About Us
The Original Peer Network
for Independent IT Businesses
It Started With a Small Group of Founders…
ASCII was established in 1984, at a time when the IT channel was still taking shape.
At the time, independent IT business owners were figuring things out as they went. There wasn’t much structure around the industry yet, and very little opportunity to compare notes with others in the same position.
Most decisions were made in isolation.
ASCII was created to change that by bringing peers together. Business owners could speak openly, compare decisions, and learn from each other in a practical way.
That idea was simple, but it stuck.
The Principles ASCII Is Built Around
Peer-Led by Design
Members connect through forums, peer groups, events, and ongoing discussions. These are conversations between business owners dealing with the same challenges, often at the same time.
Real Conversations
Members share what they are seeing in their businesses. What is working, what is not, and what they would do differently. Questions are asked openly, and answers come from experience, not theory.
Independent Environment
Vendor relationships are part of the ecosystem, but they do not drive the discussion. The focus stays on the needs of the business owner, not external agendas.
Experience Over Opinion
This goes beyond any single perspective. It is practical, current, and rooted in day-to-day operations.
Alan Weinberger’s Founding View of the IT Sector
.webp)
In the early 1980s, a group of independent technology providers came together to collaborate, support each other, and expand what they could offer to their clients.
At the center of that was Alan Weinberger.
He saw early on that independent IT businesses would need more than technical capability to succeed. They would need perspective. The ability to step back, compare decisions, and sense-check direction with others who understood the pressure of running a business.
That’s what he set out to build.
Not a platform for announcements or marketing, but a place where business owners could have real conversations, the kind that shape decisions.
His view was straightforward. If you put the right people in the room, and keep the environment honest, the quality of thinking improves.
That principle is still at the core of ASCII.
Real Stories From Real MSP Owners
How ASCII Has Moved With the Industry
Over the past four decades, ASCII has grown alongside the IT industry itself. What started as a small group of independent providers has grown into a network shaped by the people inside it.
-min.webp)
Independent From the Start.
Still Independent Now.
Today, ASCII continues to operate the same way it was intended.
A place where MSP owners can step out of the day-to-day, speak openly with peers, and make decisions with a clearer view of what’s in front of them.
The structure has evolved, but the principle hasn’t.
.svg)
