Ascend Technologies

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO and president of a custom commercial solar-control systems manufacturer. We sell our products to a dealer network which resells them to the market.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Switchfast Technologies?

We run our business through several workstations and hired Switchfast to manage and monitor our infrastructure on a 24/7 basis.

Our previous IT company had 3–5 staff members and was run accordingly. There was really no organization — we would call for their services, they would come to the job site after 3 or 4 days and then spend 8 hours doing the work. They were running from customer to customer.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They manage and monitor all our workstations, servers, firewalls, and so on. Any of our employees can call them, at any time, for support on any issues. This helps them be productive, which, in turn, helps me stay focused on my business goals, without becoming involved with the nuances of small IT issues.

I’ve also hired them for several other projects, including a VPN installation. They run backups of all our files and monitor our servers. We had a couple of failures in our server drives and Switchfast was able to work with Dell in order to get us warranty parts and install them, typically within 48 hours.

What is the team dynamic? 

Unlike our old service provider, they are tied into our server. They receive prompts when there is an alert on it or one of our workstations, which go to their staff. A ticket is generated, which then falls through the internal process, and goes to the right person. Myself or the vice president will then be contacted, and they will solve the issue. It’s a clear-cut process.

How did you come to work with Switchfast Technologies?

I met Tim [director of sales and marketing, Switchfast Technologies] through a networking platform. I found out that his company provided the IT management services we needed and asked if they would be willing to take us on. I started off as a time-and-materials customer.

I’d done a lot of research on this subject. Everyone has a great sales pitch, but not many providers could back it up. Everything I heard from Tim and their CEO, Jim, convinced me that they believe in processes and policies, and go forward with them. Everything is clear in terms of what my responsibility is, what theirs is, and how they get to a solution. There is peace of mind in knowing where they are, step by step, in solving an issue. I chose Switchfast because they are confident in their abilities and they are able to explain them to me.

How much have you invested with them?

We currently pay $600 per month for their services, but we have had other projects outside of the basic plan, such as the VPN installation, a new PC for myself, and a Wi-Fi upgrade. 

All in, we’ve spent around $20,000 so far. We plan to upgrade to the next step, which will cost us around $22,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them a year and a half ago, around September 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When we switched from time-and-materials to a fixed plan with them, the process was handled by one of their team members, who came to our office and documented everything. He discussed our current issues, future wants, as well as our business in general. This was done for him to understand in advance what support they should be planning for. He discussed what we should expect from the contract so that my expectations could meet what I had hired them for.

My computer crashed 2 or 3 months ago and they had me up-and-running again in 1–2 days, with brand-new hardware and software. They were able to pull backups from my old computer which was invaluable. I’m very happy that I engaged them when I did.

They are the most organized supplier or partner I’ve ever dealt with. I’ve gotten my return on investment back, given that I’ve been able to recuperate all the time I had been spending on IT needs.

How did Switchfast Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

They have a ticketing system and we can dial their 800-number 24/7 help desk. When there is an issue, we call, and I also have the ability to reach the account manager if I need to.

We can also email them and get a response from an intake technician. The longest we’ve waited was around 2 minutes for some type of reply — the response time is second to none.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They could probably overcharge me if they wanted to, given that they’ve made my life that much better. It comes down to trust and they have mine. They’re responsible, responsive, they know what the process is and communicate it to me, and they’re able to manage our IT services properly.

I’ve talked to quite a few of their employees and have also gone to one of their events to get to know them better. Their culture is top-notch; I wish ours was as great. All the team members want to be there and they want to be helpful. They have clear-cut core values and they live by them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

With any partnership, there will be ups and downs. The ups have been great, but we’re only a year and a half into the relationship. I moved from a bad supplier to one that I currently find to be top-notch.

One issue I had was with an Adobe update which keeps running over and over again on one of my laptops. A chunk of their time was used on a relatively simple issue. I reached out to my account manager and asked why I was being billed for it and why they were spending so much time on it. Even though it was in my contract, I felt that there was a problem in going too far on an insignificant problem. I didn’t understand why 5 hours had been spent on it, and the account manager looked into it. They ended up compensating me for all that time, even though they really didn’t have to.

I don’t want to say that it was their fault since they were working as per our agreement, but it was a little frustrating. They’ve since made some internal changes so that they reach out to me about persistent issues, in order to ask us if we want to proceed or not. Typically, I tell them to go ahead and take care of it.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

My advice is to use them. A lot of time can be wasted on IT services by business owners if they don’t have a plan in place. Find reliable and trustworthy partners with processes in place to meet current needs and grow with the company since IT has the potential to shut a business down.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We manage inventory and we’re a wholesale importer. A lot of the things we do on a daily basis revolve around computers and technology. I am one of the owners.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Switchfast?

We had some IT support internally and some was outsourced. We needed a more sophisticated IT support firm for our company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Switchfast helped us completely reconfigure our email and firewall. They helped us convert to new servers and reconfigure our servers so that we moved from three to two, which is more appropriate for a firm of our size. We use Switchfast on a frequent basis for day-to-day technological needs that our staff doesn’t have the skill set to figure out. They manage our on-premise technology, not our full technology stack including Internet servicing. The bulk of the work is done remotely, but a fair amount of it has had to be done on-site as well.

What is the team dynamic?

We have an account manager, but not the same technician comes on-site when we have issues.

How did you come to work with Switchfast?

One of my colleagues worked with them at a prior firm. We considered other companies, but Switchfast appeared to have the best skill set for what our needs were.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2016 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve done an excellent and very professional job on all of the projects that they’ve helped us do. When we switched provider hosting systems for our email, they fully managed and completed that project and did it very well. The server project was also handled fluidly and seamlessly and without any major problems. With the firewall issue we were having, they helped us to figure that out when the other parties that we were working with couldn’t. That was terrific. We’ve been very pleased and satisfied with the quality of their work.

How did Switchfast perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated through a ticketing system, by phone, and by email. We had a dedicated account manager. They were helpful in resolving things and being communicative.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their overall skill set to deal with projects of this size was impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

For a firm of our size, it really would be better to have a dedicated technician, but I recognize that that is not how their firm is set up. We’re not a big business. It can be very frustrating to try and communicate issues to new technicians. They do accommodate their billing appropriately, but from my standpoint, time is very valuable and it ends up wasting our time. I find that frustrating. I would prefer to see a dedicated technician to our account who at least can handle most of our issues when it’s not totally urgent.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We were a private equity firm that invested in several energy businesses, and since 2015, we’ve liquidated all of our investments. Our engagement with Switchfast has recently wound down as we've continued to dissolve the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Switchfast?

The biggest reason they were hired was that we were a relatively small group, and we didn't want to have a dedicated IT person.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provided desktop and email support, while also monitoring our server and ensuring all data was backed up. I was very happy with them early on, and coming from a group where we did had a dedicated IT person for a number of years, I could see the benefits of having Switchfast’s additional resources. We could tap into their services for a wide range of things.

They delivered throughout the entire relationship, but one situation, in particular, stands out. We had opened another office, and I remember them coming to our downtown Chicago office with a pickup truck and helping us physically move our server to the new area. They were on-site until midnight making sure everything was up and running so that we had a seamless transition.

What was the team dynamic?

We had some dedicated team members that helped by coming to the offices, while some worked remotely. These individuals were trusted and everyone knew them by first name when they came into the office.

How did you come to work with them?

I essentially assumed responsibility for the business relationship and kept it running. I had no reason to look elsewhere.

What's the status of the engagement?

At this point, since the company is dissolving, we aren't doing any kind of real work. They do advise periodically, but it's nothing like what they were previously doing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We migrated over to Microsoft Office when we closed one of our offices in 2015 and sold our power plants. They were essential when it came to that implementation.

They also helped us with IT integration services for a power plant we acquired in New York in 2013. This project was complex because it involved incorporating the existing infrastructure and network with what we already had. The transition had to be near instantaneous and completely seamless. They were extremely helpful with the planning process all the way up to project execution.

How would you compare their performance to others?

It's tough to measure how much value their team added over the years. Having an in-house IT professional can cost well over six figures, so using a third party group with virtually unlimited resources was much more cost-effective.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The thing about Switchfast I appreciate the most is that they’re more like a business partner to us than a third party vendor. I really felt like they took ownership, and they were extremely responsive.

There was a personal aspect to the relationship, and most of the time when we called, we spoke with someone we knew. We weren’t getting routed to a call center. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a small transactional and litigation law firm here in Chicago. Our areas of practice are real estate, business, estate planning and bankruptcy. I’m the founder and principal.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Switchfast?

As we were growing, we needed someone to better manage the overall IT aspects of the firm and assist with things like security and reliability. Those were our biggest issues going into it. Trying to manage all of our IT vendors, plus the different IT aspects and products we have, but without the expertise that we needed, was getting unwieldy. We were running into reliability issues and concerns with respect to data storage and security, and we realized that with some further growth, we were definitely going to need professional management.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’re on something that they call a managed services platform with them, but in the beginning it was more of a put-out-fires type of arrangement. Slowly, as they were able to review our environment, they made recommendations as to hardware improvements we needed to make. They worked with us on a cloud-based storage system and then transitioned us into something that worked better on-site. So now they truly manage just about everything for us: our internet service, storage issues, backup issues, everything. They’ve worked remotely and on site over the past four years.

How did you come to work with Switchfast?

Prior to Switchfast, we had a few vendors we’d used on a limited-scope basis, but nothing as extensive as Switchfast. They’re actually here in the same building as our office, so that’s how I became aware of them. I’ve been a customer of theirs for roughly four years. I do vividly recall that their account rep first visited here and really made a good impression, so we continued the conversation. We retained them for an initial form of IT management that we’ve since expanded upon in terms of the scope of services that they provide, but it was a process in which they listened to our concerns, took a look at our environment and we came to an agreement.

How much have you invested with Switchfast?

It’s probably averaged around $45,000-$50,000 per year. That’s not just on Switchfast but on hardware that they’ve recommended.

What is the status of this engagement?

It’s been four years now.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

I could give you hundreds of examples. Working with them has been nothing but success: we went from a completely scattered approach to our IT management to very well planned, smooth operations of our IT stuff. That’s not to say that we don’t run into standard issues, but now we have a system in place for addressing any kind of outages or loss of service. From that standpoint, it’s an absolute success. They’ve saved us money on various contracts; they’ve saved us time and the possible loss of data. I could go on and on. I was completely in the dark about these nuanced technology things, so maybe it’s really easy to take someone from that position and make them really happy, but in all honesty, every aspect of it meets the objectives I lay out each year. It’s a long chain of successes, small and large.

How did Switchfast perform from a project management standpoint?

Right now we’re in the second year of smooth-running maintenance. They produce quarterly reviews, and now our quarterly meetings are really just confirming that everything is going smoothly. They have a really easy system. It’s an email to their support team. Everyone has that email address. If we label the issue as an emergency, then they’ll respond within 15 minutes. Only one time in the last three years can I recall them not meeting that particular standard, and that was just an accident. It’s super simple. They assign it to somebody who lets us know that it’s received; there’s an auto-reply as well. If it’s not an emergency, we’ll hear back in a couple of hours and they’ll start the process of figuring it out. It’s extremely streamlined and easy to use. Very user-friendly.

What did you find most impressive about Switchfast?

It would be disingenuous for me to compare them to other IT vendors because I’ve never used vendors like this. But I have worked with other vendors in other sectors, and the unique characteristic is that they provide what I feel is truly white-glove service. They treat us like their top-dollar client, and I know we can’t possibly be. Everybody they hire has the playbook down. They’re attentive and professional, qualified. It’s without fail. That’s what’s unique about Switchfast, not as an IT vendor but as a business. For what I’m asking of them, I couldn’t be happier.

Are there any areas Switchfast could improve?

I’d have to dig pretty deep. I can’t think of anything I would ask them to improve.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Switchfast?

People feel like they can’t afford to spend the money. What I say, particularly with IT, is that you can’t afford not to. Prior to retaining Switchfast, we didn’t realize how much we were losing, whether it was time or money or both, on doing it ourselves.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a non-profit in Chicago. We invest in high-performing education non-profits across the city. We have just over 10 employees right now, and I’m the executive and operations coordinator.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Switchfast?

We were looking to find a different IT vendor that could help us with different support needs. Given that we’re a small team, we don’t have a dedicated in-house IT staff member, so we have to outsource our IT activities to others. We were looking for a vendor that would be more responsive to our needs, given that most of our business is run via email.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Switchfast manages all aspects all of our technology infrastructure. Our relationship with them is kind of ad hoc, so if we have an issue, we’ll contact them. So far, they’ve done a cyber security assessment that helped us identify new systems we can use to beef up our firewalls. They wrote up a huge assessment and noted areas where we could improve and put some configurations into place. An engineer came and spent two hours here to get a feel for our organization and our servers and all of that fun IT stuff. They also help us troubleshoot when we need it. We were having some dropped conference calls, so they helped us troubleshoot that. They suggested a different dial-in system, and so far we haven’t had any issues.

How did you come to work with Switchfast?

We were introduced through another non-profit.

What is the status of this engagement?

We signed them on in January, so it’s been around two months. They have been incredibly kind and friendly. A colleague of mine emailed them about a support question and they responded within a few hours. They’ve been really on top of it.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Their work definitely resulted in some action items for us. For example, they suggested that we add certain configurations to our firewall, so I think we’ve gone ahead and implemented them. That was the kind of proactivity that we needed from a supplier. It wasn't enough to conduct the evaluation. They proposed meaningful suggestions afterward and helped us understand all the different variables involved.

How did Switchfast perform from a project management standpoint?

They use a ticketing system. You email a support helpdesk and pretty quickly they respond. We haven’t had an emergency yet, but I have no problem getting them on the phone right away if need be. I was working with one gentleman yesterday and we were in and out of communication all day, and he was really committed to helping us with the issue at hand.

Are there any areas Switchfast could improve?

It has been a short relationship, so it’s hard to say at this point.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We're a nonprofit organization serving 1,000 people, primarily through educational programs. We have around 30 employees. I am the executive director of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Switchfast Technologies?

We had outgrown our original IT [information technology] manager and needed a more reliable partner who could stay three steps ahead of us, instead of responding to what we knew and always fixing things after they went wrong. We aren't professionals in the field so it was impossible to do it ourselves, plus hiring internally for it wasn't going to be cost-effective. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Switchfast Technologies is a liaison for all of our IT [information technology] needs, working with our hosted servers, ISP [Internet Service Provider], backup system, workstation setups, email management solution, and so on. We don't have any custom business solutions in place, but Switchfast Technologies has tailored the systems we have to our specific needs. Most of their work has been maintenance and support.

How did you come to work with Switchfast Technologies?

I found Switchfast Technologies through a Google search. I vetted a number of companies and chose Switchfast Technologies because of their commitment to customer service. Not only did Switchfast Technologies have good IT knowledge, but they were also committed to completing tasks in a satisfactory way, which can be a problem with IT companies.

How much have you invested with Switchfast Technologies?

We have made some infrastructure investments that came together with Switchfast Technologies' monthly maintenance fee, so I can't provide an exact figure.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have been working with Switchfast Technologies since August 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Switchfast Technologies has responded quickly to all of our issues and was able to complete our first project, a Microsoft Exchange Office 365 integration, seamlessly. Switchfast Technologies is now building a technology roadmap for us, which will allow our organization to budget in the future when our needs will diminish. Most of our work so far has been remedial and strategic, but without their involvement, we would not have a good grasp on where we were heading and what we could do to prepare for our future growth. 

How did Switchfast Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

Switchfast Technologies has a specific and thorough system of opening tickets and reporting on every move made for specific issues. We've used this system in the past and found it effective.

What did you find most impressive about Switchfast Technologies?

Switchfast Technologies' team is well-trained at listening, responding, being cordial, and helping the customer understand the technical nature of the proposed solutions as well as the business aspects.

Are there any areas Switchfast Technologies could improve?

No. They are great.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the owner of Transformer Manufacturers Inc., a manufacturer of low-voltage appliance transformers. We also produce value-added assemblies, transformers with customer componentry acting as power units. We sell our products strictly to OEMs [original equipment manufacturers].

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Switchfast Technologies?

We were looking for a service-oriented firm because our previous IT company was not able to stay abreast of current technologies. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Switchfast Technologies provides equipment-related services, inheriting complete responsibility for our infrastructure. They are responsible for managing, updating and processing our tools. They handle everything: our modems, connectivity, spam software, filters, and so on. Occasionally when remote intervention does not work, Switchfast Technologies sends resources on-site. We haven't used them for accounting software management or other types of platforms.

How did you come to work with Switchfast Technologies?

I came to know Switchfast Technologies' chief operating officer through business networking. I also considered another candidate but Switchfast Technologies was more competitive. They were responsive and had a more comprehensive line of services.

How much have you invested with Switchfast Technologies?

We've spent $800 to $1,000 per month on Switchfast Technologies' services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Switchfast Technologies in 2012 or 2013. Our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Switchfast Technologies has been proactive in understanding each segment of our upgrades and services. They know what is happening on a monthly basis. At the same time, we also understand exactly what they are doing and why. Everything is spelled out in our agreement and followed to a tee. We've also been pleased that they addressed issues that were outside of the original agreement. For example, they assisted us with an out-of-scope hardware issue. Switchfast Technologies got us back online using their contacts and resources.

How did Switchfast Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

Switchfast Technologies have the right processes for solving problems like ours. We submit issues through their ticketing system. They logged us in immediately and issued internal tickets. Our lines of communication are also excellent.

What did you find most impressive about Switchfast Technologies?

Out of all our IT providers, Switchfast Technologies is the most proactive in handling the technologies we utilize. They solve problems immediately and their service is better than anything we've had before.

Are there any areas Switchfast Technologies could improve?

There's nothing glaring. Switchfast Technologies has been able to keep up with the communication technologies used by our team. I would have mentioned response time a year ago, but Switchfast Technologies has addressed this. As far as I'm concerned, there are no issues.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a consulting company focusing on the insurance claims industry. When an insurance company has a question or a situation that it can't quite handle, it can contact us for guidance. With our help, the insurance company can ultimately make a decision for the insured. I am the founder of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Switchfast Technologies?

As we grew, we began to have multiple issues with connectivity, storage, and security. Our company also moved into a brand new building. It was a fairly big job to enter our information into new computers and set them up correctly. We're a fairly paperless company and rely on our software for 7,000 to 8,000 claims per year. The data must absolutely be correct, especially considering our liability for lawsuits.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We initially hired Switchfast Technologies for a few smaller projects, became comfortable with them, and ultimately hired them for our biggest project as well as maintenance. Switchfast Technologies provided set up services for our company. We have an in-house IT person and he now calls them whenever a situation arises that he can't handle. We utilize their team around half a dozen times a year in order to guide us through various situations and fix problems. Initially, Switchfast Technologies worked on-site for our company. We currently have a mostly remote engagement. We've worked with 1 particular person from their team throughout the process, which ensured that our needs were understood. Our business is run in a somewhat unusual way, utilizing many proprietary programs that connect to the insurance industry. Our security system is maintained by Switchfast Technologies and we're considering having them perform monthly check-ups as well.

How did you come to work with Switchfast Technologies?

I met Switchfast Technologies' owner through an organization with which we're both involved. I generally do not hire people this way because the relationship can go south when there's an unsolved problem or poor communication. I made a decision to give it a try in this case, but I made it clear that I'm very sensitive in this regard and it shouldn't be held against me.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have been working with Switchfast Technologies since the beginning of 2013.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

According to our IT person, Switchfast Technologies typically explains what is going to be done. When they actually do it, the scope of the work is accurate. I also own an HVAC company so I’m used to providing a scope of work and doing it correctly. It’s a given that people don't like paying for things they don't know about. The scope of work provided by Switchfast Technologies is accurate and sensible. In addition, they've made sure to outline any unknown issues. Someone in our team recently opened an email which corrupted our system and Switchfast Technologies immediately jumped on the problem within an hour. It was a pretty bad virus, but Switchfast Technologies had our system up again within a reasonable period of time. We didn't have any failures afterward. 

How did Switchfast Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

We have enjoyed our working relationship with Switchfast Technologies. Their billing was accurate, which was an important thing for us. My CFO is extremely thorough when it comes to reviewing bills and making sure that we're paying what we owe and not a penny more. A surprisingly high number of companies overbill, but he's able to catch them. We haven't seen this in Switchfast Technologies' case.

Whenever I call Switchfast Technologies, they're immediately engaging and they try to take care of whatever we need done, quickly. Our issues get solved and I don't have to think about them. We have locations all over the US and a number of issues overall. Switchfast Technologies simply reports what the problem was, how it was solved, and how much time was spent on it. We get a bill in the mail and that's it, which I find to be worth its weight in gold. 

What did you find most impressive about Switchfast Technologies?

I've never gotten recurring calls from Switchfast Technologies bothering me about additional services. This may seem to be a marketing flaw, but I see it as a plus. Many of the companies that we engage with call me routinely, looking for business and pushing themselves. I've always told them that I'd reach out when I needed something, so I shouldn't be put on a monthly calling calendar.

I've worked with numerous IT firms in the past, but I’ve never met one with the culture and professionalism shown by Switchfast Technologies. For example, they have done an outstanding job in handling a very temperamental person in our staff. If we even look at our IT person wrong, he won't be happy. He likes Switchfast Technologies, which was surprising to me.

Are there any areas Switchfast Technologies could improve?

I would appreciate getting an occasional update about viruses or other issues. We usually only find out about these things once they’ve happened. For example, I receive warnings from my credit card company when they feel that someone else may have been using my credit card. Our internal IT person has this approach. He may be getting that information from Switchfast Technologies but I couldn't say for sure. Being the CEO of 5 different companies means that I only get involved when there's an issue.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Acquirent is an outsourced sales company. Clients come to us in order to recruit, manage, and train their sales people. We've been in business for 12 years. I'm the executive vice president of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Switchfast Technologies?

Like most entrepreneurial businesses, we've had meager beginnings. Before working for this company, I sold computer software for a living; that made me the IT guy here. As we began to grow, my limited knowledge and experience put me over my skis, so to speak. We knew that we were overwhelmed so we hired some IT specialists on a moonlighting basis. Eventually, we realized that we needed a more professional firm with full-time experts instead of a jack of all trades. Switchfast Technologies had these core competencies, so we gave them our business.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Switchfast Technologies acts as our IT team. We have a team of 110 people, but not one of them is an IT person. Switchfast Technologies actively manages our servers, our phone system, and everything else in our closets. The company is local and based a couple of miles away from us. While they do come in every 2 weeks, most of the work is done remotely. We have Help Desk support for issues such as hard drive failures.

Our current office occupies a full floor in a building. We’ve been here for about 5 years. Switchfast Technologies helped us configure our infrastructure from a planning standpoint. They also implemented everything from wiring to hardware, including our wireless network. Switchfast Technologies also helped us spec and acquire additional devices. In addition, we provisioned our Internet service through Switchfast Technologies, who manages our contract.

How did you come to work with Switchfast Technologies?

Like everyone else, when we started looking for a service provider, we trusted Google and looked up some IT firms. We went through due diligence, talking to 6 to 7 of them. Some were mom-and-pop shops while others were bigger. We boiled down the choice to around 3 and held a bake-off. We chose Switchfast Technologies because they demonstrated a good level of expertise and we appreciated their personnel. Our cultures seemed to align in terms of values and principles. They're also a relatively large firm, which gave us a sense of comfort.

How much have you invested with Switchfast Technologies?

We've spent around $500,000 in total on Switchfast Technologies' services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working with Switchfast Technologies for around 8 years. At one point, we took a year off and went to a different provider. We quickly realized that we made a poor choice and switched back to Switchfast Technologies.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Switchfast Technologies always made sure that we were on the same page. They met with us quarterly and we had a virtual CTO (chief technology officer) type of relationship. Most people, as far as I'm aware of, are more reactive. If the server goes down, it needs to be fixed. In contrast, Switchfast Technologies is more proactive and we love it. They reviewed the number of tickets we've issued, the status of our network, and our overall roadmap. They've upgraded our Microsoft Office environment, end-of-life switches, and so on within ample time. Our business is quite unique and Switchfast Technologies was creative enough to come up with a good solution for our needs. Everything seemed to work.

How did Switchfast Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

Tickets can be issued by email and we also have access to portals. It all depends on the user's preference since not everyone communicates the same way. Switchfast Technologies has been tremendously accommodating in fitting within our schedule versus simply telling us when an issue would be fixed. We have an account manager from Switchfast Technologies, but there are multiple ways of starting remediation and ticketing. At the end of a task, we receive a survey judging our client satisfaction. There's never been anything lower than 90-95% satisfaction, so we're very happy. We occasionally have on-premises interactions with Switchfast Technologies, for issues and customizations. One contact, in particular, will come to our office every 2 weeks whether we need him or not. He’s been working with us for years and we see him as part of our team.

What did you find most impressive about Switchfast Technologies?

Being a business owner, I want to get good value. With other vendors, we always got the sense of being nickel-and-dimed. Everything would be on the invoice that then turned into a giant scroll of charges. With Switchfast Technologies, we have a pricing mechanism based on the number of employees in our company. They've gone over-and-above in order to make sure that we didn't miss a beat. Switchfast Technologies was not only flexible but provided budget stability.

During the summer, the air conditioning went out in the building and the server room overheated. If this had happened with our previous company, I would have walked in on Monday to hours of downtime. Switchfast Technologies called me on a Saturday, telling me that someone needed to be sent down to the server room. We try not to take Switchfast Technologies for granted because not everyone would provide that level of service.

Are there any areas Switchfast Technologies could improve?

One of the reasons we left Switchfast Technologies temporarily was that they changed their service delivery method. Instead of having a technician troubleshoot problems, we dealt with a sort of concierge who wasn't technical in nature and was only taking calls. After telling our story to that person, someone else would call us back and have us describe the problem again. If they couldn't solve it, the process repeated. It led to a level of frustration for us. We spoke to Switchfast Technologies' CEO, expressed our concern, and ended up switching providers for a little bit. Switchfast Technologies heard us and changed the service delivery model, so we came back. It's important to not only have your voice heard by the top person but also to see action being taken.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Ardeo Education Solutions is a public benefit company that partners with higher education institutions to provide Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAPs) that are smart for students and smart for colleges. I am part of the Business Technology (AVP) team and help lead our cybersecurity efforts.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Nimble Defense?

We originally hired them to complete a cybersecurity assessment but then signed on for them to run our cybersecurity program.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed an assessment completed within the NIST Cybersecurity framework which would help us shape our IT policy, incident response plan, and other cybersecurity documents and processes.

SOLUTION

How did you select Nimble Defense?

Nimble Defense was recommended through our managed service provided (SwitchFast).

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Nimble Defense provides the knowledge and leadership we need to ensure our cybersecurity efforts exceed the expectations of our clients and ensure we will do our best to mitigate any issues if they ever do arise.