LeAnn Gray’s background in Human Resources might not sound like the ideal for the owner of DeSoto Technology Group, but actually it’s perfect.

The company, which caters to the data management needs of local businesses, primarily deals with data security, protection, accuracy, flow and compliance to regulations.

Human Resource professionals know the value of all these things quite well.

“Those in the legal or financial industry have to follow regulations regarding their data, but then even small retail businesses manage a lot of customer data, including credit card information, that has to be protected,” she said.

DeSoto Technology Group opened in 2004 and just recently doubled the size of their offices on Getwell Road. At the time, Gray said, many of the technology solutions businesses in DeSoto County were focused on residential users and their needs.

“I definitely saw a market opportunity and the potential for even more growth,” she said.

In addition to data management, DeSoto Technology Group also offers both on-site and remote desktop troubleshooting.

“We recently got a call from an attorney who was very concerned about spam. They were getting as many as 500 spam messages a day,” she said.

During the recent tornadoes, Gray’s customers were glad of another service the company stresses — data backup.

“We always recommend our backup services to all our customers,” she said. “After the tornadoes hit Southaven, we had a customer that couldn’t even get in to get their servers for one or two days. We were able to get them up and running at our facilities with just those servers.”

Gray is also acutely aware of the recent problems DeSoto County has had with credit card-related crime. Because of the company’s dealings with so many retail outlets and financial institutions, she understands the financial impact this has on both types of businesses.

Gray said people will say that she thrives on chaos. Actually, what she thrives on is making order of the chaos, streamlining processes that can so easily become chaotic if they are not properly structured and managed.

With a very calm and welcoming manner, Gray is at home with the highly-technical nature of her business but always ensuring she has others with far more technical expertise at her side. Grey’s staff includes a technical consultant, business analyst and a network technician.

DeSoto Technology Group is also a certified Panasonic representative and has partnerships with both Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft. That does not, however, limit them in any way from using hardware or software from other manufacturers. The importance is placed on the individual business’ needs, she said.

For more information on DeSoto Technology Group, visit their Web site at desototechgroup.com. DeSoto Technology Group is at 5699 Getwell, Building F, Suite 5. The phone number is (662) 349-9430.

Raina Hanna can be reached at [email protected].

You can read the official interview here.