IT Service Architechs

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the general manager at x10 PDR. We are a wholesale distributor focusing on water treatment equipment and products. In addition to running the company, I also focus on software support and coordinate our IT services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with IT Service Architects?

We partnered with them to provide our IT services after our full-time IT person moved on to another position.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They handle everything that’s hardware and operating systems related. We host most of our systems here on our own servers but are slowly transitioning things to the cloud. They help us to manage that move, but for the most part, they take care of our day-to-day technology needs. That scope of work includes everything from email and spam folder support to server backups and our firewall.

What was the team composition?

Depending on the issue, we interact with a few different members of their team. On a smaller ticket basis, they have a help desk setup either by phone or by email and website support that we can go to for various requests. For emergencies or larger issues, I go directly to Howard (Operations Manager) or Bruce (Owner) to get that taken care of.

How did you come to work with IT Service Architects?

Somebody I knew was joining forces with their team, and so we interviewed them along with a few other companies. We chose them mainly because they were a local, small business that was growing.

How much have you invested with them?

In total, we’ve spent just shy of $250,000 with them, including a server purchase that made up a significant portion of that.

What is the status of this engagement?

The partnership started around June 2017 and we have continued to work together ever since.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their work has been really helpful for us and is a significant asset to our operations. Since we replaced our servers, especially, it has been close to a year and we have had absolutely no issues from that standpoint. They keep everything running and resolve issues as soon as they arise, which we’ve really appreciated.

How did IT Service Architects perform from a project management standpoint?

They process tickets well and respond relatively quickly to all of our requests. The actual speed of communication can vary from day to day, on average about an hour. As long as we are diligent about presenting any issues we have, they do a good job of responding and reorganizing to meet our needs.

What did you find most impressive about them?

From an overall IT standpoint, there’s really nothing that they can’t do. They’ve given us everything we needed from soup to nuts, so I’ve had a lot taken off of my shoulders in being able to go through one company to get all of that done. It makes it a lot easier to focus on the core of my role instead, which is really what you want from any IT provider.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their team is growing, so there’s always room to improve on response time and availability, but they’ve made a lot of improvement already and are more than meeting our needs.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you understand what you need and why you need it, it helps to be able to work closely with both their owners and engineers to make sure that they have a good idea of what you’re looking for in their work.