and events and patronizing businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That same philosophy applies to Allied team members. Beeles is keen on investing in his people, ensuring they have not only the tools they need to best serve clients but also the skillsets that enable them to grow personally and professionally. Knowing there\u2019s upward mobility and the opportunity to be heard and valued goes a long way toward locking down quality individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you have people who are lifelong learners and you invest in them, then
they\u2019ll feel like they\u2019re going somewhere,\u201d Beeles said. \u201cEveryone wants a career path, and they want to know what direction they\u2019re going. They don\u2019t want it sugar-coated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

High Visibility<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the greatest strengths driving Allied\u2019s success is the relationships it\u2019s forged with sports organizations. From minor league baseball (Boise Hawks) to college football (Boise State), minor league hockey (Idaho Steelheads) and even professional rodeo (Snake River Stampede), the dealer benefits from brand recognition and the ability to host employees and clients at various stadiums and arenas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one of the best investments we\u2019ve made,\u201d Beeles said. \u201cThe facilities, the corporate boxes and the Ford Idaho Center. And when there are 140 events a year, there are plenty of opportunities to be face-to-face with current clients and prospects. It\u2019s quality time and goes a long way toward keeping clients happy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One door tends to open another. A wetlands conservation organization that Allied has worked with over the years reached out to Beeles about a private party it was hosting with country music star Garth Brooks, and it asked if he\u2019d like to get involved. As a result, the dealer was able to hold a drawing for a Las Vegas gift package that included tickets to Brooks\u2019 concert, an overnight hotel stay and $500 spending money. A lucky Allied employee was also treated to the Vegas experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beeles credits Lisa Mesenko, who quarterbacks the marketing department, with driving creative ideas to strengthen existing bonds and forge new ones. Between the clients and the Allied team members, these partnerships more than justify the financial outlay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a huge plus for employees to go to hockey and baseball games, see comedians and attend concerts,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m absolutely long-term invested. It\u2019s very expensive, but I don\u2019t mind because I see the value in being face to face and filling those luxury boxes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Tom Beeles and Allied marketing guru Lisa Mesenko take a break during a Chamber of Commerce event in Sun Valley<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The AI Wave<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allied\u2019s foray into artificial intelligence traces back to an event Beeles attended about four years ago where noted industry consultant Mike Stramaglio was chatting with several people regarding a new AI-driven vehicle called ChatGPT. That caught the dealer exec\u2019s attention, and he immediately set out to learn as much as possible. While ChatGPT and other platforms were going through growing pains in the initial years, Beeles stuck with it and became an early adopter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allied incorporates AI into various departments on an internal basis. On the IT end, it triages all service tickets, from job assessment to scheduling for resolution. Whether it\u2019s a bot or agent, the technology can handle mundane\/routine requests such as meter reads. \u201cAllix\u201d will handle email correspondence without a human interceding except to ensure Allix is running properly. Equally as impressive, Allied has trained its AI to help reduce the time it takes to generate month\u2019s-end KPIs, whittling a seven-hour process down to 10 minutes. And when it comes to e-automate, Allied created a knowledge bot that it trained to answer questions about RMAs, RTVs and really anything under that umbrella, alleviating the need to have backup platform experts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe continue to train it, make it better,\u201d Beeles added. \u201cWe\u2019re also using it for some sales and dispatch automation. All our people are on [Microsoft] Copilot, and about 35% are using Claude. It\u2019s shaving time off. We just need to have the right structure, the right security. I believe in investing in it heavily. The thing is, AI isn\u2019t a miracle solution you can just give to people and it works. But what a small team can accomplish with the help of AI is extremely powerful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen it comes to security and guardrails, you absolutely have to narrow the scope on what you allow an AI agent to do, especially when they\u2019re decision-making or doing tasks. You wouldn\u2019t give an intern access to everything, and you shouldn\u2019t do it with an AI agent, either.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
For the past 10-plus years, Allied has sponsored the Ada County Boys and Girls Club Wild West Auction fundraiser. Shown from left are Stephanie Lloyd, Tom Beeles, Kathryn Avery, Lisa Mesenko, Joe Critchfield and Colleen Underwood<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The dealer now offers it as a service, initially aimed at enhancing customer workflows. Beeles anticipates expanding the ways in which AI can make life easier on clients, and he sees it providing even more internal benefits, particularly when it comes to administrative outlays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in a really good spot because we can move quickly. Bigger dealers with 1,000-plus employees will find it more difficult to get them all to use the technology because they\u2019re afraid it\u2019s going to replace their jobs,\u201d he added. \u201cWe have a process for rolling things out, and I think it puts us on a level playing field with some of the bigger companies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Future Growth<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building for the future, in Beeles\u2019 eyes, constitutes hiring new team members whose core values dovetail with the dealership. As in the case of AI, he\u2019s continuing his commitment to supplying his crew with the tools they need to enjoy success. Acquisitions represent another potential outlet to complement organic growth, although he notes \u201cI think everybody in Idaho and Utah who wanted to sell has been bought up.\u201d He\u2019s made about a half-dozen deals in all, the most recent being a small operation in Boise roughly four years ago. What remains in the market, for the most part, are dealerships Allied\u2019s size and bigger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Growing the Utah market is one of the firm\u2019s primary goals. Beeles is focusing on maintaining his base, finding optimal IT clients and leveraging technology to make jobs easier. He\u2019s proud of the system Allied has in place for rolling out new technology and ensuring team members can grasp it and feel excited about it as opposed to worried about their job security. Speaking of security, in the context of IT, Beeles believes the world of software patches and updates will be greatly accelerated on the strength of machine learning, which will force providers to deliver in kind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s also proud of the work environment cultivated at Allied. \u201cWe spend a lot of time together, so it\u2019s good to have healthy conflict and disagreements, then come to a conclusion,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to have a good debate on why we should or shouldn\u2019t do something. Our people have developed a culture of owning what they do and doing the right thing. I feel super fortunate that I\u2019ve got some really great folks who care.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Everyone likes a little rest and relaxation, and Tom Beeles is no exception. The president and CEO of Allied Business Solutions, a $21 million mixed-line dealer in the heart of Boise, Idaho, was in the process of enjoying his president\u2019s club excursion to Cancun but nonetheless carved out some time to relate his success story. When Beeles started his dealership in 2003, the thought of reaching Allied\u2019s current scale\u2014which includes 60-plus team members\u2014wasn\u2019t initially factored into his business blueprint. Now, at age 54, he\u2019s still young from an executive standpoint, but he\u2019s hashing out a 10-year plan that will see him ultimately dial back to a couple days per week. He\u2019s looking to spend more time with his family, but\u2026there\u2019s only so much hunting and fishing one can do. Plus, Beeles admittedly isn\u2019t much of a golfer. He\u2019s hoping to strike a balance. \u201cI want to enjoy life,\u201d he noted. \u201cBut I don\u2019t want to ever stop learning.\u201d One thing he\u2019s discovered in the past couple years is that AI is poised to impact not only the office dealer space but the entire business landscape in ways we can\u2019t begin to understand. Beeles is soaking up every bit of knowledge he can acquire, and he\u2019s already implementing it in many aspects of the company\u2019s operations (more on this shortly). It\u2019s the thought of possibilities that has him excited for Allied\u2019s future, but it isn\u2019t Copilot, Claude or ChatGPT that\u2019s enabled the dealer to thrive in the great northwest. Allied sports a wide OEM catalog that features Kyocera, Xerox, Toshiba, Lexmark, Brother, HP, Epson and Canon on the office MFP and light production front, which is a big market for the dealer. Clients also enjoy ancillary printing options from wide-format (courtesy of Canon) to thermal and receipt printing (Toshiba), finishing equipment (Formax, Duplo), unified communications (Crexendo) and mailing systems (FP Mailing). In terms of geography, Allied has six offices in Idaho, Utah and Oregon, but its coverage area is way more expansive, from New York to Connecticut and Florida and beyond the lower 48 to include Alaska and Hawaii. Client types are equally varied, from larger enterprise to up-and-down-the-street business in addition to popular verticals such as education, healthcare, legal, manufacturing and finance, among others. \u201cBeing diverse and not relying on one particular vertical has been really beneficial,\u201d Beeles said. \u201cIt\u2019s good not to have them clustered in one spot. We grew by about 20% during the pandemic, and that diversity of clients had a lot to do with it. The idea of having 25% of your business in one vertical would be, in my mind, a cause for concern.\u201d In the Beginning An upstate New York native, Beeles initially partnered in a copier dealership in San Diego. After selling the business, he wanted to find the perfect place to take root and raise a family. He kicked around a few options that included Austin, Texas and Denver before deciding on Boise. That was challenging in itself. Beeles needed immediate success but had no prior Boise connections and was competing against long-established businesses with deep ties in the community. Despite the challenge, Allied\u2019s growth was steady during those early years. The turning point came about a dozen years ago when Allied captured a bid for enterprise content management software. It was an $800,000 deal with the Idaho Department of Lands, and it forced Beeles and Co. to become proficient at project management and integrations. It was, as he observed, time to step up. \u201cWe integrated four different systems with just about every technology we had at the time, from capture to digital signatures,\u201d he said. \u201cWe had no choice but to get really good at it. And they\u2019re still a customer, still use the technology and get support from us. We\u2019ve expanded into other areas with them as well.\u201d Better Days The 2025 campaign left much to be desired, according to Beeles. The dealer endured supply chain issues on the copier end. Shipping costs were brutal, and import tariffs sent OEM prices soaring. As a result, margins took a beating. Fortunately, Allied has enjoyed a much stronger start to 2026, with solid profits and growth, a healthy dose of net-new clients and strong customer retention. All the key process indicators are pointing skyward, and Beeles has made some significant investments. Perhaps the most notable outlay is the construction of a 43,000-square-foot building just off a major freeway. The new headquarters will enable the dealer to consolidate its three offices in Boise into a single, state-of-the-art facility complete with a network operations center. Bringing all the HQ team members under one roof will provide a boost to morale and remove the negatives that accompany being spread across locations. A ground-breaking is scheduled for this month, and Beeles estimates the project will be completed by June or July 2027. One of the saving graces to 2025 was the success Allied enjoyed on the managed network services side, which reaped 18% growth with an assist from cybersecurity solutions and AI consulting. Beeles credits much of the success to having good processes, documenting them and holding people accountable. \u201cIf you\u2019re off in any areas such as onboarding\/offboarding employees, managing projects, triaging tickets and managing updates, the customer really sees and feels the pain,\u201d he added. \u201cYou must have processes documented, and your people must follow them. Plus, you need to have the right clients that are willing to invest in technology, too.\u201d The dealer touts a \u201c5 for 5 Service Guarantee\u201d that consists of a 63-minute response time for initial responses, a 98% uptime guarantee over the life of the service contract, life of lease protection with equal or greater replacement machines for non-serviceable equipment, free loaners for downtimes exceeding eight hours and a three-year performance guarantee. Keeping it Real The more compelling value proposition in Beeles\u2019 eyes is responsiveness, particularly having real people and not chatbots greeting customers in their time of need. \u201cWe could automate a lot of that, but we\u2019re not going […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1643],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69572"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69572"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69572\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69705,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69572\/revisions\/69705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}