Certified CIO

Please describe your company and your position there.

Insurance agency. President/owner

For what projects/services did your company hire Certified CIO?

We hired Certified CIO to move our physical server to the cloud, as our physical server was end of life. They also provide monthly managed IT services to our firm.

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Certified CIO has handled our managed IT services for the past year plus. They have done a fantastic job and I knew they would do a great job on our server project.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

We met with the owner, Steve, and project manager to determine if a new physical server or cloud solution made more sense. We decided on the cloud solution in an effort to be more nimble as a firm, and always have the most up to date system. After deciding to go with the cloud solution, the next step was to upgrade our outdated hardware (firewall, switches, etc.) and begin the move to the cloud.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Owner, project manager and helpdesk techs

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The cloud migration was a great success. We were able to retire our outdated server and supporting hardware, and now have a system that will support us indefinitely.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They have a highly reliable team of techs available to our firm via the helpdesk. It's a seamless process to open a ticket and have any issue resolved quickly.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Certified CIO is easy to work with and always provides a solution to our issues.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

No

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of SPM Marketing and Communications; we’re a healthcare marketing agency.

What challenge were you trying to address with Certified CIO?

We approached several new companies to join our group, so we needed to integrate our IT functions.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Certified CIO is helping us with Microsoft 365 setup, including Outlook and Microsoft Teams. Some of the companies were on different setups, so Certified CIO’s team is moving them all to the same instance and ensuring that everything is configured for proper communication and collaboration. In addition to that, they’ve produced a training manual for our teams.

What is the team composition?

We’ve been working directly with Steve (CEO) and Ken (SVP).

How did you come to work with Certified CIO?

Someone who works in our company referred them to us.

How much money have you invested in this partnership?

So far, we’ve spent around $50,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2022, and the engagement is ongoing.

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

They're responsive and a great partner. Moreover, Certified CIO's team answers our questions as soon as they arise.

How did Certified CIO perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is excellent; they meet deadlines, communicate well, and have great accountability. Ken was our project manager, and he did a great job.

Regarding tools, we used a ticketing system and phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their technical expertise and responsiveness are their best attributes.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't think there's anything they can improve on — we're delighted with their work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Clearly map out the project's goals so they can understand what you're trying to achieve.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am an owner/President of a multi-company corporation.

For what projects/services did your company hire Certified CIO?

Our company had just been shut down by Ransome ware. Our previous company did not have our server properly backed up and after 3 days they were making no progress in getting us up and running. During this crisis, a Certified CIO salesman came knocking on our door.

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We were in crisis mode and they sounded like they knew what they were talking about.

Describe the project in detail and walk through their service package.

The salesman called their owner and expressed to him our dire situation. Within a short period of time, he was in my office formulating a plan to get us back up and running. He developed the plan, gave us an estimate of cost, and immediately called in some help and went to work. We were up and running in a short time. Our server had been damaged beyond repair. CCio provided us with a loaner until we could get back on our feet.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Steve Plumblee the owner and Ken Taylor were onsite. I am not sure how many others were involved, but I know they were working with more folks in the office. It seemed like if anyone in the company was available, they were helping out.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Since that initial crisis, CCio has replaced the loaner server with modern equipment, increasing our capacity and security. Our servers are now backed up onsite and in the cloud. Before contracting with them, we had daily IT issues. Now it seems like we only contact them to add equipment and set up new staff as we continue to grow.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Certified CIO has systems in place that makes it very easy for any of our staff to make request and report a problem. They in turn are quick to reply with a fix or a timely appointment for the non-critical issues.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

They genuinely care about our company and our success. They make recommendations of equipment that is cost-effective giving us what we require now and what we may need as we grow.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

As their great reputation has spread they continue to grow, add staff so they can maintain their great service. It would be nice to receive an introduction to their new staff.