Data Storage Corp 10-K

ITEM 1. BUSINESS The Industry and Opportunity Data Storage Corporation provides Cloud Managed Services and technologies across multiple platforms. The Company’s technical assets are in geographically diverse, Tier 3 compliant data centers throughout the USA and Canada. Hybrid and Multi-Cloud have become mainstream technological offerings of the Cloud infrastructure managed services industry as companies have moved away from legacy, on-premises technology solutions. This approach has grown more complex, as companies utilize disparate technical environments, including on-premises equipment and software, multi-clouds interfacing with Software as a Service providers, Amazon AWS and others while focusing on the remote employee or a contractor for higher levels of security, driving growth in managed cloud services. Cloud Managed Service Providers assist businesses in achieving their desired security levels, technical cloud infrastructure and financial objectives while optimizing the value of these technologies and cloud resources through multi-cloud management, ensuring business continuity, governance, and operational efficiencies. One subset of this five hundred-billion-dollar industry and a highly-focused segment of the Company is the IBM Power server; of which AWS, Google and Microsoft are not competitors. It’s estimated that businesses in USA and Canada are operating over one million virtual IBM Power servers, known as LPAR’s. According to the most recent information received from IBM, the typical industries utilizing IBM Power servers are finance, retail, healthcare, government, and distribution organizations. 1 The Company, through its CloudFirst subsidiary, is a leader in providing IBM Power cloud infrastructure, disaster recovery and the creation of these unique offerings for over 15 years. The opportunity for the Company, in the IBM Power server portfolio segment is capturing a share of this annual recurring revenue marketplace that is currently under migration to cloud infrastructure. The Company believes businesses are increasingly under pressure to improve the efficiency of their information and storage systems accelerating the migration from self-managed technical equipment and solutions to fully managed multi-cloud technologies to reduce cost, protect capital, ensure disaster recovery, protect the custom applications developed for these systems, and compete effectively. These trends create an opportunity for cloud technology service providers. The Company’s market opportunity is derived from the demand for fully managed cloud and cybersecurity services across all major operating systems. CloudFirst’s addressable market is approximately $36 billion in the United States and Canada with limited competition today. Our Flagship subsidiary provides business continuity and infrastructure solutions combining on-premises equipment and software with its value-added managed services to business customers. Flagship maintains strong partner relationships with some of the largest IT Manufactures such as the IBM Corporation in supplying the technology behind the highly technical designs built for business customers. Flagship’s vision is to expand its multi-cloud infrastructure solutions with more managed services, highlighted by its expanding Cyber Security offerings to capture more of the marketplace outside of the CloudFirst sales and marketing programs. Our Nexxis subsidiary is a voice and data solution provider that utilizes major nationwide carriers and providers. The subsidiary provides a suite of communications services including Hosted VoIP, Internet Access, Data Transport, and SD-WAN. The Nexxis complete voice and data solution combines elements of these services into a fully managed option that delivers high reliability and is engineered to further enhance business continuity. Nexxis’s goal is to provide a higher level of technology yet simplify management and combine cost savings for our clients wherever possible. According to Fortune Business Insights, the Cloud Managed Services industry in North America was $16.3 billion in 2019 and has been growing at a rate of 13.8% CAGR bringing us to $24 billion by the end of 2022. Disaster Recovery is projected to be a $3.6 billion in the US by the end of 2022 which is 35% of the $10.3 billion globally based on Grandview Research Disaster Recovery Solutions Market Size report. Cyber Security, specifically the MDR segment, is an established market recognized by buyers . Gartner observed a 35% growth in end users’ inquiries on the topic in the last year. Gartner estimates that by 2025, the MDR market will reach $2.15 billion in revenue, up from $1.03 billion in 2021, for a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.2%. The Company’s VOIP solutions fit well into this steadily growing segment which is expected to reach $90 billion worldwide in 2022 with a CAGR of 3.1% with $17 billion in the US according to Globe Newswire Market Analysis and Insights: Global VoIP Market. Company Overview Data Storage Corporation, is headquartered in Melville, New York. DTST operates through three subsidiaries; DSC, a Delaware corporation now referred to as CloudFirst Technologies Corporation; Flagship Solutions, LLC; and Nexxis Inc. These subsidiaries provide solutions and services to a broad range of clients in several industries including healthcare, banking and finance, distribution services, manufacturing, construction, education, and government. The subsidiaries maintain business development teams, as well as independent distribution channels. The Company typically provides long-term subscription-based disaster recovery, and cloud infrastructure, cyber security, third party cloud management, managed services, dedicated internet access and UCaaS / VoIP services. During 2022, based on the May 2021 capital raise and the up list to Nasdaq, the Company has accelerated organic growth strategies by adding distribution, marketing, and technical personnel. Management continues to be focused on building the Company’s sales and marketing strategy and expanding its technology assets throughout its data center network. 2 The Company believes businesses are increasingly under pressure to improve the reliability and efficiency of their information and storage systems accelerating the migration from self-managed technical equipment and solutions to fully managed multi-cloud technologies to reduce cost and compete effectively. Further, in today’s environment, capital preservation is an encouragement to move from a capital-intensive, on-premises technology, to a pay as you grow, CapEx to OpEx model. These trends create an opportunity for Cloud Technology Service providers. The Company’s market opportunity is derived from the demand for fully managed cloud and cybersecurity services across all major operating systems. CloudFirst alone has an addressable market estimated at $36 billion in annual recurring revenue in the United States and Canada with limited competition. The Company has designed and built its solutions and services to support demand for cloud-based IBM Power System that support client critical workloads and custom in-house developed applications, manage hybrid cloud deployments and continue to provide solutions that keep data and workloads protected from disasters and security attacks. The Company’s business offices are located in New York, Florida and Texas. The New York and Florida offices include a technology center and labs adapted to meet the technical requirements of the Company’s clients. The Company maintains its own infrastructure, storage, and networking equipment required to provide subscription solutions in seven geographically diverse data centers located in New York, Massachusetts, Texas, Florida and North Carolina, and in Canada, Toronto, and Barrie, serving clients in the United States and Canada. The Company’s disaster recovery and business continuity solutions allow clients to quickly recover from system outages, human and natural disasters, and cyber security attacks, such as Ransomware. The Company’s managed cloud services begin with migration to the cloud and provide ongoing system support and management that enables its clients to run their software applications and technical workloads in a multi-cloud environment. The Company’s cyber security offerings include comprehensive consultation and a suite of data security, disaster recovery, and remote monitoring services and technologies that are incorporated into the Company’s cloud solutions or are delivered as a standalone managed security offering covering the client site endpoint devices, users, servers, and equipment. The Company’s solution architects, and business development teams work with organizations identifying and solving critical business problems. The Company carefully plans and manages the migration and configuration process, continuing the relationship and advising its clients long after the services have been implemented. Reflecting on client satisfaction, the Company’s renewal rate on client subscription solutions is approximately 94% after their initial contract term expired. Growth Strategies The Company will continue to drive revenues by expanding distribution channels while expanding digital and direct marketing programs. The Company will accelerate building upon its social and digital lead generation programs. Further, the Company will continue to seek synergetic acquisitions that expand distribution, leading a technology trend, add to its existing technical staff and create economies of scale improving gross profit margins. 3 The Company increases revenue and drives growth by developing and managing collaborative solutions as well as joint marketing initiatives. The Company has a diverse community of distribution partners, ranging from IBM Business Partners, Software Vendors, IT resellers, Managed Service Providers, application support providers, consultants, and other cloud infrastructure providers. The Company believes there is a significant need for its solutions on a global basis and, accordingly, the opportunity for it to grow its business through international expansion as these markets increase their use of multi-cloud solutions. The Company’s Core Services : The Company provides an array of multi-cloud information technology solutions in highly secure, enterprise-level cloud services for companies using IBM Power Systems, Microsoft Windows, and Linux. Specifically, the Company’s support services cover: Cyber Security Solutions: ● ezSecurity™ offers a suite of comprehensive cyber security solutions that can be utilized on systems at the client’s location or on systems hosted in the Company. These solutions include fully managed endpoint (PCs and other user devices) security with active threat mitigation, system security assessments, risk analysis, and applications to ensure continuous security. ezSecurity™ contains a specialized offering for protecting and auditing IBM systems including a package designed to protect IBM systems against Ransomware attacks. Data Protection and Recovery Solutions: ● ezVault™ solution is at the core of the Company’s data protection services and allows its clients to have their data protected and stored offsite with unlimited data retention in a secure location that uses encrypted, enterprise-grade storage which allows for remote recovery from system outages, human and natural disasters, and cyber security attacks like Ransomware and viruses allowing restoration of data from a known good point in time prior to an attack. ● ezRecovery™ provides standby systems, networking, and storage in the Company’s cloud infrastructure that allows for faster recovery from client backups stored using ezVault™ at the same cloud based hosted location. ● ezAvailability™ solution offers reliable real-time data replication for mission-critical applications with Recovery Time Objective under fifteen minutes and near-zero Recovery Point Objective, with optional, fully managed replication services. The Company’s ezAvailability™ service consists of a full-time enterprise system, storage, and network resources, allowing quick and easily switched production workloads to the Company’s cloud when needed. The Company’s ezAvailability™ services are backed by a Service-Level Agreement (“SLA”) to help assure performance, availability, and access. ● ezMirror™ solution provides replication services that mirror the clients’ data at the storage level and allows for similar near-zero Recovery Point Objective as ezAvailability with less application management and Recovery Time Objective under 1 hour. Cloud Hosted Production Systems: ezHost™ solution provides managed cloud services that removes the burden off system management from its clients and ensures that their software applications and IT workloads are running smoothly. ezHost™ provides full-time, scalable compute, storage, and network infrastructure resources to run clients’ workloads on the Company’s enterprise-class infrastructure. ezHost™ replaces the cost of support, maintenance, system administration, space, electrical power, and cooling of the typical hardware on-premises systems with a predictable monthly expense. The Company’s ezHost services are backed by an SLA governing performance, availability, and access. Voice & Data Solutions: Nexxis, our voice and data division, specializes in stand-alone and fully-managed VoIP, Internet Access, and Data Transport solutions that satisfy the requirements of the traditional corporate and modern remote workforce. Nexxis dedicated internet access services with speeds of up to 10 Gbps and data transport circuits are typically delivered over fiber-optic networks while shared internet access is typically delivered via fiber, coaxial, and wireless networks to help businesses stay fully connected from any location. SD-WAN options provide the ability for multi-site companies to prioritize their data traffic from site to site while FailSAFE, a Cloud-first SD-WAN solution, can be used by a single location to gain industry-leading connectivity to cloud services and the internet. Nexxis Hosted VoIP with Unified Communications is a full-featured cloud-based PBX solution with built-in redundancy that provides business continuity and includes the option to integrate with Microsoft Teams. 4 Corporate History On October 20, 2008, the Company consummated a share exchange transaction with Euro Trend Inc. The Company subsequently changed its name from Euro Trend Inc. to Data Storage Corporation. Data Storage Corporation acquired the assets of SafeData, LLC in June 2010, and the assets of Message Logic LLC, (“Message Logic”) in October 2012. In November 2012, the Company entered into an agreement with an IBM partner, ABC Services, Inc. to provide an IBM Power cloud infrastructure offering, marketed under the name Secure Infrastructure & Services LLC (“SIAS”), a New York limited liability company. In October 2016, the Company purchased the assets of ABC Services, Inc., which included the remaining 50% of the SIAS company. On June 1, 2021, the Company merged its Florida company with Flagship Solutions, LLC. This transaction with an IBM Gold Business Partner was synergetic to the Company’s services and added new solutions. The result of these acquisitions, combined with the Company’s business continuity disaster recovery and IBM Power cloud infrastructure solutions, positions Data Storage Corporation as a leader. Competitive Landscape The markets for the Company’s products and services are competitive. However, competition is limited, in the CloudFirst subsidiary for this $36 billion marketplace, compared to the limitless competitors, competing against Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google, and Microsoft today which hold an estimated 51% of the marketplace for X86 cloud infrastructure and X86 disaster recovery platforms. Today, the IBM Power community, based on a recent IBM user survey, only 15% of the IBM Power server community utilizes the cloud. Other Company services and solutions, outside of the IBM Power user community face many competitors for cyber security, however, these solutions and services are typically provided by the Company to their existing clients and distribution companies. These markets are characterized by frequent product introductions and rapid technological advances. The Company’s financial condition and operating results can be adversely affected by these and other industry-wide downward pressures on gross margins. Principal competitive factors important to the Company include price, product features, relative price and performance, product quality and reliability, strong third-party software, marketing and distribution capability, service and support and corporate reputation. The Company is focused on expanding its market opportunities globally related to disaster recovery and cloud infrastructure, primarily focused on the IBM community. These markets are highly competitive and include several large, well-funded and experienced participants. The Company’s future financial condition and operating results depend on the Company’s ability to continue to provide a high-quality solution as well as increase distribution of the solutions in each of the markets in which it competes. Flagship Solutions, LLC. On February 4, 2021, we entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with Data Storage FL, LLC, a Florida limited liability company and our wholly-owned subsidiary (the “Merger Sub”), Flagship Solutions, LLC (“Flagship”), a Florida limited liability company, and the owners (collectively, the “Equity holders”) of all of the issued and outstanding limited liability company membership interests in Flagship (collectively, the “Equity Interests”), pursuant to which, upon the Closing (as defined below), we acquired Flagship through the merger of Merger Sub with and into Flagship (the “Merger”), with Flagship being the surviving company in the Merger and becoming, as a result, our wholly-owned subsidiary. The closing of the Merger (the “Closing”) was completed on June 1, 2021. Flagship is a provider of IBM equipment and solutions, managed services and cloud solutions that include cloud-based server monitoring and management, 24×7 help desk support, and data center infrastructure management. 5 Concurrently with the Closing, Flagship and Mark Wyllie, Flagship’s Chief Executive Officer, entered into an Employment Agreement (the “Wyllie Employment Agreement”), which became effective upon consummation of the Closing, pursuant to which Mr. Wyllie will continue to serve as Chief Executive Officer of Flagship following the Closing on the terms and conditions set forth therein. Flagship’s obligations under the Wyllie Employment Agreement will also be guaranteed by the Company. The Wyllie Employment Agreement contains customary salary, bonus, employee benefits, severance and restrictive covenant provisions. In addition, pursuant to the Wyllie Employment Agreement, Mr. Wyllie was appointed to serve as a member of the Board during the term of his employment thereunder. Mr. Wyllie, as of November 11, 2021, became an Officer of the Company. Mr. Wyllie resigned from all positions he held with Flagship and the Company on October 28, 2022. Thomas Kempster has been appointed President of Flagship Solutions Group. The foregoing information has been filed as an exhibit to the 2021 Annual Report. Readers should review those agreements for a complete understanding of the terms and conditions associated with this transaction. On April 30, 2020, the Company was granted a loan from a banking institution, in the principal amount of $481,977 (the “Loan”), pursuant to the Paycheck Protection Program (the “PPP”) under Division A, Title I of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”), which was enacted on March 27, 2020. The Loan, which was in the form of a Note dated April 30, 2020, matures on April 30, 2022, and bears interest at a fixed rate of 1.00% per annum, payable monthly to Signature Bank, as the lender, commencing on November 5, 2020. Funds from the loan may only be used to retain workers and maintain payroll or make mortgage payments, lease payments and utility payments. Management used the entire Loan amount for qualifying expenses. Under the terms of the PPP, certain amounts of the Loan may be forgiven if they are used for qualifying expenses as described in the CARES Act. The Company received forgiveness for the full amount during the year ended December 31, 2021. 6 Government Regulation The Company is subject to various federal, state, local and international laws with respect to its receipt, storage and processing of personal information and other customer data. The Company receives, stores, and processes personal information and other customer data. Personal privacy has become a significant issue in the United States and in many other countries where the Company may provide its offering of solutions. The regulatory framework for privacy issues worldwide is currently complex and evolving, and it is likely to remain uncertain for the foreseeable future. There are numerous federal, state, local, and foreign laws regarding privacy and the storing, sharing, use, processing, disclosure, and protection of personal information and other customer data, the scope of which are changing, subject to differing interpretations, and may be inconsistent among countries or conflict with other rules. The Company generally seeks to comply with industry standards and is subject to the terms of its privacy policies and privacy-related obligations to third parties. The Company strives to comply with all applicable laws, policies, legal obligations, and industry codes of conduct relating to privacy and data protection to the extent possible. Any failure or perceived failure by the Company to comply with its privacy policies, its privacy-related obligations to customers or other third parties, its privacy-related legal obligations, or any compromise of security that results in the unauthorized release or transfer of personally identifiable information or other customer data, may result in governmental enforcement actions, litigation, or public statements against the Company by consumer advocacy groups or others and could cause its customers to lose trust in it, which could have an adverse effect on its reputation and business. Any significant change to applicable laws, regulations, or industry practices regarding the use or disclosure of the Company’s customer’s data, or regarding the manner in which the express or implied consent of customers for the use and disclosure of such data is obtained, could require the Company to modify its solutions and features, possibly in a material manner, and may limit its ability to develop new services and features that make use of the data that its customers voluntarily share with the Company. The Company’s solutions are used by customers in the health care industry, and the Company must comply with numerous federal and state laws related to patient privacy in connection with providing its solutions to these customers. In particular, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (“HITECH”) include privacy standards that protect individual privacy by limiting the uses and disclosures of individually identifiable health information and implementing data security standards. Because the Company’s solutions may backup individually identifiable health information for its customers, its customers are mandated by HIPAA to enter into written agreements with the Company known as business associate agreements that require it to safeguard individually identifiable health information. Business associate agreements typically include: ● a description of the Company’s permitted uses of individually identifiable health information; ● a covenant not to disclose that information except as permitted under the agreement and to make the Company’s subcontractors, if any, subject to the same restrictions; ● assurances that appropriate administrative, physical, and technical safeguards are in place to prevent misuse of that information; ● an obligation to report to the Company’s customers any use or disclosure of that information other than as provided for in the agreement; ● a prohibition against the Company’s use or disclosure of that information if a similar use or disclosure by its customers would violate the HIPAA standards; 7 ● the ability of the Company’s customers to terminate their subscription to its solution if the Company breaches a material term of the business associate agreement and are unable to cure the breach; ● the requirement to return or destroy all individually identifiable health information at the end of the customer’s subscription; and ● access by the Department of Health and Human Services to the Company’s internal practices, books, and records to validate that the Company is safeguarding individually identifiable health information. Human Capital Resources We believe that our success depends upon our ability to attract, develop and retain key personnel. As of March 31, 2023, we employed 45 full-time employees, of which six are executive management, seven are administration and finance, nine are sales staff, several of which are dedicated to support our network of distribution partners, two are marketing staff and twenty-one were part of our technical team. The Company also maintains a group of independent contractors to provide service support and installations on a as needed basis. None of our employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements, and management considers relations with our employees to be in good standing. Although we continually seek to add additional talent to our work force, management believes that it has sufficient human capital to operate its business successfully. The Company’s compensation programs are designed to align the compensation of its employees with its performance and to provide the proper incentives to attract, retain and motivate employees to achieve superior results. The structure of the Company’s compensation programs balances incentive earnings for both short-term and long-term performance. The health and safety of the Company’s employees is its highest priority, and this is consistent with its operating philosophy. Corporate Information The primary mailing address for the Company is 48 South Service Road, Suite 203, Melville, NY 11747. Available Information The Company’s corporate website address is www.dtst.com . All filings the Company makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including its Annual Report on Form 10-K, its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, its Current Reports on Form 8-K, its proxy statements and any amendments thereto filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, are available for free in the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website as soon as reasonably practicable after they are filed with or furnished to the SEC. The reference to the Company’s website address does not constitute inclusion or incorporation by reference of the information contained on the Company’s website in this Form 10-K or other filings with the SEC, and the information contained on the Company’s website is not part of this document.