Courtesy LayerEight
By Ann Donnelly
A Plattsburgh-based managed IT services firm has cemented its commitment to the Greater Glens Falls and Saratoga region with a dedicated office on Broad Street in Glens Falls.
LayerEight, which launched its current brand in January 2021, previously maintained a full-time technician in the area. In 2026, the company decided to establish a dedicated office adjacent to the new South Street developments. The firm brought on account executive Bryan Carr to staff the location and spearhead local growth.
Vicki Marking, director of sales and marketing, said the new office positions the company amid local growth. “There’s so much going on around us right now,” Marking said.
Carr, who lives in Saratoga, is tasked with building relationships across the region.
“I love what I do here,” Carr said. “Being able to go out to different ribbon cuttings, seeing these new businesses, introducing them to the LayerEight brand and telling them what we do is something that I’ve done a little bit before, but never on this scale.”
Carr is no stranger to the local business landscape. Before transitioning to the IT sector, he spent nine years in the U.S. Navy. During his last two and a half years of service, he worked as a Navy recruiter with stops in Colonie, Clifton Park and Saratoga.
“What drew me to LayerEight is the focus on building real, long-term partnerships,” Carr said. “We are not just here to sell a service. We are here to be a trusted resource for businesses as they navigate IT, cybersecurity and the technology decisions that impact their day-to-day operations.”
While the LayerEight name is relatively new, its roots in the community run deep. Many staff members previously worked for PrimeLink, which provided telephone and internet services throughout the North Country, the Lake Champlain corridor and the Capital Region, including the Glens Falls area. When PrimeLink was sold, a core group of employees retained the IT services division and rebranded it as LayerEight, which now operates as a subsidiary of the 123-year-old Champlain Technology Group.
“I got the fun part of completely branding the new company,” Marking said. She explained that the name LayerEight stems from the IT industry’s OSI model, a seven-layer framework used to identify network functions. “The eighth layer is really not part of the model. It’s known as the human layer. It’s the user,” Marking said. “Technology is great, but if it’s not doing what the user needs it to do, then none of the rest of it really matters.”
Operating as a fully outsourced IT department, LayerEight provides daily troubleshooting, consulting and advanced cybersecurity. The relationship begins with an on-site “discovery” evaluation, followed by customized recommendations. Clients pay an all-inclusive, flat-rate monthly fee, a model Marking said is designed to encourage communication rather than having employees suffer through slow computers to save money.
As Carr meets with business owners in the Glens Falls and Saratoga regions, he has noticed a recurring misconception: that a basic home Wi-Fi network provides adequate security for an office. Small and medium-sized businesses have become prime targets for hackers because they often lack robust defenses.
Rather than forcing their way into networks, today’s hackers often “walk right through the front door” using stolen credentials. “People tend to get in the habit of using one single password,” Carr said. “It just takes one password to unlock everything if you use the same one over and over again.”
To combat these threats, LayerEight provides cybersecurity training for clients’ employees, helping them identify phishing scams and malicious links. The firm also assists businesses in navigating compliance requirements, such as the New York State SHIELD Act, a 2019 law designed to protect consumer data. Recently, the company has begun helping clients draft artificial intelligence policies to prevent employees from inadvertently sharing sensitive company data on platforms like ChatGPT.
Despite technological advancements, Carr emphasized that the Glens Falls office remains focused on personal connection. “I enjoy getting to know people, learning what matters to them, and being someone they feel comfortable reaching out to when they need guidance,” Carr said. “There are no stupid questions. If you have a question, we want you to reach out to us and let us know.”
For more information on LayerEight, visit thelayereight.com.