NPI Technology Management

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re an accounting firm in Vermont that has 22 people on staff. We handle tax audits as well as accounting services for our 3000 clients. Our clientele is small to medium-sized businesses as well as nonprofits. I’m the firm administrator. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with NPI Technology Management?

They’ve had a relationship with our company for about 30 years. They started their relationship with our company by helping to network computers and printers as our company moved into the digital age. They’ve continued to be our IT partner since.  

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve helped us become a pretty tech-savvy accounting firm. Aside from a few small processes, we’re pretty much a paperless company because of our digital capabilities in-house. They’ve also assisted us with implementing firewalls, cloud technology, and more for our network.  

What is the team composition?

We generally work with about five people on their tech team: three of them are in charge of answering general service orders and two are responsible for higher-level infrastructure. 

How did you come to work with NPI Technology Management?

One of our partners knew someone on their team as a neighbor. When they needed tax services, we also needed IT services. We started a mutual relationship. We try to support small, local businesses with our company.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since around October 1990.  

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When the nationwide shutdown occurred due to COVID-19, we had a seamless transition moving our in-house staff to a remote working environment. There were no issues because they had firewalls and infrastructure set up to allow us to immediately take our laptops home and start working. We were impressed by our ability to go completely remote with absolutely no hiccups. 

Their phishing training has enabled our team to identify phishing emails easily and immediately delete them. With them, our team is always connected.  

How did NPI Technology Management perform from a project management standpoint?

When we decide to take on a new project together, we communicate mostly through phone calls. For instance, we’re looking into implementing a new kind of billing system in the short-term. They scheduled a series of meetings with us where we discussed our needs and they provided us with research and due diligence. 

Otherwise, we communicate with them through service orders, which can be over email or phone. It’s always been easy to work with them in that capacity as well. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They know our programs and our users. When we approach potential upgrades or changes, they’re able to make decisions based on our audience demographic. They offer us a small-town level of customer service with a high level of quality. We treat them like family, so we’ve developed a pretty close relationship.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were some hiccups when they first switched over to their ticketing system. However, they listened to our feedback and addressed all issues quickly. They take great pride in our positive feedback and their ability to close service orders. If we rate an experience with them below perfect in their internal system, they make sure to reach out to see what went wrong. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Lay out your entire project on the table. The more you admit you know or don’t know, the more helpful they can be from the start. They’ll help you learn along the way as well without being condescending. We trust them.  

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of International Coins & Currency. We’re a mail-order and internet-based company that sells coins and collectibles. We have approximately 14 employees right now.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with NPI Technology Management?

We previously had an in-house IT person for many years. They retired, and we found it was less expensive and simpler for us to hire an external service provider to do our IT work.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our hardware was outdated, and we had older operating systems and so on. When we first started with them, they brought us up to speed on all of that. Now, they handle all of our managed IT services and provide support.

What is the team composition?

We work with 5–6 people at any given time.

How did you come to work with NPI Technology Management?

I saw one of their ads and called them; they immediately responded. We had interviewed other companies and received quotes from them, but NPI Technology Management was the most reasonable. What they committed to do for us was exactly what we were looking for.

How much have you invested with them?

We invest about $60,000 a year.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement started in September 2013.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We spend a lot less time dealing with the hassles of the IT world. When we have a problem, we contact them and they handle it. They’ve simplified our business for us.

How did NPI Technology Management perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is going well. We communicate through various channels. Sometimes their technicians come to our office, that’s usually initiated through an email or phone call. When we don’t have major projects, they come in about once a month to check things for us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very accessible. We can call someone and get an immediate response. We’ve gotten familiar with their technicians so we can call and request a certain technician because we know they worked on a particular project for us. They’re always right there when we need them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there isn’t anything. When we have a problem, they address it immediately. This could range from a technician not performing the way we thought or some other issue. However, everything has always been taken care of as soon as we brought it up to them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d recommend them, they’re IT professionals. We don’t tell them what to do, they tell us.