Helixstorm

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of a freight forwarder and customs broker in the transportation industry.

What challenge were you trying to address with Helixstorm?

We were looking for a managed service provider (MSP) that we could use for our services. We have had an in-house management information systems (MIS) team since the early ’80s. However, it only consisted of three individuals, so we wanted to bring in a third party to help us out.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We tasked Helixstorm with a very comprehensive assignment, which was to handle our information systems (IS). We initially signed a master agreement, and we were very satisfied with the information and services that they gave us.

Six months later, we realized that they were very capable of handling our IS department, so we essentially outsourced our entire IS department to them.

Now, they manage our Help Desk system, and they’ve helped us make changes to both its software and hardware. Additionally, they’ve done hardware installations.

We initially had a sandboxing process that lasted a while, and we did a lot of beta testing before our system went live. Ours is a very complex system, and it has a lot of government requirements and strict control on sensitive information. However, Helixstorm did a major undertaking, and it has worked better than we expected.

After completing every project, we go through a training stage, where they provide us with training to a certain extent. Although most of the software changes were forthcoming, the hardware updates have been very extensive as well.

What is the team composition?

Stephen (Senior Account Manager) is our main point of contact, and we’ve worked with 8–10 people from Helixstorm, but it’s hard to know how many more have worked on the background.

How did you come to work with Helixstorm?

I found Helixstorm on a site, where they had multiple five-star reviews. I had also looked at a couple of different MSPs beforehand and interviewed 3–4 of them.

When I interviewed Helixstorm, I could tell that their service would be far greater than the rest. They demonstrated great capabilities and effectiveness. Additionally, they offered a better cost, so they were the whole package.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent somewhere between $300,000–$500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working in December 2020, and our engagement is ongoing. It is safe to say that we will continue working together indefinitely.

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

Hiring Helixstorm was an improvement over our former IS department. They’re professionals, and their work is stellar. Thanks to their work, we’re now looking at $100,000 per year on cost savings. We usually scale projects to their impact every ten years, so we’re looking to save over $1 million in ten years.

We’ve also seen savings due to the changes we’ve made. They've recommended those changes based on their knowledge of services costs. Currently, those changes add up to $200,000 on savings per year, so we’re expecting a total of over $3 million on savings in the next ten years.

Additionally, these are just the results of what we’ve changed, but we have a lot of other changes pending in the pipeline. We have four pending projects, and two of them will result in additional savings. Thus, we’re sure that our savings will be greater than that.

If we look at how much we pay Helixstorm versus how much we’re saving, we’re actually making money. That is one of the main reasons why we’re still working together.

On the system management side, our users haven’t experienced any interruption, but they see a lot of upgrades, including a greater speed and efficiency in the network.

The project was very well planned and strategized beforehand, allowing us to work on various updates without having downtimes or hiccups.

How did Helixstorm perform from a project management standpoint?

Helixstorm’s project management is excellent. Their involvement is complete, and they address every issue that we have properly.

Stephen has been absolutely stellar; he’s the glue that holds everything together. Our meetings are typically over the phone. While it is expected that some technical details get lost in translation when talking over the phone, that doesn’t happen to him. He always understands everything, and we always get a response.

Besides the phone calls, we have weekly meetings over Microsoft Teams or RingCentral, and their frequency depends on how big the ongoing project is.

What did you find most impressive about them?

When we were looking through different vendors, we realized that Helixstorm was the best fit for us. Although they weren’t the most affordable, they weren’t the most expensive either, and other companies charged three times what they’re charging us.

We also know that we’re not their only client, and they have many other customers. However, the fact that they pay us as much attention as they do is amazing, and it is more than we expected.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of something that they could improve on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Do as we did. We didn’t jump in headfirst; we first went through some reviews and focused on finding the right fit. Additionally, dip your toes first. We initially signed a master agreement, and we assigned little tasks to them before outsourcing our whole IS department.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CFO at Linfield Christian School, a K-12 independent Christian school.

What challenge were you trying to address with Helixstorm?

We hired them to assist us with a new network design and implementation.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Helixstorm engineered and helped to purchase and install a new network system. That included a new firewall and four new switches, along with battery backup. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with four teammates, including a project manager.

How did you come to work with Helixstorm?

We had utilized them before in instances where we had some emergency fix needs. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $50,000–$199,999.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began this project in August 2020. That project was completed, but we’ll be maintaining an ongoing relationship as we look for additional opportunities to improve our network.

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

I was very pleased with the quality of their service. Helixstorm came in understanding that we were on a very tight timeline. We had begun on-campus learning, and we realized that our network wasn’t sufficient in supporting the drain on the system when teachers were streaming lessons and students were working on their computers in the classroom. 

The team was able to engineer the network, make some mid-project shifts, and complete it in a timely fashion. We were pleased with their services and pricing. 

How did Helixstorm perform from a project management standpoint?

Their communication was great. The project manager kept us informed frequently, so we always knew where we were, which was critical. Helixstorm either made or beat every deadline that we hoped for.

There was one instance where that didn’t happen, but it wasn’t their fault; it was due to an equipment delivery issue, and they quickly made up for it. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team’s communication, understanding of the critical timing, and diligence in working late into the evening to install it after hours were great. They were flexible and willing to go above and beyond to get the work done in a timely manner.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there are no areas of improvement.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend them, but make sure you reach out to more than one organization. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the assistant VP of IT at Buchanan Street Partners, a real estate investment company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Helixstorm?

We were switching our third-party provider for our offsite and onsite computer maintenance.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Helixstorm moved all of our data and servers to our onsite server room and did the backups on the cloud, which they maintain. The team maintains our firewall and settings, and they provide third tech level backup telephone support. They also handle updates of all the servers.

What is the team composition?

I have two main points of contact: a salesperson and a project manager. We also interact with their support line.

How did you come to work with Helixstorm?

We were looking online for different companies in the Southern California Newport Beach area that handled third-party support. We went through a rigorous RFP process, and Helixstorm turned out to be the best first for us.

How much have you invested with them?

At this point, we’ve spent about $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started talking to them in 2019, but the project started in January 2020.

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

The quality of Helixstorm’s work is great. COVID-19 was disruptive for everyone, but the team helped us to transition to remote working with very little hiccups. They’re very proactive. When we put a ticket in, we get a good response from them, so we’re very happy.

How did Helixstorm perform from a project management standpoint?

The project management has been great. COVID-19 caused delays, which wasn’t their fault. Their communication is also great, and they respond when I send them something. Sometimes, I had to remind them about things, but if I prompted them, they responded right away.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Helixstorm has been more proactive if they see something that doesn’t look right compared to our other service provider. This team is always looking at our accounts to make sure that our certificates and licenses are up to date.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They may need to add another project manager.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure that you have a project plan in place and everything listed that you need to get done. We had that and went in knowing what we needed to do. As a customer, you still have to be prepared. There should be a coordinated effort.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the IT director at a transit agency.

What challenge were you trying to address with Helixstorm?

We were looking to supplement our IT staff and bring in more skill sets that we didn’t have because we couldn’t afford those full-time positions.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Helixstorm monitors and maintains our entire network environment and the hardware and software on our VMware virtualized server environment. They work completely remotely, and only come on-site when they need to work with physical assets.

The team specializes in Cisco networking, access point (AP) networking, VMware, and HP hardware.

What is the team composition?

It varies depending on the technology that’s having problems. I usually interact with 5–6 different teammates, including an account manager and different engineers in the different disciplines.

How did you come to work with Helixstorm?

We did an RFP that was weighted based on four technical areas and pricing, and we received a number of proposals from different companies. After various interviews and site visits, our evaluation team selected Helixstorm.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend roughly $7,200 per month. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in March 2018, and our engagement is ongoing. We’ve renewed our contract twice.

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

It’s been a success, and Helixstorm has been very responsive to issues. I measure success based on how quickly they respond to and resolve issues, and it’s been great. 

How did Helixstorm perform from a project management standpoint?

Their communication is good. We communicate through phone, email, and a ticketing service. The team reaches out quickly when an automated ticket is generated to let us know that they've taken care of it. 

They follow through on the entire process. The account manager does periodic check-ins to see what’s active and what’s going on. If we need to escalate, they are also very responsive. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The skillset of Helixstorm’s engineers is impressive. They are quick to resolve issues.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I have no suggestions. They’ve done a good job for us, and they’ve got the required skill sets to support what I need.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Prod them for suggestions and best practices, and then consider implementing the advice they give you. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP and general manager at Bay City Marine, a ship repair company that serves the US Navy and commercial shipping carriers.

What challenge were you trying to address with Helixstorm?

We wanted to replace an old, outdated network with one that would give us more reliability and the ability to work remotely.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Helixstorm replaced our entire hardware and network cabling. They pulled in a completely new network, new servers, new switches, and new wireless access points. The team made us completely NIST-compliant because cybersecurity is a big deal in our industry. 

They also implemented a variety of new software and a little bit of hardware in terms of computer terminals. They pulled it all together, including the ability to work off-site since a lot of our work is in other shipyards or on the Naval base.

What is the team composition?

There was an implementation team of four. Off-site, they probably had another 3–4 team members, and they also had a handful of subcontractors. 

How did you come to work with Helixstorm?

They were referred by a friend in the industry who they serviced as well. I had a call with Helixstorm, and I could tell that they understood our needs and operated very similarly to us in terms of transparency. Helixstorm also put together a very competitive package that met all of our needs.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The discussions began in March 2020, and the project was completed in July 2020. There were some delays with the fiber optic cable, which held the project off for the first few months. The total duration of the implementation was about two months.

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

It was a successful project. Their professionalism in getting everything set up, working around our schedule to minimize our downtime, and the whole customer service experience were great. 

How did Helixstorm perform from a project management standpoint?

Helixstorm’s project management was great. Their communication was seamless and transparent, and they completed what they said they were going to on time. The team had some challenges with some of the cables in the business, and they had to pull in some new cabling which they weren’t expecting.

They were still able to complete everything on time, including any changes in scope. Their Help Desk is incredibly responsive and has a goal of completing 80% of their calls. We mostly communicate through phone and email, as well as Ring Central and video conferencing.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Helixstorm’s ability to assimilate into our organization was impressive. They didn’t come in and steamroll us with the installation; they worked around our schedules. The team was incredibly flexible in getting us set up. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not that I can think of. Apart from the challenges they faced, they couldn’t have done anything differently. It was 100% customer satisfaction from ownership right down to the newest computer user.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Transparency is the key. If you tell them what you need and give them realistic budget expectations, they will put together the absolute best system they can for the money you’re willing to invest.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief information officer at Planet Home Lending. We’re a national mortgage company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Helixstorm?

We wanted to bring our main infrastructure, which was under a managed services contract, in-house.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Helixstorm helped us to build out two data centers. Their team not only secured the equipment but also guided our decisions about what to transfer to the Cloud and what to keep on premises. Their team helped us to figure out how we wanted to lay everything out.

We chose to use SimpliVity as our hyperconverged system. Helixstorm worked on all of the HPE integrations. Their team also implemented a disaster recovery software into our system.

We recently brought the two data centers online. Their team’s helping us to finish the configuration.

What is the team composition?

We worked with about four people from Helixstorm including account managers, senior engineers, and procurement specialists.

How did you come to work with Helixstorm?

Helixstorm’s one of the best Hewlett-Packard integrators in Southern California. We worked with them in the past and decided to work with them again to help us get our data centers up and running.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $1.2 million on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project in January 2020, and it wrapped up in July 2020.

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

Our ROI on the project was to overall net save about $300,000 a year for the company. The disaster recovery software allows us to automatically flip systems between the two data centers.

How did Helixstorm perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Microsoft Project but mostly communicated by e-mail. We completed the project on time and on budget. We have a great working relationship with their technical and project management teams.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their technical knowledge separates them from everybody else. Their team knows what they’re doing. There’s nothing that stumps them. If we had a niche HP question, their team would reach out to their contacts to get us an answer the same day.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Before you start the project, have your technical team meet with theirs to establish a level of comfort. Once you understand their knowledge of the HP product line, the process will be easier.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of an apparel company, which serves clients with consistent needs for identity branding.

What challenge were you trying to address with Helixstorm?

We needed to update everything because our corporate network was aging. The wireless infrastructure was unreliable. The firewall infrastructure network perimeters were old. And the backup infrastructure didn’t have a disaster recovery (DR) component to it.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Helixstorm replaced our core network infrastructure, updating all its components. The team audited the environment and recommended solutions for the wireless network and backup.

First, the team replaced the wireless infrastructure with secure multiple service set identifiers (SSIDs), integrating an intact directorate for authentication. They placed the core network infrastructure under a managed back up and a DR solution, which links data to local appliances and replicates to Microsoft Azure. This enables us to recover our infrastructure and Azure if need be.

Also, the team performed an Active Directory migration and currently provides 24/7 network monitoring and management.

What is the team composition?

We interact with five people on a regular basis, but mostly speak with Eric (CTO, Helixstorm).

How did you come to work with Helixstorm?

Helixstorm was recommended. They’re a smaller organization but very technically competent, which is hard to find. They have the ability to not only understand the different products out there but also have the technical wherewithal to implement them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve probably spent $400,000–$550,000 at this point. Our monthly spend is probably about $15,000–$18,000 a month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began the collaboration in December 2018, and it's ongoing.

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

It’s been a pretty big transformation. Over the company’s past 90 years, there hasn’t been an emphasis on technology. A lot of our systems were put in place but mismanaged or not necessarily the best in class solution. I have a high level of certainty that the technology implemented is going to work and going to work right. I don’t have to second guess what’s there.

They've never fallen through on any of their work—we’ve even tested in the middle of the night. We unplugged a couple of our internet circuits and within about six minutes we had notifications from them and a telephone call that our internet was down. Before our collaboration, nobody would have known.

How did Helixstorm perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management skills are solid, and they communicate through whatever channel we want. For some issues, we use their email ticketing systems and other online project management tools. But if we need to, we can call them on their cell. They’re willing to accommodate our needs.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their online documentation tools are their biggest assets. I can log in and see a complete picture of everything related to our passwords and security network architecture.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Honestly, I’m really happy. I don’t see anywhere I could tell them to improve at this point.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be transparent with needs and be fair with the budget. People negotiate too hard with the price which can limit capabilities.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of a full-service marketing agency.

What challenge were you trying to address with Helixstorm?

We hired Helixstorm to resolve our time-consuming IT issues.

What challenge were you trying to address with Helixstorm?

We hired Helixstorm to resolve time-consuming IT issues.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They monitor all of our systems at any given location and remedy issues as they arise (i.e. updates, patching, P.C. maintenance). One of their main jobs is proactively managing the wireless internet, which is crucial to our operations.

What is the team composition?

Aaron (Co-Founder, Helixstorm) is our main contact. For our internet migration project, we had a specific point person who was in constant contact with us throughout the entire process.  We also have other points of contact from their team depending on the nature of our request.

How did you come to work with Helixstorm?

They were recommended to me by a business partner. We decided to work with them because they seemed knowledgeable, had a solid value proposition, and their team values aligned well with our own.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested $45,000 – $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in May 2018, and our engagement is ongoing.

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

We appreciate the value they provide in saving us time.  Personally, they enable me to focus on other aspects of the business and earn more revenue. In the past, internet failures were frustrating and cost us hours of productivity.  Now, we work much more efficiently. They’re also a great resource for IT questions and ideas we might want to implement going forward.

How did Helixstorm perform from a project management standpoint?

The onboarding process was great and their team is very responsive. Initially, they told us they’d respond to our concerns within 15 minutes; we’ve found that they usually respond instantly. The team was excellent in managing the two larger projects we’ve had with them. They were able to manage it even when the scope of the project changed and communicated with us two to three times a day.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Our relationship with them has been fantastic. Their staff is really fun to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing I can think of right now.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would encourage potential customers to assess what their business goals are and where their values are in terms of business continuity, productivity, and internal infrastructure.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Vice President of Miller Marine, we are a ship repair company.

For what projects/services did your company hire Helixstorm?

Ensure compliance, install new servers and monitoring. All around IT support.

What were your goals for this project?

To not have to worry about any IT issues and considerate on the health of the business.

How did you select this vendor?

Referral and an extensive interview with the owner.

Describe the project in detail.

Build and relocate new server, all around IT support.

What was the team composition?

Helixstorm had 4 personnel to assist in the project along with there customer service representatives throughout the setup. The team has grown over the past few years.

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

After hiring Helixstorm we have been able to increase our productivity due to their quick responses and maintenance.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

communication was great during the setup, Helixstorm has a great response to any of our tickets submitted.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Response time

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing at this time.