centrexIT

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CFO of an environmental health and safety consulting firm. We provide safety compliance consulting primarily for biotech labs, the pharmaceutical industry, and the high-tech industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with centrexIT?

We were looking to outsource our IT needs.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

centrexIT provides outsourced IT consultation. They handle everything from replacing our server, setting up employee workstations, upgrading our software, to fulfilling all our day-to-day IT needs. The team also conducts site servicing and network cabling, and they also help with anything internet-related.

They also review our systems and ensure that our employee workstations are up to the latest security codes. Furthermore, they check on our server and backup environments to make sure they’re operating well.

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact is Robert (IT Manager), but I’ve worked with countless of their teammates.

How did you come to work with centrexIT?

I found them through a Google search for managed IT consulting services. I then interviewed them along with a couple of other firms, and I was most impressed by centrexIT. After visiting their facility and meeting their team, I decided to move forward with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $202,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in February 2012, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve made a significant, valuable impact on our company. One way is when we’ve needed to replace our entire onsite server environment, which they’ve handled from start to finish. Their efficient and effective work allows us to keep our system running smoothly. It has let us transfer all our data and keep our employees working with minimal interruption. 

centrexIT has also set up a redundant backup system that’s helped us through a cyberattack. Someone had attempted to install ransomware into our system, but because of the onsite backup system they’ve helped us implement, we were able to ignore the request. We wiped our servers clean and restored them within three days, allowing us to be operational within that time. Overall, their solutions have been highly effective.

How did centrexIT perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management has been excellent — they’ve handled it from top to bottom. The team truly takes over our projects, and I’m involved only when making decisions and getting the information they need. We usually communicate via email and service tickets, but we call them right away if there’s an urgent matter. centrexIT has an excellent system that allows us to send emails which are then turned into tickets. They’re based on priority, so they’re swift and respond within a day if it’s urgent. Otherwise, it’s put into a queue based on the severity of the need, and they fix it within 2–3 days. If they find an issue with our server, they notify us immediately and escalate and prioritize the problem until the systems become operational. Overall, they’re a great mix of reactive and proactive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

centrexIT’s knowledge of the industry is impressive. They’re on top of the latest and greatest technology, which has saved us time with research. The team has ensured that we have the best system possible and that our server environment is top-notch and up to date. Furthermore, their pricing has always been very competitive, and they provide high-quality services.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Over the ten years, there have been a few times when their communications weren’t perfect. However, whenever there was a lag in communication, the team would quickly correct it. They’ve definitely made improvements throughout the project, especially with their systems, which is why we continue to work with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Study their services by looking at what they’re offering and who they’re partnered with.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of a company called New Venture Escrow, which is a settlement company in California.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CentrexIT?

We were looking for a partner to handle all of our IT services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their team manages our phone infrastructure, our cloud server cluster, our cybersecurity, our email accounts, and pretty much anything else that has to do with a computer or phone. We have an enabled tech platform for users both inside and outside of the organization, so we throw a lot of different requirements at them on a pretty regular basis.

The vast majority of the work is handled remotely, either through access to our accounts or screen sharing to troubleshoot any problems we might have.

What is the team composition?

I work with four people from their team directly, including the CEO, the head of sales, and two account managers.

How did you come to work with CentrexIT?

They actually found me and offered their services, and I decided to go with them because they were providing an all-in-one solution rather than

How much have you invested with them?

Overall, we’ve spent about $15,000 a month with them since we started, so we’re probably at around a $1 million investment in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them around January 2015 and are continuing to partner together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our team conducts a quarterly review based on uptime for our servers as well as the satisfaction of our staff, and they have consistently performed well across those reviews. We’ve been pretty much completely satisfied with their services, and anytime we’ve asked them to change or add something they haven’t hesitated to implement that for us.

How did CentrexIT perform from a project management standpoint?

Their performance in project management has been excellent. They are always very responsive to our requests, and we haven’t had any issues with the pricing structure either. We’ve scaled our business massively over the years of our partnership, and the fact that they’ve been able to continue satisfying all of our IT needs from both a company and a tech platform standpoint throughout that process is outstanding.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The quality of people within their organization is hands-down the best part of working with them. In business, you cannot underestimate the importance of working with people you like, and their entire team is friendly, client-centric, consistently focused on problem-solving instead of finger-pointing. That dedication to their services is extremely valuable to our organization and is the reason we have invested so much with them over the years.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There is nothing offhand that I think they should definitely be doing differently. At some point in our scaling process, I think we will need to increase the number of people managing our account so that they have a little more bandwidth to make sure that they’re handling us at the same level, but that hasn’t caused us any problems so far.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The clarity with which you execute is a big part of having a successful collaboration. Be as specific as possible with the end goal that you’re looking for from a business perspective, but then let them handle the solution from the infrastructure and tech perspective.

If you go in with a preconceived notion of how you think the problem will be solved, you’re going to extend the process because they will have to spend their time explaining why some solutions might be better than your original suggestion rather than fixing the actual problem.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CFO of Avista Technologies. We’re a chemical products and services company serving the industrial reverse osmosis, water treatment industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with centrexIT?

We hired them to be our managed service provider. I needed help with IT strategy and road mapping for the design of our system.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The most ongoing part of the work is their monitoring and help desk availability for our users. They’re also helping us set strategy and manage our IT projects to make sure we fit with data-security best practices. There also had to be 24/7 monitoring in case we had a system failure. Also, we needed a partner to assist us with IT projects. A Japanese IT company acquired us one year ago and they have certain IT policies surrounding integration that I needed centrexIT to help with.

One thing they’ve had to do is product a pretty-detailed project plan and schedule for us to give to our parent company. They did the job well and presented it well too. The project itself is an integration with our parent company’s Office 365 suite. It’s very complicated to pull off. The deadline to go live is June 29th, so a lot of work is being done right now. We’re pretty much on-plan, though, with the intermediate steps.

What is the team composition?

We work with six people. Eric (Virtual CIO) is in charge of top-level strategy, as well as the overall relationship. In the early stages, I worked with Grant (Director of Business Development) on the sales side. We also have a virtual IT manager (vITM) who handles projects and details. They’ve also brought in Jesus (Senior Sales Engineer), who we’re working with on our current project. He’s highly technical. Bernat (IT project manager) is also involved in the current project. Jomer (IT Manager) is very hands-on with our project as well, though his work is behind the scenes. I’ve needed to use their support desk as well and we get various people through there.

How did you come to work with centrexIT?

centrexIT was a client of mine when I worked at my prior consulting firm. I worked with them for over three years as a fractional CFO for them. I knew the good and the bad about them and felt confident that if I brought them into Avista that they would do a good job. I didn’t have to investigate alternatives.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $26,000 on reoccurring services, and the project we’re working on now costs $22,000. There are plans to do a lot more with them before the end of the year, which could get us north of $50,000. That would including hardware, service labor, and possibly moving over to their cloud infrastructure.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since January 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’ve seen them in action several times when I have a service request and they get back to in a reasonable amount of time based on the severity level. My experience has been really good. If they didn’t have a high success rate then I would hear about it. I haven’t had any negative feedback from any of our users. The people serving me on my team are very seasoned and current on industry practices.

How did centrexIT perform from a project management standpoint?

They do a great job. I interact with them a lot at meetings and they’ve been great communicators. They demonstrate their know-how and offer solutions, as well as good alternatives if there are multiple solutions available.

We have weekly calls with our Japanese parent company and centrex’s staff communicates and collaborates well with them. They come across like they know their stuff. When the IT team in Japan offers solutions centrex participates in a good give and take, which is important. There isn’t any tension or resistance.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have advanced know-how and a deep bench of knowledge, especially for their size. If one IT manager doesn’t have a solution then another IT professional or technician will. A big thing for me is the 24-hour monitoring, too. Our firewall failed yesterday and we lost the internet in our building but they detected it before I started work. They notified me and started working on a resolution immediately.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I was left out of the loop on a project plan that was sent to our parent company. It was just an oversight, though, so I reminded the person to copy me on all communications.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

We have regular status meetings and I push them when I think it’s necessary. They react more quickly in those situations. They have to juggle a lot of clients, so there are weaknesses in that versus having a dedicated IT technician that’s on-site with you.

They’re careful and don’t rush into decisions but sometimes you have to move a little quicker. It isn’t a very aggressive push.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the information systems manager at an outpatient mental health facility. We provide psychiatric medication management as well as individual, group, family, and couples therapy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with centrexIT?

Initially, we needed help moving from paper to electronic health records and all of the technical requirements that go along with that.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped us transition our health records, and updated all of our computers to meet those technical requirements. In the beginning stages, they helped us research different needs and provided feedback on the requirements involved. Throughout that process, they helped us with upgrades and learning the system.

Additionally, they work on our computers and helped us find a new phone system. Just recently, they helped us with a successful migration from old servers on-site to a cloud-based system.

What is the team composition?

We interact with 15–20 members of their team, which includes a project manager.

How did you come to work with centrexIT?

They were working with my organization before I was hired. I know they had experience with other medical facilities when they joined, which helps with maintaining HIPPA privacy.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend $40,000–$50,000 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with them in October 2012, and our work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I view them as a partner because they’re really involved in our day-to-day operations. Their efforts have helped us streamline and keep our providers productive. They get really involved, which helps us make sure we’re making the best decision for the organization.

How did centrexIT perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve really improved their organization and communication over the years. They’re very responsive when we open tickets and they communicate when they can fix something immediately. At a project management level, we have other staff that we work with too, to put the project together and coordinate on-site.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their knowledge stands out. In my conversations with them, they’re always training and re-training their staff to learn more to keep up with the latest technologies. It helps us a lot since healthcare typically moves at a slower pace with those things.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Build out a relationship with the person they assign to you. It’s really helped us open up a conversation to help our business even more.