TruAdvantage

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the Executive Director of the Santa Clara Methodist Retirement Foundation (SCMRF). We administer 300 units in two affordable senior housing projects, serving at least 375 seniors.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with TruAdvantage?

When I started my position, I found that SCMRF’s outdated servers were barely functioning and sometimes needed servicing two or three times a month. I wanted to modernize our systems and migrate to Cloud-based servers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

TruAdvantage essentially functions as our IT department, providing onsite assistance. They provide help desk support, manage our internal systems, and we’ve begun taking advantage of their migration and security services.

One noteworthy project was the creation of a shared, tiered-security drive that allows our two facilities to coordinate electronically.

What is the team composition?

Matin [Mehdipour, IT Engineer, TruAdvantage] is our primary support engineer, but we also speak with Iman [Oskoorouchi, Co-Founder, TruAdvantage] and Kayvan [Yazdi, Co-Founder, TruAdvantage]. We’re also connected with their help desk team.

How did you come to work with TruAdvantage?

I was very impressed with the quality of their services and their accessibility. It helped that they were a local company who could visit us onsite and respond to any issues within an hour or less.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend slightly more than $2,000 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2002 and our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The creation of the shared drive made it easier to coordinate, requiring us to use less paper and helping us cut down on operating costs. They’ve also given us peace of mind through their Secure360 security service.

They’re very hands-on and provide excellent support. If our system goes down, their staff gets it back up and running within minutes.

How did TruAdvantage perform from a project management standpoint?

We meet with Iman and Kayvan monthly to go over all projects. They also email a document to our leadership team that details the work they’ve done behind the scenes, be it repairing bugs or installing updates.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They listen carefully to understand our needs and are very responsive. Their technical skills allow them to accomplish any task we’ve assigned. I also appreciate that, as a local company, they were able to come in and install our security system.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’ve always been a phone call or click away whenever I’ve needed them, so I’m very pleased. You can’t ask for anything more in a small company, so I think they’re money well spent.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of Medical Billing Concepts. We started in 1992, and we provide medical billing and consulting services to local physicians and medical groups in the Los Angeles area.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with TruAdvantage?

We were working with a client called Southern California Gastroenterology, which has about 20 locations. They're expanding into Northern California as well, and we needed to find a cheap IT vendor that could effectively service those new locations.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

TruAdvantage provided all-inclusive IT services to those new locations, which included help desk support. They were very unique in their knowledge of the health care sector, and were able to make sure that everything was compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). In total, they were servicing between 25 and 50 users.

Our client had an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system that was dependent on Internet Explorer, and they had very regular problems with it because it was very sensitive to updates. TruAdvantage worked proactively to solve and prevent those issues from affecting productivity. There is still a learning curve for many local vendors I work with on these issues, but TruAdvantage’s familiarity with the field put them a step ahead.

What is the team composition?

We worked primarily with our project manager, who handled all aspects of our account.

How did you come to work with TruAdvantage?

They came highly recommended by another practice we had worked with in Southern California.

How much have you invested with them?

We invest about $24,000 per year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December of 2015, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As I mentioned, their ability to preemptively avoid errors/setbacks that would impact the company’s workflow. Compared to some of the vendors I work with locally, TruAdvantage really does a great job with this.

How did TruAdvantage perform from a project management standpoint?

Their communication was very efficient. I can reach them reliably via phone or chat, so there haven’t been any issues there. They also have translation services for those who might need them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The ease of communication and their knowledge of healthcare-specific IT services were very impressive. Their help with EMR systems and HIPAA compliance was extremely helpful.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I’ve been content with our engagement.

Advice for potential customers?

They have different tiers of services, and I try to convince my clients to subscribe to the higher tiers and take advantage of them as much as possible.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Infoguard Cyber Security, a Silicon Valley company that’s been in operation for 14–15 years. We provide cyber security services to small, medium, and large organizations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with TruAdvantage?

We needed internal IT services for our company. We serve many companies, and since we’re a security company, we also have access to a lot of our clients’ confidential information. We have many nationwide consultants, and we needed to have a system for remote workers in order to have access to our clients. We wanted to move into the cloud to serve all of our clients and consultants.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve provided the system in the cloud for us and also secure access for our clients and consultants. They have also provided secure remote access, multi-factor authentication, and server hardening, amongst many other services.

What is the team composition?

Kayvan [Co-Founder, TruAdvantage] is the main person who manages the project. Iman [Co-Founder, TruAdvantage] takes care of all the assessments. We also deal with a couple of engineers, and they have backup engineers in case the main one isn’t available.  

How did you come to work with TruAdvantage?

Originally, we’d invited several companies to come and do an assessment for our internal IT staff. We explained that we wanted a secure IT organization, and that we would do whatever was needed. Several companies came out, but we weren’t satisfied because we had specific expectations and requirements.

When TruAdvantage came, they did everything we thought they should have been doing as a secure IT company, and we were very pleased with them. We had one engagement with them, and we’ve retained them for IT services ever since.

How much have you invested in them?

We spend around $24,000 per year for their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in July 2014, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had a client who we did a very good job for, but unfortunately, it wasn’t successful because their IT department tried to implement our suggestions themselves. Their IT department blamed us, and we had to bring TruAdvantage in to show that client that their own IT department was failing. They really saved our image over there, and that client ended up firing their IT person. They relied on TruAdvantage from that point on to help them. After that, it benefited us to use them with our clients because they know exactly what security is.

How did TruAdvantage perform from a project management standpoint?

They assigned one project manager to our account. If he goes on vacation, there is a backup who communicates with us. They are in direct communication with us and scan our cloud servers on a weekly basis in order to provide us with status reports.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are very knowledgeable in IT and IT security. They are dedicated to our clients. We had a client who had an issue with their IT, and they came over the weekend and spent a few hours just to help them. We consider them more as an extension of our team rather than an external company. They are there for us every time we pick up the phone. Our clients who have worked with them have called and thanked us for referring them to TruAdvantage because of their response time and dedication.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. They are very good at exceeding expectations and recommending enhancements to our approach.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief financial officer for Kern Radiology. We provide diagnostic imaging services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with TruAdvantage?

We had an oncology project that needed IT and network services support.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have four imaging centers throughout the town of Bakersfield, with a system-wide EMR (electronic medical record system). TruAdvantage built an offsite disaster recovery and backup program for us. They outsourced the location servers, network, and telecom infrastructure for us, and designed backup timing. We have good business continuity in case something happens to our network, and can get our backup server back online within a certain period of time. Most of their scope is limited to the EMR project.

What is the team composition?

We generally speak with one of their two principals. They do have a helpdesk and call center, but we mostly deal with those two points of contact.

How did you come to work with TruAdvantage?

A business partner of ours who worked with them recommended them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend between $60,000–$70,000 a year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2013. The relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Timeliness is critical for us, and they’ve always been very responsive. If we set fixed deadlines, they have no problem meeting them. That’s our biggest criteria.

How did TruAdvantage perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re well-versed in project management software, and have been very good at setting up weekly calls to monitor progress and maintain accountability. They’re good at keeping the project on-task. They work in the Bay Area, about four hours north of us, so we communicate mostly by email and phone.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very hands-on and responsive. They send weekly or monthly email updates on technology changes, and stay in contact with us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, our experience has been very positive. I can’t think of any areas of weakness.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We had a family medical practice and I was a human resources and office manager there.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with TruAdvantage?

We were having severe issues with our computer system and needed someone with tech expertise to deal with them.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, Iman [Iman Oskoorouchi, Co-Founder, TruAdvantage] worked for a different company that provided tech support for us. If we had a problem with our system, Iman came over and fixed it. When he started TruAdvantage, he began implementing bigger packages, and, eventually, changed the system so that he could work remotely (instead of having to come on premises). He did great work and became like family to us.

Later, he worked with us in a maintenance capacity: if we had an issue, his team was looking at it remotely, making changes and tweaking things on their end. 

What is the team composition?

Iman was our point of contact for everything. If he was on vacation, he had someone fill in for him and he always let us know who it was.

How did you come to work with them?

We had our first contact with Iman when he was working at another company. Then he spun off and started his own business and we continued our relationship with him for years.

How much have you invested with them?

We paid $1,800 a month ($22,000 a year).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Iman in 2005 and continued through 2016 (which is around the time we closed our practice).

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

His customer service is impeccable and he's a great communicator. Unlike some other IT vendors, he never made me feel I lacked any technical skills or knowledge.

The first time our system crashed he spent hours trying to get it up and going, and he finally did. Whenever we had a major issue, either Iman or someone else would arrive within the timeframe they gave me. With time, our systems became stronger and we didn't have too many major issues.

How did they perform from a project management standpoint?

We've worked together for many years and he's always had incredible attention to detail. When his practice got bigger, we had to create a ticket when we needed services, but I always had direct contact with Iman (I usually called him because I prefer that to emails).

What did you find most impressive about them?

Nowadays everyone needs to be up and running right away, but because we were dealing with people's lives, it was more important to us. They knew it was imperative for us to get issues resolved as quickly as possible because of our patient flow coming in, and they were always there for us.

We haven't received IT services from anyone other than Iman, so I don't have much to compare him to, but I feel very lucky. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Everything  they did was wonderful. Just around the time we closed our practice they started getting into some new avenues, but we didn't get a chance to experience those. They're definitely spreading their wings and continuing to grow.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open to what they have to say. Open communication was part of our great relationship. They don’t oversell or overpitch their product  – they deliver what they promise.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of a management consulting firm that works with medical practices and clinics. We also provide billing services and revenue cycle management. Our company has about 50 employees, and works with over 300 businesses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with TruAdvantage?

We were looking for a company to establish and oversee IT infrastructure for our clients, including email server solutions, systems to house medical software/billing platforms, and cloud-based data storage/backup.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

TruAdvantage provided us with the infrastructure we needed with multiple clinics and practices. They also provide ongoing help desk support.

What is the team composition?

We sent emails to their help desk, which always had someone available.

How did you come to work with TruAdvantage?

We had worked with a common client previously.

How much have you invested with them?

About $30,000 per year for each practice that they manage, and they’re currently working with two. We’re also considering a third clinic, which would be an additional $25,000 per year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in December of 2014, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their work allows my company to avoid building an internal team for IT management. Since bringing them on, it’s allowed us to focus on working with new clinics and practices and minimize downtime, which is great for us. The services that they provide are so crucial to the businesses we work with, and we couldn’t function without them.

How did TruAdvantage perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very proactive in their work. Whenever we open a ticket with them, they reliably warn us of potential challenges and present possible solutions before they occur. Their response time has been great. When they’ve set deadlines for their projects, they usually come out ahead of them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their technical know-how and execution have been very impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, and I’m not trying to be complimentary. I don’t have any suggestions.

Advice for potential customers?

They’re one of the very rare vendors that you don’t need to go to [TruAdvantage]with a strategy. They’ll take care of you. I’m not saying they’re perfect, but we’ve had 99% success with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the office manager of a small ophthalmology office. Our M.D. and optometrists see about 20–30 patients a day.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with TruAdvantage?

We needed an experienced team to help us rewire our old office. We also wanted a team to help us transition our paper charts to EMR.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have about 15 computers in the office, all linked to a cloud-based monitoring system. When they first started working with us, most of our computers needed to be replaced, and the whole office needed to be rewired and made Wi-Fi capable. They’ve actually wired our office twice. Once at our old office, and again when the old location sold and we needed to move suddenly. They also suggested we set up a backup internet connection so we never go down.

They helped us with the initial crossover from paper to EMR. We have a practice management company that oversees all of our patient information, and we needed to get through the process so they could talk with our EMR company.

What is the team composition?

We first started working with Iman [Co-founder, TruAdvantage] when they were a much smaller company. Kayvan [Co-founder, TruAdvantage] is one our main points of contact now, but we also have an account manager.

How did you come to work with TruAdvantage?

We had an IT person that we’d worked with for years, but the rewiring project was in an old building, so we knew it would be complicated. Sort of by chance, Dr. Cohn met Iman at another medical office. We spoke to them, and thought they were perfect for our needs.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend approximately $24,000 a year on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2013. We have an ongoing relationship.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had the opportunity to buy our old office space when the owner was looking to sell. It was an old building, with too much to fix, so we thought we would be able to stay a little longer. In the end, we only had two months to find a new office and move. TruAdvantage came in and helped us pack everything up, and gave us an estimate of how much the move would cost. They moved our whole system for us, which was a godsend. It was so wonderful to have someone come in and just do it for us.

We had an unbelievably smooth transition from paper to EMR. We hardly had to do anything, they just handled it, and were completely affordable. I can’t say enough good things about them.

How did TruAdvantage perform from a project management standpoint?

They perform really well. They monitor everything, which gives us a lot of confidence. I can contact them by email or phone whenever I have a question or see something that concerns me. If ever I have something urgent to address, I can text them directly. I’ve never waited longer than an hour for someone to get back to me.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They monitor our system daily, and I get monthly reports telling us how our computers are doing. I deal with sensitive billing and insurance, and my biggest concern is having our system compromised. They monitor it so carefully, and keep up with changes to industry requirements. I appreciate them keeping me updated to any changes we need to make.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Communication is the most important part of our arrangement. Keep them abreast of your needs, and be open to their suggestions. They may come up with solutions you didn’t even think of.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder of a creative agency called Nikalabs that takes care of everything from branding to campaigns.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with TruAdvantage?

My company deals with several files, backups and websites, and we needed an IT partner to maintain the infrastructure and make sure everything is running.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We use their Total Care package that includes monthly assessment reports for all of our machines and any issues that came up. We hosted our clients’ websites on a physical server, but TruAdvantage switched the server in to a Cloud server.

What is the team composition?

Our main contact for any issues is Iman [Oskoorouchi, Co-Founder, TruAdvantage]. Matin [Mehdipour, Support Engineer, TruAdvantage] was the engineer that came on-site if needed.

How did you come to work with TruAdvantage?

We were looking at three to four different IT companies back in 2011. They seemed like the right fit for us since I knew the founder, Kayvan, from school.

How much have you invested with them?

The Total Care package that they put together for us was around $2,000 a month. Over the past few years, we’ve spent close to $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We still work with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Whenever switching servers, there are usually significant delays. However, when we switched to the Cloud, we had no downtime.

How did TruAdvantage perform from a project management standpoint?

There is a ticketing system installed into our machines, so anybody can submit a technical issue from any computer. When any issues come up, we would get a response within the hour.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Apart from their amazing response time, the people at TruAdvantage are comfortable and fun to work with.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

TruAdvantage has case studies on clients that they either work or worked with. Take a look at what they’ve done and the kinds of issues they have dealt with.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the ETA and IT Manager of Coolstar, a tech startup. My primary focus is in supporting our clients and finding outsourcing partners.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with TruAdvantage?

We weren’t happy with our IT provider, so we wanted a new partner who would prioritize us and provide a quicker response time while providing security services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provide managed IT through their totalCARE service and helped set up our antivirus and anti-malware software. We’re currently exploring their Secure360 package to prevent former employees from accessing our internal systems. They’re also doing research on preventing insider threats.

In response to recent hacking attacks, they tested our system for vulnerabilities and recommended a series of enhancements.

They stabilized our main server after a previous employee ran an incompatible EDA software simulation application.

Additionally, TruAdvantage supports our IT help desk and established a single signup service so our employees don’t have to memorize multiple passwords.

What is the team composition?

I work with three people. Kayvan [Yazdi, Co-Founder, TruAdvantage] acts as project lead. Karen [Francisco, Marketing, TruAdvantage] serves as our project manager and is in charge of help desk support. Matin [Mehdipour, IT Engineer, TruAdvantage] is their technical person. He’s very experienced with Microsoft and helps me with MIS-related software.

I trust the entire team very much.

How did you come to work with TruAdvantage?

I read testimonials of Bay Area companies. I interviewed TruAdvantage along with a few other companies and found they had the best methodology.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend $4,000 per month, totaling $50,000 over the course of our partnership.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2016 and our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

While our previous provider considered us a low priority, TruAdvantage makes us feel like a valued client. They’re doing a good job with security and their help desk has helped our employees quickly resolve any issues.

How did TruAdvantage perform from a project management standpoint?

I’ve been very happy with our level of communication. We speak primarily through HelpDesk Live Chat, though we also rely on phone calls and email.

Their project manager readily assigns technicians to assist with any issues that develop.

What did you find most impressive about them?

As a startup, it’s important to find reliable partners. They’ve helped with any IT issues and always treat us well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We are hiring more employees in China and it seems Chinese government has different laws in Information Technology (such as VPN), so it would be helpful (but not required) if they had a branch or partner in China to get familiar with those regulations.