About
A standards-led guide for companies that have outgrown reactive IT.
You shouldn't have to guess if your IT is secure, reliable, and under control. 3rd Element Consulting is built for privately owned businesses that depend on technology and want IT handled with standards, security, accountability, and planning, not reactive ticket coverage.
How we work
Clear ownership. Real standards. Honest answers.
We do not sell tickets and call that a partnership. We take ownership of how the environment is run, secured, documented, and improved, and we give leadership a reliable view of what needs attention next.
Every supported environment is held to the same security baseline. Every recurring issue is followed to root cause. Every quarter, leadership gets a clearer plan than they had the quarter before. You can read what that looks like in practice in our client stories.
- Standards before tools.
- Security balanced with convenience.
- Fix the cause before closing the ticket.
- Plain language before jargon.
Behind the scenes
Good IT work is not always visible.
When IT is managed well, much of the work happens before it becomes a disruption. That work has to happen every month, whether the business submitted ten tickets or a hundred and ten.
We built our model this way because ticket volume does not tell the whole story. A stable environment still needs standards, maintenance, and someone accountable for what happens next.
Our perspective
Built from experience, not vendor scripts.
3rd Element started in 2005 and incorporated the following year. We have been in this industry long enough to know how many providers sell IT from the wrong starting point.
Some sell from vendor scripts. Some lead with fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Some push tools because the vendor program rewards it. Some make security sound like a product you buy instead of a responsibility that has to be managed.
That is not how we operate.
We use tools, but we do not confuse tools with outcomes.
A security product does not help much if no one manages the alerts. Backup software does not prove recovery. Microsoft 365 does not stay secure because it was configured once. A ticket system does not mean recurring problems are being fixed at the source.
The way we manage IT today came from years of seeing where support models break, including places where we had to mature ourselves.
The tools support your business outcome.
That outcome is a business that is better protected, easier to support, and carrying less risk today than yesterday.
Industry involvement
We help shape the industry we work in.
3rd Element is active beyond our own client base.
We sit on advisory boards for IT hardware distribution, security solutions, Microsoft distribution, cyber insurance, and many of the products we use and trust. That gives us a voice in the industry and a direct line into the tools, platforms, vendors, and programs our clients depend on.
We also teach and present to the IT industry.
Our team has trained, spoken, and presented to technology providers and industry groups around the world on managed IT, security, operations, standards, vendor strategy, and business maturity.
That perspective helps us see where the industry is moving, where vendors are changing, what insurers are asking for, and what businesses need to prepare for next.
Our clients benefit from a team that is not just reacting to the market, but leading the way to where it is going.
In their words
We have worked with 3rd Element for almost 30 years. They have been quick to respond to calls and have worked with us to accomplish our goals within a reasonable budget. Their focus on network security is unsurpassed.
Leadership
Led by people accountable to the work.
Dawn Sizer, CEO & Co-Founder, and Dave Sizer, COO & Co-Founder. 3rd Element started in 2005 as a subsidiary of a local physical security company, spinning off into its own corporation the following year. Based in Mechanicsburg, PA. Meet the rest of the team.
Recognition
Awards and industry recognition.
- CRN MSP 500. Pioneer 250 (2019–2023), Security 100 (2024–2026)
- ChannelPro Top 20 MSPs. 2025
- ChannelPro Partner in Excellence Award. Dawn Sizer, 2025
- ASCII Partner of the Year. 2024
- CRN Women of the Channel / Power 60 Solution Providers. Dawn Sizer, annually since 2021
- Best MSP, Mechanicsburg. 2024 & 2025
Next step
Get a clearer view of your IT environment.
Find out what is working, where the risks are, and what needs attention next.