American PCS was featured in the July 9, 2026, edition of The Daily Nonpareil, sharing the story of how founder Nathan Roane turned a passion for building computers into an IT company serving businesses, hospitals, and nonprofits across Iowa and Nebraska.
Written by Nathan Delaney for the newspaper’s Council Bluffs Biz Buzz series, the feature explores our beginnings at Iowa Western Community College, our growing cybersecurity team, and the personal experiences that shaped our commitment to nonprofit organizations.
At the center of that story is a belief that continues to guide our work: technology support should always be about helping people. Whether we’re resolving a technical issue, monitoring security threats, or supporting an organization’s daily operations, our purpose is to help the people behind the technology succeed.
We’re grateful to The Daily Nonpareil for sharing our story and to the clients and community members who have helped American PCS grow.
As Featured in The Daily Nonpareil
‘Evolved Over Time’
Local company founded in Iowa Western dorm room
By Nathan Delaney, Council Bluffs Nonpareil
Published July 9, 2026
When Nathan Roane registered a small computer building business from his dorm room at Iowa Western Community College, he had no idea it would one day grow into one of the region’s most trusted IT service providers. Today, American PCS operates out of a large commercial building, serving hospitals, nonprofits and businesses across Iowa and Nebraska. But the company’s story is rooted in something far simpler — a teenager who liked building gaming computers and wanted to help people.
Roane founded the company weeks after graduating high school. At the time, he wasn’t thinking about cybersecurity frameworks, managed service contracts or a staff of specialized technicians. He was just trying to make a little money doing something he enjoyed.
“I registered the company originally in the dorms of Iowa Western when I was 18 years old,” Roane said. “At the time, it was making gaming computers, and then it just kind of evolved over time.”
That evolution would eventually turn his one man operation into a full-scale managed service provider, supporting dozens of organizations across the region. American PCS functions like an outsourced IT department for businesses and nonprofits. Instead of waiting for something to break, the company provides ongoing maintenance, cybersecurity monitoring and technical support for a flat monthly rate.
More than 60% of the company’s clients are nonprofits, an intentional shift that reflects Roane’s personal values and life experiences. But what Roane believes truly sets American PCS apart isn’t the list of clients or the services they offer, it’s the philosophy behind the work.
“We believe in supporting people through technology,” Roane said. “A lot of IT people want to just fix the thing and we like to help the people by fixing the thing.”
That people first mindset influences everything from customer service to hiring. Roane said he looks for employees who genuinely enjoy helping others, not just those with technical expertise.
“You can always train the technical aspect of thing. You can’t train the person,” Roane said. “Getting those that genuinely like to help people has made us a stronger organization.”
Unlike many tech companies that rely heavily on advertising, American PCS grew almost entirely through referrals. As clients changed jobs or moved to new organizations, they often brought the company with them.
The firm’s steady growth eventually pushed the company out of its original office. Three years ago, Roane purchased the building the company now occupies, an investment that signaled a new chapter.
“We were growing, there’s just very limited options for commercial real estate,” Roane said. “When this opened up, we jumped on it. We’ve doubled in size since moving in here.”
The new space gave the company room to expand its staff and services, especially in cybersecurity, which has become one of its fastest growing divisions.
As technology has advanced, so have the risks. Roane says the rise of artificial intelligence, deepfakes and AI generated malware has forced companies like his to rethink how they protect clients. Cybersecurity used to be as simple as installing antivirus software. Today, it requires a layered approach that follows national frameworks and includes constant monitoring.
“It used to be where simply having an antivirus solution, you were in good shape,” Roane said. “Now you need defense in depth, firewalls, antivirus, MDR, a 24/7 SOC that’s monitoring.”
This shift has changed the structure of the company itself. Instead of generalists who handle everything from password resets to security alerts, American PCS now employs specialists dedicated solely to cybersecurity.
Despite its patriotic name “American PCS” wasn’t originally chosen for symbolism. In fact, it wasn’t even meant to represent the company’s current services.
“The ‘PCS’ originates from performance computer systems, which has nothing to do with what we do now,” Roane said. “I put an ad in the phone book and I wanted it be towards the top so I started the name with American. American Performance Computer Systems took two lines in the phone book, and I know that would stick out and draw people’s eyes.”
Over time, the company outgrew the original meaning, and the name simply became “American PCS”. Even the company’s logo has humble origins.
“I paid an employee’s girlfriend to make it,” Roane said. “I needed a logo, and then just stuck with it.”
Roane hired his first employee in 2007, the same year he moved the business out of his house and into its first office. The transition from a one person operation to a team was a major shift.
“It was a transition,” Roane said. “For several years, I was what a lot of IT companies are today, an individual with some helpers where everything went through me.”
The real turning point came when he began hiring people with stronger technical skills than his own.
“The biggest change was hiring people smarter than me,” Roane said. “Stepping back from the day to day was probably a bigger transition than hiring my first employee.”
Today, American PCS employs a full team of technicians, cybersecurity specialists, and support staff.
Roane’s commitment to serving nonprofits is deeply personal. In 2017, his son suffered a stroke around birth, a traumatic experience that caused him to reconsider the future of the company.
“When he was born, he had a stroke around birth,” Roane said. “I actually thought I was going to sell the company and create a nonprofit to support kids that had cerebral palsy and childhood stroke.”
After a prayerful reflection, he decided instead to use his business as a way to support organizations already doing that work. That decision reshaped the company’s mission and client base. Today, nonprofits make up the majority of American PCS’s customers, a direct result of that turning point.
When looking ahead, Roane doesn’t talk about revenue targets or expansion quotas. Instead, he focuses on controlled growth and staying true to the company’s mission.
“Helping more people, expanding, protecting organizations,” he said. “Continuing what we’re doing without growing so large that we lose what made us great.”
Technology will continue to evolve, and so will the threats that come with it. But Roane believes American PCS is prepared to meet those challenges while staying grounded in the values that shaped it from the beginning.
From a dorm room at Iowa Western to a thriving business serving nonprofits across the region, American PCS is a reminder that even in the fast moving world of technology, relationships still matter most.
Source: The Daily Nonpareil, July 9, 2026, pages A1 and A3. Article by Nathan Delaney. Minor typographical and spacing corrections applied for readability.
Supporting Your People Through Better Technology
Our business has changed considerably since those first gaming computers, but the reason behind our work remains the same.
We believe in supporting people through technology. Behind every technical issue is someone trying to do their job, serve a customer, or advance a mission. Our role is to help that person succeed.
That belief shapes how we support businesses, hospitals, and nonprofits across Iowa and Nebraska. Through managed IT services, cybersecurity monitoring, strategic planning and everyday technical support, we help keep systems running, strengthen security, and give your team the support it needs to keep moving forward.
As technology evolves and our capabilities grow, we remain committed to the relationships, helpful service, and care for people that have guided American PCS from the beginning.
Looking for an IT partner who puts your people first? Contact American PCS to discuss how we can support your team and your organization’s mission.
contact@american-pcs.com 712-256-7889
American PCS
Reliable IT. Advanced Cybersecurity. Clear Strategic Direction.
