Stratosphere Networks
About
Stratosphere Networks is a technology advisory firm that helps businesses identify and select solutions across unified communications, contact center, cybersecurity, managed IT, and related technology categories. Founded in 2010, the company acts as a vendor-neutral trusted advisor, providing solution comparisons, supplier negotiations, implementation oversight, and managed services. They serve as a channel between businesses and technology providers, helping clients bypass traditional sales pro...
Details
VenSearch Intelligence
Ideal Customer
- Stratosphere Networks positions itself to serve businesses of all sizes but its case studies, testimonials, and blog content most clearly reflect SMB and mid-market clients — including mid-size companies, multi-location businesses, mortgage lenders, medical supply companies, and organizations migrating from legacy Cisco or Avaya on-premises systems.
- Their advisory model is particularly suited to organizations without a large internal IT procurement team that need vendor-neutral guidance to navigate complex UCaaS, CCaaS, cybersecurity, and managed IT marketplaces.
Key Differentiators
- Stratosphere Networks positions itself as a 100% client-side, vendor-neutral trusted advisor — its advisors are paid the same commission rate by all suppliers and do not represent any single vendor, giving them no financial incentive to favor one solution over another.
- Advisory services are provided at no cost to clients (suppliers pay commissions in lieu of a direct sales rep), with a supplier price-parity guarantee ensuring clients pay no more than if they went direct.
Industries Served
- Stratosphere Networks markets its services across all industries and explicitly lists verticals on its website including healthcare, manufacturing, legal, financial/insurance/real estate, automotive, government/SLE (state/local/education), media/marketing/communications, nonprofit, and construction.
- The firm has dedicated healthcare IT content focused on HIPAA compliance, EHR/EMR integration, and patient data security, and has served financial services, investment banking, mechanical engineering, and design industry clients as evidenced by client testimonials.
Service Coverage
- Stratosphere Networks is primarily a Chicago-area firm that has expanded its advisory footprint nationally.
- The company is headquartered in the Chicago area (with addresses listed in Evanston and Glenview, IL) and maintains office listings across the Midwest (Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Iowa), Northeast (New York), Southeast (Florida), and Southwest (Texas).
Partnerships
- Stratosphere Networks participates in the AVANT master agent/Technology Solutions Distributor (TSD) channel, where it holds both Gold and Platinum Pinnacle loyalty status — among AVANT's highest partner tiers.
- Named technology partners include Microsoft, Google Cloud, RingCentral (Certified Delivery Partner status earned in 2023), Zoom (Zoom Phone Certified Integrator status earned in 2023), GoTo (GoTo Onboarding Assistance Certification completed in 2023), Avaya, 8x8, Vonage, Genesys, Five9, Talkdesk, NICE inContact, Cisco, Cisco Meraki, Citrix, and Apple, among others.
Company Size & Ownership
- Stratosphere Networks traces its roots to 2003 when co-founders Steve Melchiorre and Kevin Rubin launched sister company Converged Communication Systems (CCS); Stratosphere Networks itself launched in 2010.
- Employee count estimates vary across sources (LinkedIn lists 51–200, while more granular trackers suggest the post-2021 advisory-only firm is closer to 10–20 employees), reflecting the significant reduction after the 2021 divestiture.
Compliance & Certifications
- Stratosphere Networks achieved HIPAA compliance as an organization (announced in 2018) and offers HIPAA Compliance as a Service as part of its managed cybersecurity portfolio.
- The firm previously held the CompTIA MSP Trustmark certification (held continuously since 2012), which sets standards for MSP operational and security practices.
Compiled from public sources by VenSearch · Last researched October 14, 2026
Offerings
17 offeringsBusiness Process Outsourcing (BPO) Advisory
Stratosphere Networks helps businesses identify and connect with BPO providers to outsource call center agents, with the goal of improving customer experience and containing costs. Advisors match clients with BPO providers that are well-versed in their specific industry.
Client Hub
Stratosphere Networks provides clients with a single dashboard that offers insights into critical data such as contracts, renewal dates, and financial information to enhance strategic decision-making. This tool is part of their advisor service offering.
Cloud, SaaS, Licensing Procurement & Management
Stratosphere Networks manages the procurement and ongoing management of licenses for cloud and SaaS solutions, including Microsoft 365 and Azure, using a convenient dashboard with 98.5 percent fully automated provisioning. The team handles employee onboarding and offboarding, package updates, and other aspects of license management, and has completed more than 15,000 Microsoft 365 mailbox migrations.
Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) Advisory
Stratosphere Networks provides advisory services to help businesses find and implement the right cloud contact center solution, including CCaaS platforms, AI-powered tools, and business process outsourcing options. Services include needs analysis, migration from on-premises solutions such as Cisco and Avaya, supplier meeting coordination, side-by-side comparisons, price negotiation, and implementation support. Their advisors have over 20 years of experience with telephony and contact center solutions.
Data Center and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Advisory
Stratosphere Networks helps businesses find data center, colocation, and IaaS solutions by providing objective side-by-side provider comparisons, virtual data center tours, and expert guidance through migration planning and vendor evaluation. Advisors assist with finding managed data center services, customized dedicated servers, colocation, and virtual or dedicated server deployments.
Employee and Customer Experience (EX/CX) Advisory
Stratosphere Networks advises businesses on strategies and technologies to transform both customer and employee experiences. This service involves identifying and recommending the right tools and approaches to improve engagement and satisfaction across both internal and external audiences.
Fiber Connectivity & SD-WAN Advisory
Stratosphere Networks provides a fiber locator tool for immediate pricing from top connectivity providers and advises businesses on securely connecting all locations, people, and data with SD-WAN solutions. The service helps clients identify the best connectivity and networking options across leading providers in their area.
Implementation & Project Management (Professional Services)
Stratosphere Networks offers white-glove implementation and project management services to ensure smooth deployments of technology solutions selected through their advisory process. These professional services cover the full deployment lifecycle and are available for UCaaS, CCaaS, and other technology categories.
Managed Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS)
Stratosphere Networks offers 24/7 platform management and full-service operational support for cloud contact center solutions, with SLAs measured in minutes. The service provides access to experts certified in major CCaaS platforms such as Five9, NICE inContact, Genesys, Talkdesk, and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Contact Center, with flexible support packages available.
Managed Cybersecurity Services (MSSP) Advisory
Stratosphere Networks advises businesses on managed cybersecurity solutions including Extended Detection and Response (XDR), Security Operations Center as a Service (SOCaaS), penetration testing, incident and breach response, defense-in-depth strategies, risk mitigation services, fractional CISO, and Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR). The firm helps clients select and deploy the right combination of proactive security technologies and services to combat evolving threats.
Managed Cybersecurity Solutions (MSSP)
Stratosphere Networks delivers a comprehensive suite of managed cybersecurity solutions including security risk assessments, employee security awareness training with simulated phishing, penetration testing, third-party vendor risk management, managed firewall, SIEM, HIPAA compliance as a service, backup disaster recovery, endpoint security, and managed security service provider (MSSP) support. The firm tailors its security offerings to each client's unique needs and risk level.
Managed IT Services Advisory
Stratosphere Networks connects businesses with managed IT service providers tailored to their unique requirements, covering areas such as strategic IT consulting, managed Microsoft Office 365 and Azure, remote support, vendor liaison services, cybersecurity, web and mobile app development, and procurement management. The firm evaluates each client's situation and identifies MSP partners and solutions to meet their specific organizational objectives.
Managed PBX
Stratosphere Networks provides managed services for businesses with on-premises PBX phone systems, covering major brands including remote and onsite support, maintenance, proactive monitoring, traffic assessments for trunk utilization, end user training, wiring and cabling, network assessments, and cloud migration assistance.
Managed UCaaS (Unified Communications as a Service)
Stratosphere Networks manages cloud phone system platforms on behalf of clients, handling moves, adds and changes, configuration of voicemail and auto attendant menus, supplier management, solution management via customer portal, end user support and training, and proactive monitoring. The team is certified in leading UCaaS suppliers.
Ongoing Strategic Consulting Services
Stratosphere Networks provides ongoing IT consulting and advisory services to help businesses continuously align their technology strategies with organizational goals. This includes long-term IT strategic planning, project prioritization, and budgeting support delivered through a cloud-based platform that presents data visually.
Strategic Advisory Services - Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Stratosphere Networks advises businesses on leveraging agentic AI, generative AI, and AI workflow automation to increase operational efficiency and deliver better experiences. Their advisors help clients identify and select AI solutions tailored to their specific needs, including conversational AI for self-service and AI-powered agent assistants.
Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) / Cloud Phone Systems Advisory
Stratosphere Networks helps businesses navigate the complex UCaaS marketplace by providing vendor-neutral guidance, detailed solution comparison matrices, and exclusive market research to identify the best cloud phone system. Their advisors have over 20 years of experience with UCaaS migrations and implementations and offer white-glove project management services throughout the selection and deployment process.
Considering Stratosphere Networks?
Our team will work with you to determine if Stratosphere Networks is the right fit for your organization. From research and assessment through procurement negotiation and ongoing vendor management — we handle the entire process at no cost to you.