Executive Management Bios

The Bedrock management team brings together deep industry expertise, past entrepreneurial successes, strong vendor relationships, as well as recognized leadership in the technology industry.

Mark E. Bakken
President and Chief Executive Officer

As the founder of Bedrock Managed Services and Consulting, Mark Bakken brings over twenty years of IT infrastructure experience to the quickly growing Microsoft managed services area. His extensive experience with the leading IT industry partners; Cisco, Citrix, Microsoft, Novell, CA, HP, IBM and Sun, uniquely enables him to lead his team of top professionals to provide customers with world class solutions.

In 1993, Mr. Bakken founded Goliath Networks, Inc., an IT consulting firm and opened offices throughout Wisconsin and the greater Chicago area. Employing 150 people, Goliath was one of the top 100 companies in the United States to make INC magazines INC 500 fastest growing companies in 2001. Goliath was also one of eight companies to make the Arthur Anderson 2001 Fast Track Wisconsin list, awarded to the state's fastest-growing private firms. In 2001, SmartPartner Magazine ranked Goliath 26th in its annual Smart 100 list of national IT companies. Goliath won several of Microsoft's and Novell's annual customer service "Partner of the Year" awards. Goliath was one of the first five companies in the world to achieve Microsoft's Gold certification for Enterprise systems, as well as for Security. Goliath was also one of a handful of companies in the world to achieve three gold certifications from Microsoft in enterprise systems, e-commerce solutions, and security. Under his leadership as President and CEO, Goliath grew to $24 million a year in sales. He sold the company to Integrated Information Systems in early 2002. In early 2003, Bakken spent a year working as the VP of IS for a $3 Billion/year insurance company. While there, Bakken quickly realized the need Enterprise organizations had for remote monitoring and management of their infrastructure. In late 2003, Bakken began writing a business plan which focused on customer needs to lower their IT Infrastructure costs. This plan led to the creation of Bedrock Managed Services and Consulting in early 2004. Prior to his entrepreneurial ventures, Mr. Bakken worked for the University of Wisconsin as an IT consultant working with school divisions to determine the best infrastructure technology for their needs. While working for the University in 1991, Bakken earned his Certified Novell Engineer (CNE) certification.

In a short time, Bedrock's managed services model has taken the SMB and Enterprise customer space by storm. By providing customers with a way to cost effectively remotely monitor and manage their Microsoft systems, Bedrock has tapped into a much needed solution, one that enables companies of all sizes to realize more ROI on their existing IT environments as well as ensuring their employees are making the most productive use of their time by leveraging the latest technology innovations.

Mr. Bakken has been a member of an exclusive Microsoft Worldwide Partner Advisory Council (PAC) Program for over the past six years participating on Microsoft's Infrastructure PAC. He has assisted Microsoft with the development of the partner plan for the Operational Efficiency Go-to-Market as well as provided valuable input for the Infrastructure Optimization Initiative (IOI) GTM and is often referenced in IT publications. Bakken has also been intimately involved in helping Microsoft develop their strategy for managed services. At Microsoft's 2004 Worldwide Partner Summit, Bedrock participated as a Bronze Sponsor and Mr. Bakken co-presented with the Windows team at the conference. In 2004, IDC wrote an unsolicited paper on Managed Services and Bedrock's innovative methodology and solid approach to this new market. In 2005, Microsoft approached Bedrock and asked them to write a handbook on managed services that documented the best practices and guidance for remotely monitoring and managing Microsoft systems. Bedrock also returned to Microsoft's annual conference in 2005 as a Silver Sponsor, co-presenting with the Microsoft Partner Program team which resulted in generating much interest with the channel partners who attended the managed services track. This track ranked in the top 5% of the overall conference which offered over 300 tracks during its 3-day duration.

Bedrock Managed Services & Consulting at a Glance

  • Founded in 2004
  • Spun off Novell practice to focus 100% on Microsoft solutions
  • Employees over 30 highly trained, experienced professionals
  • Strategic Microsoft Relationship (double Gold certified)
  • 100% Microsoft infrastructure technology focused
  • High level Cisco & Citrix relationships
  • Strong, Growing Customer Base (400+)
  • Internationally Recognized for Managed Services
  • Microsoft Managed Services Handbook & Speaking engagements
  • IDC Business model
  • Five locations in Wisconsin and Chicago area

Bedrock was not only a visionary in the managed services space, but has a patent pending methodology for managed services that has continued to evolve to better meet the needs of both SMB and enterprise customers. Industry analysts predicted enterprise customers would outgrow most managed services solutions, demanding deeper understanding of their environment, high level consultation, and comprehensive, custom managed services solutions. Bedrock is one of the leading experts in this area.

Mr. Bakken received a BS in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin Madison and is a well respected business owner in the greater Chicago area. His continued investment in technology and forward thinking has earned him the respect of his peers and industry leaders worldwide.