Best of ORL 2025: Professional Services Winner Spotlights

Take a closer look at this year's first place winners in the professional services category.
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Little Diversified Architectural Consulting increases performance through interior design. ©Chad Baumer

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Winner: Commercial Interior Design | Little Diversified Architectural Consulting

Innovation. Sustainability. Aspirational Living. These are just a few of the things that Little Diversified Architectural Consulting lives and breathes. It looks to develop new styles that fit new design challenges and also anticipates future needs with an entrepreneurial team that challenges boundary and convention while providing unparalleled service.

Little looks to increase human and organizational performance through interior design. Beyond architecture, it looks to create a collaborative partnership by listening to its partners’ goals and aspirations so that every space is beautifully designed, thoughtful, functional and future-minded. The company, founded in 1964, has more than 440 employees across six locations (five are outside of Florida) and has won more than 250 awards. Employees are guided by the principles of Care, Stretch and Spark, set forward by founder Bill Little: Care about their clients and the people who work beside them; stretch their imagination, ambition and potential; and spark a spirit of excitement in everyone around them.

They’re based on Little’s mantra: “What’s in it for the other person?”

Little’s design process reflects the American Institute of Architects’ framework for design excellence and is guided by specific criteria in the areas of health, energy, water and social equity.

Project types hit a variety of industries, such as healthcare, education, retail, hospitality and recreation.


Winner: Travel Agency | KMV Travel

Parks is the trip of a lifetime. And planning will be a breeze when you consult KMV Travel, an expert on Disney travel planning. When you work with a KMV Travel specialist, you can be assured that your family is being guided by experts in both Disney Destinations and travel.

These experts can help with the following destinations: Walt Disney World, Disneyland Resort, Disney Cruise Lines, additional cruise vacations, Universal Orlando and Hollywood resorts and all-inclusive beach packages.

And it doesn’t matter if it’s a solo, family or group vacation—your travel advisor will act as your guide from booking to departure, ensuring you have everything you need at the ready so you can concentrate solely on you and your enjoyment.

KMV’s white-glove treatment includes a dedicated concierge travel planner that will guide you through every step of the vacation planning process, ensuring that no detail is overlooked; personalized booking recommendations (resorts, park tickets, ground transportation), tailored to match your preferences; dining reservation management; daily itinerary planning with customized options for must-see attractions and special experiences and Lightning Lane assistance—learn how to make the most of the Lightning Lane system.


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Lake House, a nine-story, multi-family apartment building by Finfrock. Photo by Roberto Gonzalez.

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Winner: Commercial Builder | Finrock

Discover the company who’s an expert at delivering a building as a product, rather than a series of services: Finfrock. It’s powered by engineers, in-house architects, a precast manufacturing team, cost estimators, quality control personnel and construction managers—with all this under one roof, why go anywhere else?

Such a project delivery system also means lower costs. With its in-house design manufacturing and construction, Finfrock provides guarantee pricing before the completion of design documents and compresses schedules to give clients predictable costs and on-time completion. Here, there’s one single source of responsibility.

As a vertically integrated company, Finfrock is able to work on multiple phases of a project simultaneously. Unlike the typical construction process, its focus on modular construction greatly reduces delays and the overall time to build.

Finfrock is also a committed to sustainability. Its precast concrete is a strong, durable and flexible material that has more than 100 years of service life, greatly resistant to the elements. This material allows flexibility for redesign or retrofit, so a building can be used for a variety of purposes by several owners over a series of decades. Concrete from its manufacturing plant is recycled as fill or road-based materials, and materials such as wastewater are recycled into the concrete mix.

Finfrock has also embraced solar-powered energy; its Apopka headquarters has 3,740 solar panels that generate 5,079 kilowatt hours of energy each day.

Among Finfrock’s Central Florida portfolio are the Endless Summer Resort (at Universal Orlando Resort) hotel and parking garage, City Center at O-Town West, FAMU Student Housing, the CenterPointe Apartments in Altamonte Springs and the I-Drive 360 parking garage.


Cogent Bank Headquarters

Cogent Bank believes that banking is personal and in treating its constituents fairly; it has its own Knowledge Center to keep you up-to-date on scams and business news. ©Macbeth Studio

Winner: Bank | Cogent Bank

Cogent Bank is different by design. It believes that banking is personal and requires high-touch, innovative services to make managing financial transactions easier. The company is market-driven with local decision making, uses diversified, full-service, leading-edge technology and hires independent, experienced, leaders to make a difference for its customers.

It also believes in treating all its constituents fairly; its employees conduct themselves with honesty and integrity, fulfill their responsibilities in a responsive and positive manner and resolve any errors quickly. All things you want in a bank.

Cogent offers business banking, personal banking and private banking, and also has an online Knowledge Center that lets you explore topics such as the latest scams and business news, from the Cogent Academy. It also lets you take better control of your money through its partnership with Banzai; improve your financial literacy through a series of topics such as setting (and adhering to) a budget, teaching children about money, getting out of debt and buying a home.

Cogent is also a huge proponent of internet banking awareness and offers helpful tips for safe banking online. These security measures are a good refresher course for anyone who banks online (and who doesn’t these days?) no matter how protective you are of your information—it goes well beyond the basics.

Cogent has multiple branches in the Orlando area and throughout Florida.


Winner: IT Services | Firewall Computer Services

Firewall Computer Services takes care of all your IT needs so you can focus on your business—it is their business to ensure your technology increases your productivity, not slow it down.

Orlando services include:

  • Network & Server: Firewall designs, monitors, secures and maintains your computer and server network;
  • Managed IT: With its monthly maintenance plan, Firewall makes sure your system is up and running as smoothly as possible, and workstations and servers are monitored remotely;
  • Cloud Computing: Manages your data from a cloud-based service;
  • Backup and data recovery: Makes sure your data, software and emails are always accessible. In case of a natural disaster, Firewall provides a comprehensive disaster recovery plan so you have as little downtime as possible;
  • Anti-virus & Spyware protection: Offers the best products possible to protect your system;
  • Email & Spam protection: Cuts through the spam to increase your email’s speed and reduce its downtime;
  • Smartphone and table support: Brings the office to your phone, IPad or any other mobile device that supports iOS, Android or Blackberry;
  • Laptop and computer repair: Examines your hardware to see if parts can be replaced before you invest in a new laptop or computer.

 


Discover the 2025 PROFESSIONAL SERVICES WINNERS LIST chosen by our readers.

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Categories: Best of Orlando