Information Management Systems

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP and one of the co-owners of Appraisal Services, Inc., a commercial real estate appraisal firm. We go and look at different commercial buildings.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Information Management Systems?

We use them to support our IT needs.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Information Management Systems (IMS) provides managed service support. If someone has an issue, they deal with it. Lately, we’ve had some remote desktop issues — our network quality from our internet service provider has been subpar, and IMS has been helping us solve that. Also, they handle the routine updates and maintenance on our computers.

On the other hand, the server upgrade was probably the biggest project they’ve worked on. We also had new wireless access points installed in our office about a month ago to have a secure, upgraded wireless network throughout the whole office space.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with them long enough to know everyone over there. Each project usually has a point person, but we talked to 2–3 people throughout the whole process for the big server project. Also, if somebody has an IT support desk need, they just contact one person.

How did you come to work with Information Management Systems?

We’ve been with IMS for over 20 years, and they’ve always delivered for us. Their team is always there. If it’s 5:30 p.m. on a Friday and we need help, they don’t tell us to call back on Monday. We can count on them, and we know that their quality of service is better than expected. Overall, we have a good relationship, and there hasn’t been a project where they haven’t been able to help us figure everything out.

How much have you invested with them?

We get a quarterly report from them on how much we’ve spent, and it’s never been an internal worry. The costs aren’t outrageous.

Since we did the server project, we spent about $33,000 in 2021. We also replaced computers within the office because everyone’s been working remotely. Additionally, it’s about $22,000–$24,000 for the service contract, including all our employees’ remote backups and Office 365 accounts.

What is the status of this engagement?

I’ve been with the company since 2013, but we’ve been working with them since the late 80s. We usually sign a three-year contract with them, so we have about two years left on our current one. When the contract is up, we talk to IMS about it and see what challenges we’ve had and our plans for the next three years to negotiate a new one.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Everybody is happy with IMS’ work — that’s why we stay with them. When the pandemic hit, we had to figure out remote work solutions. We didn’t want to cross-contaminate the office, so people weren’t coming in. IMS was willing to help us and work on people’s homes to set their home offices — they were very supportive throughout the whole process.

Overall, if we have a problem after hours, they reach out and help us. It’s not just a nine-to-five contract with them. If we have an issue, we send a support ticket, and they get back to us as soon as possible.

How did Information Management Systems perform from a project management standpoint?

We have a chat program installed on all of our computers to send messages to their team, and they can respond. Sometimes we send emails when computers are having issues. In summary, we use phone calls, text messages, emails, and instant messages on the computer to communicate with them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s nice to have personal connections with all the people working on IMS. Most of them have been there for multiple years, and we know them by name. When we call over there, they know who I am. Moreover, we know that they’ll figure out any issue. When someone on my team has a problem, I don’t have to worry about it. I just know that IMS will take care of it, and I can go back to doing my job.

Are there any areas they could improve?

At the moment, I don’t have a specific thing for them to improve. They work on improving all the time. Since the pandemic started, they’ve clearly been working on their communication. They get us quarterly and monthly reports to keep us in the loop on where we are and what’s on our horizon that we might want to upgrade.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

We’ve referred many people in their direction, and I always tell them that we’ve been with them for a long time, and they come through. Overall, you have to tell them your issues and goals so they can move forward from that.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

General Manager of a water utility

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Information Management Systems?

Contract IT Services

SOLUTION

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

They did prior work for us on a small project and the relationship started from there.

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

They provide IT services including firewall, server and maintenance for our computer equipment as well as consulting services.

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

We work with their entire team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Recently completed purchase and installation of a new server.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

In general good but a little slower than normal.

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

They were generally easy to work with and accessible.

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

Sometimes when they make changes to servers or individual computers there are glitches that require them to make additional changes or adjustments.