KMicro Tech, Inc.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a telecommunications analyst at Clean Energy Fuels. We do provide compressed natural gas for fleet and trucking industries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with KMicro Tech, Inc.?

I’m responsible for getting phone and Internet access to 400 of our sites across the nation along with 20 more in Canada. KMicro Tech, Inc. helps me install and maintain those Internet and phone connections.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

KMicro Tech, Inc. maintains our corporate IT infrastructure, supporting me by installing Internet and phone connections. We’re constantly building new sites, so their team will come in to do the IT set up as construction nears completion.

Beyond that, they provide help desk service to our employees. That might include anything from software support to hardware troubleshooting.

What is the team composition? 

I work with about six people, Mazen (Management Executive) being my main point of contact. He gets others involved depending on the specialty needed. 

How did you come to work with KMicro Tech, Inc.?

My company has worked with them since before I joined my position, so I’m not sure how we found them. I can say that we continue to work with them because of their phenomenal performance. They know that they’re tied to our success, so they take ownership and help us succeed. That’s been really exciting.

How much have you invested with them?

For my project alone, we pay about $50,000 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement started in November 2015 and is ongoing. For the migration project, they only took six months to set up 400 sites. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s unheard of for a company to switch Internet service providers across 400 locations within six months, and yet KMicro Tech, Inc. managed to do it. 

Once they got the new network up, we noticed that the connections were far more reliable. Tickets for downed network issues decreased significantly, which allowed us to save money because we didn’t have to dispatch as many tech specialists on site to resolve them.

How did KMicro Tech, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They use Microsoft Teams to manage their tasks along with Skype and phone calls to communicate. I'm also impressed with the ideas that they bring and the new direction they take when it comes to IT support. They’re able to delegate a task to a person and oversee the issue to get results.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve worked with other services providers that weren’t much help. To manage contractors, you have to know the full scope of work, identify the issue, and come up with a solution.

But that’s not the case with KMicro Tech, Inc. Their team is so easy to work with because they manage things by themselves. I can describe to them an issue and know that they’ll get the right person involved to find a solution. That saves me the effort of hiring another specialist.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of an area where they can improve because we set the directive.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s good to have the full scope of what you want laid out. Then, when you present that scope to them, they’ll take ownership of what you need to deliver.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm an IT manager at a digital advertising agency and I oversee all aspects of tech.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire KMicro Tech, Inc.?

Kmicro helped us hammer out our security policies with their CISO. In addition, they help us roll out our SOC2 compliance requirements.

What were your goals for this project?

The main goal is to make our company SOC 2 compliant to keep up with industry standards.

SOLUTION

How did you select KMicro Tech, Inc.?

They were referred from Softchoice rep. We vetted them internally among other candidates. They were the most knowledgable and capable pick.

Describe the project in detail.

I worked closely with the CISO to determine internal processes overall:

• Cybersecurity Maturity Assessment
• Risk Assessment
• Client Information Security Policies

They were responsible for:

• Understanding Client’s Operations & Business Objectives
• Defining Governance, Risk & Compliance Strategy
• Developing a Cybersecurity Framework
• Developing a Risk Management Framework

What was the team composition?

• 1 from the vendor
• 1 from our side

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As advertised, we received the scope of work agreed upon. This is still our framework that we lean on to guide our cybersecurity decisions. They had positive feedback from the internal team. Because of the project, we were able to line up several solutions to enhance cybersecurity.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They were fantastic. They are readily available even though they are working remotely. They are always available for phone calls etc. And we have since continued to work with them and likely will again.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their knowledge and experience were highly valued when navigating this new landscape of cybersecurity controls.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I would've like to have steered things a bit more in terms of the final products that were being suggested. There was a philosophical disagreement on certain services as solutions. In the end, we did reach an understanding, but I had to push hard for outside of the box thinking on this subject.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Softchoice has become one of the largest IT solution and managed service providers in North America. Every day, thousands of organizations rely on Softchoice to provide insight and expertise that speeds the adoption of technology, while managing cost and risk.

Through our unique points of view, we challenge leaders to think differently about the impact of technology on their employees and customers. Softchoice has offices in 30 local markets across North America, where our talented team of account managers and technical experts have deep experience doing business in your community.

Softchoice is a trusted partner to more than 2,500 technology manufacturers, and is a top-tier partner for virtually every major manufacturer in the industry, including Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Lenovo, Dell-EMC, VMware, Cisco, HP Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire KMicro Tech, Inc.?

Everything from SharePoint, Dynamics, Azure, Dev Ops Office 365, MS Exchange, Security, Managed Services, Power BI and AI.

What were your goals for this project?

Filling a gap within our environment where we did not have the tall or resource bench availability.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Long term relationship whereby they understand and embrace our processes and and developed into a trusted partner and have become one of the best extensions of our organization.

Describe the project in detail.

Primarily SharePoint and and a host of multiple Microsoft disciplines as well as Security and manged services.

What was the team composition?

Sales/pre-sales technical support/ Solutions architects/engineers and project management.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Customers have a tendency to add on follow on work and specifically will as to use K Micro time and time again.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Seamless as they have a 10 year tenure working relationship and have grown and evolved along with Softchoice.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their biggest asset is their VP of Sales Ms Lauren Reed who is client first and will work tirelessly and be available any time of day, evening or weekend to meet the needs of Softchoice. Always fair and does things with a smile on her face. Truly an exceptionable individual in this industry who never forgets to say Thank You.

Are there any areas for improvement?

As our company grows and ventures into new areas of technology I always encourage K Micro to follow our lead and fill those gaps when required.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of operations at a healthcare billing and receivables company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with KMicro Tech, Inc.?

Initially, we needed a cyber security risk assessment.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They analyzed our cybersecurity policies and procedures. Then, the team helped us develop a more strengthened workflow in that area. Now, they’re also working as our current IT service provider.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with close to a dozen people from their team.

How did you come to work with KMicro Tech, Inc.?

They were referred to us by an IT technology managed service provider that we were using.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve paid $60,000–$70,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2018, and our work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We really couldn’t be happier with the services they provide and the quality of work that they do.

How did KMicro Tech, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve exceeded our expectations and are proactive with communication. Overall, the team is very responsive to any questions or requests we have.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The level of knowledge and speed at which they can get projects done is great. They always deliver on time and it’s been a pleasure to work with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we have no complaints.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Any new customers can be confident in their services and direction.