Computer Solutions East

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the IT Analyst of an automotive dealer

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are an automotive dealer in the midwest.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Computer Solutions East to accomplish?

• Microsoft Products and Service Consulting

SOLUTION

How did you find Computer Solutions East?

Referral

Why did you select Computer Solutions East over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Computer Solutions East were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

Computer Solutions East has provided a variety of consulting on Microsoft products for us. Luke was the initial contact we started with and he provided a lot of insight on any project we needed to complete. Their whole team is professional and has a great work ethic!

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

A variety of projects were completed in the appopriate time frame that was needed. CSE had lots of resources to get projects completed after business hours for us and that is something we value.

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

Projects were delivered on time and CSE always has someone in charge assigned to a project. If there are any issues, a dedicated cusomter success manager is always there to reach out too. 

What was your primary form of communication with Computer Solutions East?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The most impressive aspect of CSE that we found was if there was any roadblocks in a project they would find the appropriate resources to always get the project across the finish line.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Computer Solutions East could have done differently?

We like how a customer success manager was assigned to our account, which has made communication very smooth!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Executive Director of an education company.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a nonprofit post secondary education organization, offering vocational training in the field of fashion design and textiles.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Computer Solutions East to accomplish?

• Purchase and deployment of Microsoft 365 environment for 5 staff members

SOLUTION

How did you find Computer Solutions East?

Referral

Why did you select Computer Solutions East over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Computer Solutions East were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

We needed to identify, evaluate, purchase and install basic startup Microsoft 365 educational licenses for our office staff.  Computer Solutions East created a project plan, walked us through how to purchase and set everything up - understand what we needed, etc.  They set up our licenses and email accounts and trained us all on how to use everything.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

That all our office staff is working together under the Microsoft 365 suite.

That we all had working email addresses

That we were all trained on how to use and navigate the tools.

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

They were very responsive and delivered everything on time.  In fact, they helped push us along and get this done in a more timely manner than we would have been able to do on our own.

What was your primary form of communication with Computer Solutions East?

Virtual Meeting

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

They showed remarkable patience and attentiveness to our small nonprofit and very small project.  We don't have any IT skills on staff in our small nonprofit, and they showed remarkable patience with that and were very responsive to some probably fairly needy seeming questions.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Computer Solutions East could have done differently?

Not that I can think of - they were super patient and helpful.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the IT Coordinator of United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Continual medical education.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Computer Solutions East to accomplish?

Microsoft support for more technical solutions and integrations

SOLUTION

How did you find Computer Solutions East?

Online Search

Why did you select Computer Solutions East over others?

When looking for a vendor they had answers to all our questions.

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

Our security practices are always evolving and we are always looking at ways to utilize the services that we have. CSE has helped us evaluate different solutions and access what our needs are. As our needs change they are very quick and responsive to our needs. Every step is very easy. From quoting licenses to getting services implemented and using the different technologies correctly its nice having the support from their team. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have found success with CSE through the solutions working for our needs. When we are tasked with implementing something there are many options, many ways to go about it. There is no compromises to be made and we know that their team has the knowledge to navigate through the technologies available. 
It can be overwhelming looking at systems and understanding their quirks or what pitfalls you might encounter. Having support from a team who has the knowledge to know what will work for you saves our team much time which we can put towards other matters. 

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

CSE always has the right person for our project. I have had the pleasure of working with many of their staff and when I inquire about something they always are quick to respond and introduce me to a member of their team they feel fit for the task. Sometimes the solution can be resolved through an email or two, sometimes we meet through virtual so they can collect the information they need. I have never had to consider deadlines as they waste no time. 

What was your primary form of communication with Computer Solutions East?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Their knowledge is what always impresses me. When I talk to CSE there is a level of skill that many of us in the field can aspire to get to that you can see in their team. Truley a pleasure to work with them and I always finish our correspondence learning something and improving my own skills. 

Are there any areas for improvement or something Computer Solutions East could have done differently?

I can say with confidence that I do not have any critiques for CSE. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am President of AxxessValue Solutions, a Consulting Company dedicated to Pharmaceutical Industry Consulting, specializing in the area of Market Access.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Computer Solutions East?

Migrate the Company Email system from an external supplier into Microsoft

SOLUTION

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

We carefully reviewed the profile of different offerors and selected Computer Solutions East for their thoroughness in their proposal and fair price estimate

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

The company took the set of emails from all employees of our company, and migrated the entire domain into Microsoft. That required to ensure backups were generated and transition was made off-hours to ensure there were no disruptions in our operations. They provided us excellent post transfer support solving the small issues that emerged after the migration.

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

Three different ones, from the Project Manager, the administrator and the analyst directly engaged in the migration. They were all very professional and always followed up our discussions with written confirmation of agreed decisions.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I was very impressed by their thoroughness and attention to detail. They always provided documentation for their activities and followed up with direct communications and support to users to overcome the small issues that emerged after the migration. I was particularly impressed with the analyst engaged as she was available to us, literally 24 hours 7 days a week during the entire process. Communication with them was very fluid.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Excellent. The company provided direct support to members of our company dealing with small changes and issues that were normally expected in the migration process. Every person that had to deal directly with them were absolutely delighted for the clarity of their communications and attention to details.

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

Thoroughness in written communications, and outstanding support from analyst involved in the migration

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

None that we could think. We were very satisfied with their work.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a retail store located in Greensboro, North Carolina, specializing in the following sales areas: fireplaces, grills, outdoor furniture, home décor, apparel, jewelry, Christmas décor, and gifts.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Computer Solutions East?

Computer Solutions East secured our new Office 365 licenses, configured our current domain with Office 365, set up our accounts, and migrated all email data for our team.

SOLUTION

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

We selected Computer Solutions East because our Sales Lead, Manoj, was very prompt in all correspondence, communications and pricing were clear and transparent, the service proposed was complete beginning-to-end (i.e. there were no missing elements we needed to secure another company to complete or figure out ourselves), and as we can also attest, CSE is highly rated.

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

Secure Office 365 licenses for our team members Domain configuration with Office 365 Set up of email accounts and aliases Mailbox migration from previous server Provided documentation for set-up on additional workstations and mobile devices

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

• Angelica Pardilla - Project Lead
• Roddie Baranda - Project Manager
• Manoj Madhukar - Sales Representative

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Computer Solutions East made our transition to Office 365 and Exchange emails seamless and efficient. They set up all of our accounts and successfully migrated all of our email data quickly and smoothly. Our project lead, Angelica was extremely knowledgeable, prompt, and professional. She was always accessible to answer all of our questions, and she took extra care to test elements such as our scanner to prevent downtime.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Highly effective workflow due to great accessibility to the CSE team and Project Lead. Angelica and the team were always proactive in scheduling as well as available to answer all our questions and troubleshoot when needed.

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

Our team and Project Lead, Angelica, were highly accessible and professional. The vast knowledge of Microsoft was apparent, and customer care is clearly their priority.

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

No improvements needed, our project was successful beginning to end.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the VP of Operations for Compucycle. We providie safe, secure, and responsible End-Of-Life IT electronics recycling practices, destroying our clients’ confidential data, protecting the environment, and ensuring clients ’ IT electronic equipment is managed responsibly and professionally throughout the entire process.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Computer Solutions East?

Our company had outgrown the previous MSP we were using. CSE started helping CompuCycle by rebuilding our website. Their work ethic and communication were excellent, so I felt comfortable branching out to their other services, primarily managing our network infrastructure.

SOLUTION

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

CSE was recommended to us by another customer who were also very satisfied by their performance. I used them on several smaller projects until I felt comfortable. The key reason I made the jump were:

1. Communication - proper expectations were set for project scope, cost, and timeliness.
2. Performance - goals and deadlines were met at, or ahead, of target. All projects were on budget.
3. Positivity - All requests I made were addressed. The team was comfortable taking on challenges. They were accommodating to my schedule and didn't once make me feel that I was burdening them.

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

There are ongoing projects, but that's a good thing. Details are not necessary, but the action items they've undertaken are:

1.  MSP - handle all infrastructure
2. SEO/SMO - Optimize online presence
3. App/Web Development - create and optimize several outdated applications, reports, and our website.

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

There are a lot of components to CSE, however, I've mainly interacted with:

• Support - when I put in an inquiry/ticket
• Managing Partner - when talking about general direction and best practices needed to be implemented.
• Senior Marketing Director - for all marketing/development and project management related inquiries.
• Billing Lead - for any/all billing related inquires

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

All projects happen with a defined scope and their success and progress is shared at an interval of your choosing. All completed successfully: Website build Exchange 2016 to O365 migration Documentation Backup/Redundancy overview Microsoft Security Baseline

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Everything till now has been a success because both parties have equally dedicated resources to every project. Scope creep is also managed actively by both parties. Almost all collaboration is done via Microsoft Teams and through email. Office 365 has been an amazing tool to help us collaborate. Getting on O365 was the first task we implemented and it went through flawlessly.

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

The communication is superb, and everyone we've dealt with has a positive disposition.

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

This is more on me than on CSE, but I think getting a better understanding of how the billing works is key - specifically for Microsoft licensing. Microsoft's cost structure can become overwhelming quickly: small decisions have bigger impacts. The problem is you can implement things in cheap way, or a correct way.

The correct way is substantially more expensive; however, you'll end up having to do the more expensive licenses later in any event. I wish someone would have told me "don't waste your time trying to save money on licenses on the onset. It's a waste of time. You want security baseline, you'll end up having to pay at least x amount per license".

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the office manager at a philanthropy consulting firm headquartered in North NJ. Our company serves the nonprofit community across the US and abroad.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Computer Solutions East?

We've been undergoing internal staff changes and needed to update our emails and communication, including with providing new employees access to former employees' emails and information.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted our new employees to be able to access information with ease and be able to communicate with us without any issues.

SOLUTION

How did you select Computer Solutions East?

Our company has worked with them before and never had any issues.

Describe the project in detail.

We needed to set up a few company emails, remove a few people, email forwarding, and migrate emails.

What was the team composition?

We were assigned a sales specialist, who was our main point of contact, an IT project manager along with a system administrator to assist with the migration.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our project was simpler than others, but so far we haven't had any issues.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Communication was easy. I was the office point person, so I was involved in all the steps. I spoke to everyone involved and didn't have any issues.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

How fast they responded to my requests, and how fast the project was completed. I was very impressed.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I was very satisfied with their work every step of the way. They were fast and efficient.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the project manager of Tallman Segerson Builders. I have a lot of different positions at my job. We’re a custom high-end construction company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Computer Solutions East?

They provide all of our licensing and connections for Microsoft.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They handle all the ins and outs of our Microsoft 365 license as well as any additional services we may need. Their team addresses and resolves any issues that arise and provides ongoing support.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with 5–6 individuals including Vinny (Inside Sales Specialist) and Ramon (Inside Sales).

How did you come to work with Computer Solutions East?

They were recommended by Microsoft.

How much have you invested with them?

We invest between $15,000–$20,000 a year.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement started in January 2014.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’re very responsive. For example, we just upgraded our licenses on Christmas Eve and I was able to call them late that evening and they took care of it right then. It’s clear that they go above and beyond for us. Not only are they extremely professional, but they’re also very responsive and accommodating.

How did Computer Solutions East perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is great. We communicate through email and phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their professionalism and responsiveness set them apart. Usually, we wait a few hours or a business day to hear back from vendors. However, they only take 15 minutes to get back to us. They’re always available.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d highly recommend working with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of IT for a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Colorado.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Computer Solutions East?

We had old laptops and software. We also used a standalone POP (Post Office Protocol) email account. When our business changed about 10 years ago, our employees moved to remote work. We needed to upgrade our technology and sync accounts.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We set up an Exchange Server through the Office 365 Essentials. We ended up with about 46 licenses, and Computer Solutions migrated around 18–20 of them. Their team migrated all of our employees' emails from our old server to the new Exchange Server, which gave our remote employees access to Microsoft applications.

What is the team composition?

I communicated with a sales representative and a product teammate.

How did you come to work with Computer Solutions East?

I initially engaged another nonprofit that provides software at greatly reduced rates. I called Microsoft about Office 365 and engaged with their reseller program. They sent my information to 3­–4 different resellers.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project in March 2020, and it wrapped up in June 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their work streamlined our operations. For instance, employees' calendars and emails initially didn't sync between their phones and laptops. That was a problem, especially for key staff. Computer Solutions helped us to make big changes.

How did Computer Solutions East perform from a project management standpoint?

We primarily communicated via e-mail, which was excellent. We had a few issues and solved them. Their team was on top of everything.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They immediately answered my emails and phone calls. Computer Solutions was responsive and made the engagement smooth.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Since we had POP accounts, we had PST (Personal Storage Table) files that had to be transferred to different laptops and integrated into Outlook with an Exchange Server. We had a few glitches that were solved quickly. If there was any room for improvement, they could’ve made that process easier.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’ll quickly answer your questions. I spoke to a couple of other resellers, and one took 1–2 days to respond. Computer Solutions usually responded the same day. We’re on different coasts but I knew if I had a question in the afternoon, I’d have an answer the next morning.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I run IT services for a government contractor.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Computer Solutions East?

I reach out to them with technical challenges.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Most of the time I talk to them, it’s so that I can obtain Microsoft 365 licenses. I know they help provide some of my other teammates with licensing assistance as well.

What is the team composition?

There’s a team of about five people who I reach out to.

How did you come to work with Computer Solutions East?

The contract has been going on before I got here. They were picked long ago by the president of my company’s son.

What is the status of this engagement?

The relationship is ongoing. The partnership has existed since at least 2015 but probably even earlier.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The services they provide me are always excellent. They have quick responses and I’ve never had an issue.

How did Computer Solutions Eastperform from a project management standpoint?

We email back and forth, and they always respond with what I need the same day.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m impressed by their turnaround time.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’re great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would use them, they’re a great company to partner with.