Casi Dow — DealerRefresh Vendor Library

Here is your sales prep brief, fully sourced: --- ## Company Research — Casi Dow ### About Helion Technologies Helion Technologies was founded in 1997, starting in a basement, by Erik Nachbahr, who serves as President and Founder. The company is privately held, headquartered in Timonium, Maryland, with 201–500 employees. Helion is the largest managed IT and cybersecurity services provider in the U.S. focusing exclusively on the unique needs of automobile and heavy truck dealers. --- ### What They Do Helion is the only company in the nation that unites IT, cybersecurity, and compliance under one roof—built specifically for auto and truck dealerships. - **Managed IT Services** — Expert support for DMS, CRM, VoIP, internet, and more, available whenever the dealership is open. - **Cybersecurity** — Staff includes Certified Information System Security Professionals (CISSPs) and Certified Information System Security Auditors (CISSAs). - **Compliance / FTC Safeguards** — Managed compliance services that go beyond storing documentation — Helion monitors, manages, and resolves the technical issues that put compliance at risk, including penetration testing and vulnerability scans. - **Security Awareness Training** — The training program helps dealers comply with the FTC Safeguards Rule to protect consumer personal information; dealerships providing financing are required to provide employees with security awareness training. - **Tekion Optimization** — Most dealerships only use a fraction of Tekion's capabilities; Helion helps unlock the rest, and when configured and optimized correctly, dealerships can boost employee productivity, improve customer satisfaction, and increase dealership profitability. - **Field Support** — While most issues are resolved remotely, Helion has technicians located across the country, ready to assist on-site when needed. - **Scale** — Erik Nachbahr's expertise has enabled him to build the nation's largest dealer-focused managed IT services organization; Helion Technologies supports more than 750 dealerships and the more than 30,000 individuals they employ. - **Notable Customers** — Summit Truck Group, which operates 33 commercial truck and bus dealerships across 8 states, retained Helion to manage its IT infrastructure and support more than 1,400 employees. - **Recent News** — Helion founder Erik Nachbahr and Black Breach CEO Justin Shanken recently participated in a discussion hosted by Truist Dealer Commercial Services, breaking down where dealers stand today on cyber risk and what dealerships must do to protect themselves. Helion has also been actively publishing guidance around the Tekion DMS migration wave, framing it as an operational transformation — not just a technology upgrade. - **Industry Recognition** — Helion Technologies was named a winner on the 2023 Managed Service Provider 500 in the Pioneer 250. --- ### DealerRefresh Audience Fit Helion sells IT infrastructure, cybersecurity, and compliance services directly to dealership operators and ownership groups. Their buyers are **dealer principals, GMs, and fixed ops directors** — the exact people who authorize technology spend and stress about uptime, data breaches, and FTC compliance. DealerRefresh's readership is squarely in that lane. **Why each DealerRefresh product fits:** - **Forum Banners (3,000+ daily auto retail pros):** Helion needs brand-level awareness with GMs and dealer principals who are actively evaluating IT/cybersecurity vendors — especially post-CDK. The shock of the 2024 CDK ransomware attack may be fading, but its impact is still shaping dealership cybersecurity; frozen titles, dead sales systems, and millions in lost revenue reminded everyone how quickly operations collapse when cybercriminals find a way in. Banner visibility in a daily-read forum keeps Helion top of mind during an active buying cycle. - **Retargeting Pixel (Facebook/Instagram):** DealerRefresh visitors who research IT/cyber topics and then see Helion ads in their social feeds are warm, self-qualified prospects. This is ideal for following up after someone reads a DealerRefresh thread about DMS security or FTC Safeguards compliance. - **Demo / Review Video (Alex & Jeff, 5,000+ views):** Helion's core message — being the only company that unites IT, cybersecurity, and compliance under one roof for dealerships — is nuanced enough that it benefits from a trusted third-party walkthrough. A video demo lets Alex & Jeff ask the questions a GM or dealer principal would actually ask, making the value proposition tangible to non-technical buyers. - **Sponsored Forum Post (permanent, SEO-indexed, AI-cited):** Dealerships face the challenge of juggling cybersecurity threats, staying compliant with the FTC Safeguards Rule, and keeping IT systems optimized. A sponsored post targeting keywords like *dealership cybersecurity*, *FTC Safeguards Rule*, or *