Alternis IT

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Co-Founder and CEO of RESTART CBD. We're a CBD wellness brand with a brick and mortar in Austin, Texas as well as an e-commerce site.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Alternis IT?

We built our site internally and as we scaled ran into some challenges that we decided to look for some professional help for.

For example: One of our emails was hacked so no one from my team could send emails. Then we were having issues with our ecommerce order updates not getting sent out to customers.

We also were having issues with our POS speaking to our ecommerce because we're a cannabis business we experience not being in compliance for a lot of integrated systems.

These were areas that were causing stress on our customer experience because customers weren't getting properly updated about their orders. We couldn't do business successfully without a break in communication due to our emails not being able to be delivered.

And the POS to Ecommerce was causing inventory management nightmares which taxed my team and caused an unpleasant experience for our customers who would order items we didn't have in stock. We desperately needed someone who could help provide expert help for our business with the nuanced details of our industry.

What were your goals for this project?

I wanted to eliminate the technology issues so we could have better seamless communication with our customers and a better online experience.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Alternis IT was recommended to us by a friend who had used their services in California, so while we were in Texas the work we needed wasn't necessary to be done in person and we liked the confidence that Alternis IT displayed. The decision makers were my co-founder and I as we're a small business so we don't have a lot of hierarchy in making decisions. We considered 3 companies in total, two remote, and one locally. But we saw they had worked with cannabis clients previously and that made us feel like they would understand our unique concerns when it came to how we had set up and integrated our current technology stack.

Describe the project in detail.

Once we selected this vendor we had a discovery call to outline the scope of what we wanted done. We're a lean team so we are able to move quickly on our end and Alternis IT matched that pace.

It was great. From our first call and after signing a contract and NDA, we were kicked off within a week and they were able to get in and start addressing the challenges. We wanted them to tackle the order email deliverability since that was the biggest pain point for our online customers not receiving communication from us.

They were able to resolve that one fairly quickly which built confidence with our team on their capabilities. From there they tackled our internal emails not being sent, and they ended up suggesting and setting us up on Google so we had one dashboard to manage all emails, etc. It was beyond what we were expecting and actually has added a lot of value to how our team manages our internal communications.

The largest part of the project took the longest, our inventory syncing issues had a lot of hidden bugs and initial solves didn't seem to stick so we ended up having to go back and forth on this one over the course of a few weeks but both our team and Alternis IT were very proactive in communicating updates and keeping our team in the loop that while it was delayed it felt good to have a team who was communicating with us directly.

What was the team composition?

We worked with a strategist who initially consulted and managed our project and then with a developer who helped dig in and resolve the technical issues. The size of the team did not change over time and we felt we were working with qualified people.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Everything is smooth sailing! We have a seamless communication stream from our online orders to our customers and haven't received any complaints about not receiving online order status since Alternis IT resolved our issue. Which is a huge load off our back and one less thing we have to work on. Also with our inventory working we are having far to none mixups of people ordering things that our out of stock which ultimately provides a better customer experience overall. Allowing our team to focus on scaling the business instead of plugging up holes in the ship.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Can not speak more highly about their communication. They were prompt, responsive and answered every single question we had. We've hired agencies in the past and unfortunately haven't had that great of communication but would happily work with their team again. They exceeded our teams expectations and we can't wait to send them more work to help us address.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was so blown away by this vendors knowledge of our issues. Because we're cannabis we can't use regular POS solutions that other small businesses can take advantage of so we have a bit of a Frankenstein solution which has it's own set of challenges we have to overcome. Not only did Alternis IT quickly familiarize themselves with our current system but they worked to understand our unique set up to provide a solution tailored to what will set our business up for continued success. That's all we could ask for is that we felt like our concerns were being heard and that there was a genuine path forward to reach a resolution that puts our business on the right track to scale.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We felt like given the scope, the work was done according to what our expectations were even exceeding them at some points. It did end up costing a little over out budget (which we discussed) but it was needed to get the solution to the place that it is, so overall we're happy with the investment and the time it took to resolve these literal monkeys on our backs so we can move faster as a business. It's true you get what you pay for, and we'd rather pay for quality with this communication than a vendor who overpromises and under delivers.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a CEO of marketing and Advertising company in silicon valley, we server small business and corporate clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Alternis IT?

As marketing and advertising company we were looking for a reliable connectivity in office and also were looking for storage solutions and hired Alternis IT to do that.

What were your goals for this project?

To have more reliable, fast and secure network.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Connected with them through a friend, in our first meeting I felt that he is the one for the job based on the knowledge and insight he had about our business.

Describe the project in detail.

creating office network and storage solution was the main goal. Alternis IT came up with a strategy and equipment needed to make the project happen.

What was the team composition?

They had multiple people working on project and it was done by the time promised.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The main problem was slow internet and network and in our business speed and network reliability is essential. what Alternis IT did was very crucial to our success and on time project delivery.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was very awesome and effective.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They delivered what they promised on time, and it was very clean work.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We were very satisfied with their service and felt more like partnership than vendor.