AIS Network

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner and CEO of CVC LLC, which stands for the Commonwealth of Virginia Consulting, and that’s exactly what we do. We consult with other businesses on how to establish or expand their contracts with the Commonwealth of Virginia.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AIS Network?

Primarily, we were trying to secure our data and information against ransomware attacks or similar types of cyber issues that keep popping up all over the place.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

One of the first things we did with them was to explore getting access to Azure, which is a Microsoft cloud product. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they weren’t only a Microsoft cloud service provider for non-government entities, but also for government entities. Obviously, as it relates to the Commonwealth of Virginia and other governments, working with a number of our clients requires a higher level of security and adherence to governmental standards, such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Internet Service Providers (ISP) standards.

With that confidence, we then explored further the ability to back up CVC’s data to their Azure cloud. I was pleasantly engaged with one of their technical operations personnel, who basically took down my website information to get our backups identified to their system and solution. It was a five-minute drill, and then we had access. We’ve been backing up our information to the cloud ever since.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with the management teams and Jay (CEO). I’ve also worked with their financial manager, who handles all the invoicing and payables, Kim (Director of Finance  Administration), and Phil (Director of DevOps), who is their lead technical person.

How did you come to work with AIS Network?

I became aware of AIS Network (AIS) through Chesterfield, which is a local county here in the Richmond Metropolitan Area Chamber of Commerce. I reached out, got to know them a little bit through the telephone, and had a couple of meetings with Jay. I felt very comfortable with the way that they approached business and described their services.

How much have you invested with them?

Without pulling up the books, we’ve spent between $5,000–$7,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started to work with them about four years ago, in June 2017, and we’re still working together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They reach out to us and check in to make sure things are going well. If we ever have an issue, they’ve been very responsive, so they’re both proactive and reactive.

Also, they have a ticketing system so we can go in and enter an issue or topic that we’d like them to document and get back to us. It’s a dialog system where we can see all the entries that people have made and the solutions to the challenge that we had. I’m glad to say that I haven’t had many challenges beyond the fact that sometimes I play the wrong keys on the keyboard.

How did AIS Network perform from a project management standpoint?

One of the nice things about working with AIS is that they personally answer their phones. They’ve posted all of their executive management’s phone numbers and emails on their website so anyone is able to reach out to them.

I found that very interesting because with many other companies, you can’t get in touch with executive management if you need it. With AIS, chances are that you won’t be able to get directly through to them because they’re busy, just like the rest of us, but they normally return the call within 24 hours, if not quicker. All of them are very responsive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I would say it’s their customer service and their willingness to get things fixed. Whether it’s directly their challenge, datacenter, or network, or whether it involves other vendors as well, they’re willing to take on the problem and help resolve it, regardless of where it is. There’s no finger-pointing; they just try to understand the problem and then they get to work on it. I’ve found that very refreshing.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think some of the software visuals on the ticketing system are a little clunky. It would be nice to maybe address that.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Definitely engage with them, reach out, and feel free to contact them or me to discuss my experience with AIS.

Also, same as with any vendor, what you get out of the relationship is what you’re willing to put into it, so it’s not a one-way street. You have to be willing to share information with them so they can help you.