Cloudforce

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the IT Project Manager of George Mason University

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

George Mason University is Virginia’s largest public research university. Located near Washington, D.C., Mason enrolls 40,000 students from 130 countries and all 50 states. Mason has grown rapidly over the past half-century and is recognized for its innovation and entrepreneurship, remarkable diversity, and commitment to accessibility.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Cloudforce to accomplish?

• Azure Cloud Migration of Citrix Virtual Desktops and Landing zone set up.
• Gain knowledge and expertise to migrate additional resources and services into MS Cloud

SOLUTION

How did you find Cloudforce?

Referral

Why did you select Cloudforce over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget

How many teammates from Cloudforce were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

The current Citrix virtual application and desktop environmentwas near end of life. ITS needed to replace this environment before December 2024 in order to avoid licensing and maintenance costs. ITS has identified Azure Virtual Desktop as a solution to replace the CVL, PVC, and provide compute for Secure Research including NIST 800-171. This project is to build out the new environment and migrate all existing compute to the Azure platform before May 2024.   Consultation for landing zone configuration with respect to DNS/AD and Azure Firewall was also done. Additional work for UIPtath configuration and deployment was also performed. Contractor assistance and Staff augmentation is required for this effort.  We have contracted with Cloudforce to assist GMU with this effort. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• We were able to meet our December 2024 deadline.
• The consulation hours from Cloudforce have enabled our team to pick up additional skills and knowledge.
• Cloudforce also provided IAC to help us to deploy UIPath for Robotic Process Automtion needs at Mason.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Yes

What was your primary form of communication with Cloudforce?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The architectural skills and project management at Cloudforce have been extremely flexible and knowledgable. They know our needs sometimes before we do and anticipate what we will need which is extremely helpful as GMU staff come up to speed with Azure technologies and services.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Cloudforce could have done differently?

There were some configuration issues with one of our AVD environments which we had to redo but it wasn't a showstopper.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm an IT Manager of environmental consulting company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Cloudforce?

Our legacy IT infrastructure was based on Citrix virtualization with limited cloud-based capabilities. We hired this vendor to migrate our infrastructure to Azure Virtual Desktop and reduce the footprint in our datacenter.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We put out an RFP and shortlisted 3 cloud consulting firms. After interviewing them, we chose this company based on their clear proposal, costs, experience, and capability to meet strict deadline.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

First, they led a series of discovery workshops to better understand our business requirements.

Then, they proposed a path forward to limit downtime for our employees, improvements to the existing environment, and introduction of new services/products such as Intune and patch management, Azure Files, DFS, cloud backup, etc. They also supported us with SD-WAN deployment along the process.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We had a project manager, 2 senior cloud engineers, cloud architect, cloud solutions administrator, and nabulaONE team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The migration to Azure VDI was a great success. Most importantly, they were able to complete the project within 4 months with no downtime to our employees.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They had a reliable team of experts who were willing to respond to our questions at any time. We had frequent meetings (sometimes several times a week) to go over the progress, new challenges, and timeline.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Responsiveness, dedication, and great communication are just a few impressive qualities we found working with their team.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

There were some delays from Microsoft allocating necessary resources in a specific region. We began the project at two US regions first and had to work on region consolidation as we got closer to the finish line, which their team executed beautifully.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior VP of IT for JBG Smith, a publicly traded real estate investment trust.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cloudforce?

We had some ambitious growth needs a couple of years ago when we went public. We needed a company that could help us modernize our IT infrastructure.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The engagement started with Cloudforce analyzing our infrastructure. They then built a strategy document for us on how to evaluate what’s in our environment and figure out interdependencies and what we need to keep. They then developed and executed an actual migration plan. This involved moving our infrastructure from an on-premise data center to Azure Cloud.

Now, we are engaged with them for managed IT services. They already know our infrastructure, and they currently support it on an ongoing basis. Their responsibilities include handling all of our workstation and server security patching and doing audit responses and cost optimization. They also provide 24/7 on- and off-site IT support.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with 4–5 people from Cloudforce, including a senior network architect, 2–3 engineers, and a client success manager.

How did you come to work with Cloudforce?

My previous boss used Cloudforce at his former job, and he brought them in for specific small projects. My boss had to leave for personal reasons, but I kept the relationship going because I liked the work Cloudforce was doing.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend around $150,000 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2017, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Our uptime has been great. We've also seen a 30%–40% reduction in our Cloud spend on a monthly basis because of Cloudforce’s support.

How did Cloudforce perform from a project management standpoint?

Cloudforce has performed well in terms of project management. We see them as an extension of our team.

We use a SharePoint-based tool for project management, and we typically communicate through Microsoft Teams.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Cloudforce’s project managers really drive things and move things along. We got some really complicated things done on time. When they say they're going to get something done, they get it done.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They're not the cheapest, but we get what we pay for.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure that you're in their wheelhouse for things that they're good at.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the senior director of operations for a healthcare insurance company. My company manages comprehensive health insurance benefits, including the Foreign Service Benefit Plan and other ancillary products such as life insurance, long-term care, and dental insurance. I provide strategic oversight of our IT department.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cloudforce?

Due to the nature of my company's work, we are required to maintain HIPAA standards to protect sensitive member information. We needed to engage a knowledgeable IT vendor who could maintain our systems and cloud-based web applications according to compliance regulations. Additional, Cloudforce is helping our organization advance technological systems to keep up with the ever changing healthcare industry while meeting to needs of our diverse membership.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Cloudforce has developed our company's technology roadmap and partners with us to improve, manage and maintain our existing network and systems. We now operate in a cloud-based environment as a result of their efforts to move our antiquated systems to a modern and more secure solution. They manage our cybersecurity efforts and have built processes to protect sensitive member data and ensure enhanced security.

They’ve implement firewall system best practices to protect our CRM, website, and dashboards.Cloudforce also plays a crucial role in our strategic IT planning; they want to better understand our goals to ensure clear alignment with all initiatives. One of our goals is centered around improving the member experience by modernizing member tools.

As a result, Cloudforce launched a major initiative to launch a mobile enhanced version of our member portal where plan subscribers may now access their important insurance documents directly from their iOS or Android devices. Users can now upload pictures of claims directly to the portal, making the process much more accessible and user-friendly. 

We all know that first impressions matter and that every organization's website is essentially a first impression of them. While we offered top-of-the-line products and services, we had a disorganized and cluttered website. The Cloudforce team worked with us to revamp our website by helping with the vetting of various platforms and assisted with standing things up to include building templates and assisting with content development. 

Lastly, in addition to ensuring enhanced security systems for my organization, Cloudforce also assists with periodic staff training to educate and empower our team to avoid phishing attempts and other cyber attacks.

How did you come to work with Cloudforce?

We have a long standing partnership with Cloudforce and have been working with them for as long as I can remember. Certainly before my first day at the organization - before 2018.

How much have you invested with them?

We invest about $1.2 million in the Cloudforce partnership annually based on our needs. Our total investment has been at least around $8.4 million over the years.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with Cloudforce at least since February 2015, and the partnership is ongoing.

What was the team composition?

We work with a team of roughly 5–6 people at Cloudforce, including Jen who is our awesome Project Manager. We have a chance to work with various members of the wonderful Cloudforce team to include program associates and systems engineers, all the way up to Husein Sharaf who is the CTO & President of Cloudforce.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

Cloudforce has helped us accomplish various organizational goals including the goal of effectively engaging members via modernized and user friendly tools. Our new mobile enhanced member portal has helped us engage members in new and meaningful ways. We've been able to increase engagement and track activity within the portal.

To-date, we've been able to report over 200,000 member engagements in the platform. We received positive feedback from members expressing ease of use and access. This work has helped us build stronger relationships with our membership. We’ve had many ideas that seemed too grandiose to achieve, but Cloudforce has been able to bring them to fruition.

How did Cloudforce perform from a project management standpoint?

Cloudforce's project management has been remarkable. Working with Cloudforce feels different than any other partnership because they feel like a part of our internal team. We meet weekly to discuss initiatives, review progress and ensure alignment. 

Cloudforce puts forth significant effort to understand our organization to meet our needs, making the experience much better than others. Jen is responsible for overseeing the project, crafting agendas, ensuring that we meet timelines, and keeping us on track. Jen has been our central point of contact and has been fantastic to work with. 

They typically work within our project deadlines and budget constraints. They always provide clear justification and proactively update us when they need to push out a deadline or budget. However, that hasn’t been a common occurrence, and they’ve always addressed those instances ahead of time. 

They’ve created dashboards to help us keep track of expenses and metrics. We regularly communicate via Microsoft Teams and use Microsoft Task Manager, SharePoint, and other Microsoft Office tools to help us manage projects.

Cloudforce has also started implementing quarterly business reviews, where we have the opportunity to reflect on past quarter accomplishments and assess outstanding work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Cloudforce is intentional about integrating their work with our strategic goals. They take the time to understand our organizational goals to know how to meet our technological needs. The President and CTO has been instrumental in developing the technology roadmap and helping us better understand specific initiatives that could potentially address our goals. 

Even if something is outside of their scope, they have strong industry partnerships that enable them to suggest other resources or facilitate connections to help us as best they can. We’ve had a longstanding relationship with them because they put forth a different kind of sincere, honest and genuine effort that we haven’t seen from other vendors.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can honestly say that Cloudforce has nothing they could improve on. Since implementing the business quarterly reviews, they’ve put themselves in a better position to proactively address all of our concerns, and we’re delighted with the partnership.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

1. Hire Cloudforce for your IT needs.
2. I advise using and making the most out of the dashboards and other helpful tools Cloudforce provides. Take advantage of the quarterly business reviews because they provide a space to revisit and improve on project plans. These supplemental offerings add great value and enhance the nature of our partnership.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of HITT Contracting Inc.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cloudforce?

We were migrating away from the spreadsheets we use for our construction projects and looking to automate our estimating and bidding processes through a single database.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We first went through a discovery phase to identify our requirements and design for the software, and set up an Agile process for the developers to implement in the development phase. They’re building the app from scratch using Microsoft technologies and the Cloud.

The app is essentially a construction estimator for bidding and costs. It utilizes a centralized database among all our estimated bidders, and it uses templates and a modern UI with integrations to other data sources such as a CRM system.

What is the team composition?

We mainly work with a project manager and two developers.

How did you come to work with Cloudforce?

I’ve already worked with Cloudforce from my previous job and hired them based on their development proficiency.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve invested somewhere between $500,000–$750,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership started in October 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Since engaging with Cloudforce, we now have more consistency and transparency in our process, making our operations more efficient.

How did Cloudforce perform from a project management standpoint?

They always make sure to stay on track of the budget, deadlines, and meetings and that every aspect of the development is properly documented.

We manage the project through GitHub and SharePoint and typically communicate through Teams.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re impressed by the quality of their developers, technical experience, and diversity of their team — they’re not just engineers, they’re also analysts who can figure out what needs to be done.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything they need to improve on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would advise you to be more collaborative in the partnership in order to get the most out of your engagement with Cloudforce. Moreover, ensure you get the more experienced people on board for your project instead of the newer ones.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of IT for Anderson Equipment Company, a rental and sales service facility for construction, earth-moving and mining-related equipment.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cloudforce?

We were looking for a cloud solutions partner to help migrate our business into the cloud.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Cloudforce is our primary Microsoft-based cloud solutions partner, and they provide us with custom secure cloud solutions.

What is the team composition?

We mainly work with two people on a daily basis but if I have any high-level questions, I can interface with the owner almost immediately.

How did you come to work with Cloudforce?

I went to a vendor in an unrelated field and asked if they knew any companies who could help us. After checking with their customers, they came back to us with three cloud consultants and we ultimately ended up choosing Cloudforce.

They understood our challenges, came prepared for an in-person meeting, and worked with us as if Anderson Equipment was their own business.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership started in January 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Cloudforce’s leadership completely allowed us to do  business in a way we weren’t previously able to, especially with the Covid pandemic forcing us to change how we operate — the timing for our partnership couldn’t have been better.

The cloud has been a reliable and worthwhile investment, and Cloudforce has been the best partner to move forward with.

How did Cloudforce perform from a project management standpoint?

Their leadership on the project has been exceptional. We had weekly status calls for updates and progress, and they shared any advice on how to improve our operations.

Cloudforce has become a vital part of our team and we feel they’ve got a stake in our company’s success. Moreover, everything they do is custom-tailored for each individual customer, so it’s been a refreshing experience.

We mostly communicate through email, phone, and Microsoft Teams.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re impressed with their knowledge and how they’re able to integrate well into our team — Cloudforce is also very understanding, and they want to see us succeed.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They ask me the same question every 5–6 months, but I can’t think of anything they need to improve on. They really understand their role and how to operate as a company.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would advise you to have a deep understanding of your own systems, so that nothing gets left behind during the migration process.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CIO of UCLA Anderson School of Management

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Graduate school of management

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Cloudforce to accomplish?

• Roll out a Generative AI platform and some initial applications/bots

SOLUTION

How did you find Cloudforce?

Referral

Why did you select Cloudforce over others?

• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Cloudforce were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Held a 2-day planning and roadmap session with us to figure out the most applicable and quickest time-to-value use cases. Application development essentially took about 30 business days from start to finish and at the end we have 2 production ready applications/conversational chabots, in addition to a runbook/playbook that enabled self-sufficiency once the consultants departed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

2 production ready applications were developed within the promised timeline and under budget.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Yes, very attentive. The project was well-documented, and they had excellent communication.

What was your primary form of communication with Cloudforce?

In-Person Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The company size (relatively small) enabled a more-focused and highly responsive team effort and delivery.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Cloudforce could have done differently?

None

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the President of S.H. Brooks Co., Inc.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Provide economic consulting services to admission and financial aid offices of colleges and universities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Cloudforce to accomplish?

• Third party support of our entire computing/analysis/information infrastructure.

SOLUTION

How did you find Cloudforce?

• Online Search

Why did you select Cloudforce over others?

• Pricing fit our budget

How many teammates from Cloudforce were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Ongoing consultation and support

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• smoothly functioning technology infrastructure.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Items were delivered on time. Quick reaction to requests for support.

What was your primary form of communication with Cloudforce?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

They provide extremely high-quality support.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Cloudforce could have done differently?

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Welch and Rushe is the premier mechanical, electrical and plumbing firm in the greater Washington DC Metro area.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Cloudforce?

We engaged Cloudforce to address a persistent Azure AD Connect challenge that our incumbent MSP could not resolve.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Cloudforce was engaged via a blind inquiry via their website. Cloudforce was a known premier cloud solutions provider in the Greater Washington DC metro area. I was pleased to have the opportunity to engage them for this (as well as other) specific engagements.

Describe the project in detail and walk through their service package.

Cloudforce addressed an existing Azure AD Connect issue whereby the Hybrid relationship was no longer functional. Cloudforce was able to quickly assess and resolve the issue. The solution persists to this day.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

• Brad - Head of Partnerships
• Vu - Lead Engineer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Specific outcomes include restored functionality and a persistent solution - those are the only success factors/desired outcomes available...

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Significant synergies exist within our relationship. The goals and objectives were clearly stated and quickly executed.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The most impressive aspect of working with Cloudforce is their ability to understand the business impact, assess and resolve. The consistent ability to follow up was a key factor in continuing to engage with Cloudforce.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

None.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the AVP, Director of Business Systems for Lamar Advertising. Lamar Advertising Company is the nation’s leading outdoor advertising provider. We specialize in outdoor advertising and have been offering our clients innovative solutions for over 100 years.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Cloudforce?

We needed staff augmentation for one of our critical applications. We also work with Cloudforce on a consultative and strategic partnership level.

SOLUTION

How did you select this agency and what were the deciding factors?

I was introduced to Cloudforce through a relationship my CTO had with them in a previous role. When working together with Cloudforce it was evident they would provide excellent solutions.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Our charting and reservations system needed staff augmentation. Cloudforce to us that spun up on the project and made true impact immediately.

Describe the recruitment process in detail.

We discussed needs from a technology stack perspective. We were presented with candidates timely and interviewed them. The candidates put forth were professional, courteous, and experts in the technology we needed. The onboarding process was immediate and they made impact immediately.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were able to provide enhancements and stability to the Charting and reservations application.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Our workflow was seamless with the teams.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Speaking and dealing with a team of people that listened and understood our needs.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

I am very pleased with our partnership with Cloudforce.