Today we’d like to introduce you to Derek Roush.
Hi Derek, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I grew up in Orlando since 1977 when my parents moved us down here from Baltimore. I was never a great student. As such, I dropped out of college at Florida Southern in 1945. I spent many years working in the hospitality industry where I learned a lot of valuable customer service skills. When I met my wife in 1997 I was working as a bartender at an upscale golf club where I enjoyed playing golf 4 days a week while living a bachelor life style. But, after dating Wendy for a couple of years and deciding to get married, I figured I might want to grow up and get a real job.
I figured I could put my customer service skills to work in sales. After spending two decades in the telecommunications industry with companies like Expanets, Avaya, and Windstream, I saw how sales-driven tactics often prioritized quotas over clients. Over time, that approach began to wear on me. I didn’t want to be part of a system that rewarded transactions instead of trust. I knew there had to be a better way.
In 2010, I founded VocalPoint Consulting in Orlando, Florida with a simple but powerful mission: to help businesses make smarter technology decisions with integrity, transparency, and strategy at the core. Instead of leading with products, I built a process that starts with understanding. We ask one key question: What problem are you trying to solve? From there, my team designs, sources, and manages solutions that truly align with business goals.
What began as a small consultancy with 30 suppliers has grown into a network of over 700+ service providers, offering deep expertise across Unified Communications, Contact Center, Cybersecurity, AI, cloud, and Networking. Through our proprietary frameworks like IT Compass™ and Technology Consulting as a Service (TCaaS), we’ve helped organizations navigate complex procurement decisions with clarity and confidence.
My Christian faith has always been the foundation of how I lead. I believe business can be done with purpose, where honesty and excellence drive every decision. That belief also inspired my latest podcast, The Narrow Road: The Intersection of Faith, Technology, and Business, where I explore what it means to walk that balance in today’s world. I also host the Cloud Sherpa Podcast that explores everything about Cloud Technology.
Today, I continue to lead VocalPoint Consulting and a growing ecosystem of partners and thought leadership initiatives, all focused on one mission — helping organizations cut through the noise, make better technology choices, and walk their own narrow road toward truth, efficiency, and impact.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have been a lot of struggles along the way, such as:
1. I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Being an entrepreneur and running your own business means wearing a lot of different hats.
2. It took a while to figure out how to price my services accordingly.
3. Not everyone plays the Technology Advisor game with the same morals.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I started VocalPoint Consulting in 2010 as a one man consulting firm comprised of only me. I thought that I could help clients through the planning, purchasing, and migration of large telecom projects better on my own without some of the corporate restraints I was used to. In those days, the cloud was in a very early adoption phase and still considered bleeding edge. However, around 2012, I began to realize it wasn’t a fad and the cloud was here to stay. It was about the same time that I met a gal who introduced me to the “Indirect Channel” where we could not only continue to advise our clients, but we could actually get paid on the services that we were referring them to. That started with about 30 service providers, mainly network services and telephony related, and has since grown to over 700 service providers spanning network services, unified communications, contact center software, cloud computing, cybersecurity, data center, and AI.
We have remained a small company in size with only 3 employees, but our scope has grown exponentially. We have an extensive bench of contractors including project managers and solution design engineers that give us the ability to go head-to-head with much larger consulting firms such as RSM, McKinsey, and Bain. Our ability to not only provide Planning, but to also provide Procurement and Project Management set us apart from most consulting firms. This became the basis for our “IT Compass” framework and sales methodology that we use today.
We want to continue to push the boundaries of tech consulting and we are always looking for ways to serve our clients better. We recently started offering AI Business Intelligence Reports as part of our ongoing service to our clients. We also recently white-labeled an incredible savings automation platform that allows us to show our clients exactly where they are spending too much today and where they can renegotiate contracts to save 15% – 30% or more. This spans across every aspect of their business, not just technology.
Our philosophy of leading with truth, acting with integrity, and serving without ego still drives us today. We’re excited to see what’s next.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Wendy Roush (my wife) – She stood by me and believed in me even when times were tough. Wendy is always “Glass half full”.
Karla Roarty – “That Gal” that introduced me to the indirect sales channel, deserves a lot of credit for my success. She helped us understand a new way of doing business and she never hesitated to go to bat for us.
Colombo DiSalvatore – When I made my first pivot in business, moving from straight up consulting to becoming a channel partner, Colombo was a mentor that helped me understand some of the nuances of this business. He told me to read The “E” Myth, which helped me understand a lot of those nuances regarding running a business. Columbo also provided a lot of encouragement early on when I really needed it.
Nathan Weatherford – Nathan has led my Project Management team for over 10 years now and has always gone above and beyond to serve our clients.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://vocalpointconsulting.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derekroush/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@cloudsherpa
Image Credits
The Citrus Club Orlando
Serendipity Labs
Joey Perez
