Friday, Jan. 29, 2010 | 6 a.m.

Shelly Rounds

In a tough economy, businesses tend to cut back in areas such as IT services. Shelly Rounds and uptimeLV are poised to help in 2010.

Rounds, the co-founder and CEO of the Las Vegas-based information technology company, caters to small- and medium-sized companies. She is looking to position her group as one of the most innovative technology firms in the valley.

“Businesses have been forced to reduce spending and operate under tighter budgets,” Rounds said. “This trend will likely continue through the year. Our objective is to provide these companies with exceptional IT programs regardless of budget.

“In 2010, uptimeLV will focus on tailoring our products and services to the individual needs of the client. Our expertise allows us to create cost-effective solutions for owners who need to cut back on spending, but cannot afford to sacrifice IT efficiency and reliability.”

Rounds also recently partnered with Switch Communications to launch a new business division called Co-location Las Vegas. It provides cost-effective solutions for downsizing businesses.

Co-location Las Vegas has established significant strategic partnerships with national manufacturers of hardware and software, such as Microsoft, Cisco, Dell, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Citrix, Symantec, VERITAS.

“Technology systems are not about technology,” Rounds said. “It is about enhancing the profit and performance of business.”

Rounds also utilizes her IT expertise to benefit local nonprofits. Last October, uptimeLV designed and implemented a complete IT infrastructure for local food bank Three Square. It included new telecommunication, surveillance and audio/video systems.

By Rob Langrell, Special publications editor