Platte River Networks

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the executive director of a full-service law firm in Denver, Colorado. We have attorneys that practice in litigation, real estate, corporate, and trust estates, which breaks down into a lot of other niches.

What challenge were you trying to address with Platte River Networks?

We had an internal IT team composed of two people, and at that time, we were undergoing more cybersecurity assessments from clients, business partners, and other people that dealt with us. It got to a point where our internal team no longer had the resources necessary to continue doing their job and keeping the standards at a desirable level. There was also too much work. As a result, we decided to let go of that team. Then, we hired Platte River. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

Platte River provides IT services for us. A full-time Platte River resource works with us every day in the office. Sometimes, they work at home because of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. We’re currently doing an overhaul of our IT systems because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has changed the way we work so much. 

Specifically, we’re adopting a hybrid working setup since more people are returning to our offices. Platte River is helping us come up with a strategy and roadmap to rebuild our systems to support the hybrid working environment. 

What is the team composition?

I work with a team of about four people from Platte River, including the full-time IT person. I also work with a backup member and person who handles our bills. I also often reach out to their founder and VP if I’m doing larger strategic initiatives. 

How did you come to work with Platte River Networks?

We vetted a lot of companies because we knew some high people who had bad experiences with IT service providers. The Platte River team had a good reputation, and when I met them, I liked their people a lot. I also liked their references. Ultimately, their good personalities and the way they do business were the main reasons we chose them over other providers. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2019, and the engagement is ongoing.

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

I’m now more confident in our ability to answer cybersecurity-based assessments; we undergo such assessments annually. I’m also more confident that if our systems go down, our information is backed up. 

More importantly, had we not transitioned to Platte River, we wouldn’t have been ready for the COVID-19 pandemic — our people have had to switch to using laptops and consolidated servers. In other words, doing the transition with Platte River has been perfectly timed. Moreover, the team has been great about meeting our needs when we have to come up with an instant plan. 

How did Platte River Networks perform from a project management standpoint?

Platte River’s project management has been great, though there’s always room for improvement in terms of communicating timelines. To be fair, they’ve improved in this area tremendously; they’ve been open to conversations with us in terms of improving our communication and relationship. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The people have been the best part of working with Platte River. They have a good team, and I like working with Brent (CEO & Co-Founder) and Sam (VP of Operations). They’re always responsive to me. Overall, the team is great, and we’ve worked out some of the kinks in our communication over the years in terms of things should work. Simply put, they have great people in their team, which has made it truly enjoyable to work with them. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They should continue to work on their knowledge around the needs of law firms like us. To be fair, our industry is unique and it’s governed by a lot of rules. This isn’t a criticism for Platte River; such difficulty is true for any service provider that works with law firms. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You need someone in your organization who understands your technology and business. That person should manage your relationship with Platte River. They should know what’s happening and communicate that with you. At the end of the day, Platte River won’t make the decisions for you — you still have to take charge and manage the engagement. As a result, it’s better to have a person in your team who’s there to protect your best interests. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of administration at Wellborn Sullivan Meck & Tooley. We provide legal services.

What challenge were you trying to address with Platte River Networks?

We were with another IT company, but they weren’t giving us the service we expected.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve grown our IT services with Platte River Networks over the last 11 years. When we moved to our office space in 2011, they wired out the new area, did our server rooms, and handled everything. At that time, somebody would come and provide onsite service for 10–12 hours a week.

When we went into the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, they put us in a remote working model using a remote desktop protocol and ordered additional laptops to allow our end-users to work from home. Since we had to send everyone home, we had to give them the ability to enter our server remotely to maintain our level of client expertise. In summary, Platte River Networks kept us looking good among our clients.

In February 2021, they upgraded us to Microsoft Office 365 and the cloud.

What is the team composition?

We work with several people and can go all the way from the help desk to the president and owners of the company. No one treats us like any task is too big or too small. We have a primary contact, and we’ve interacted with David (VP of Sales & Marketing), Nick (Account Manager), and Mike (Project Manager), who has helped us with project planning.

How did you come to work with Platte River Networks?

I was catching a plane from Las Vegas to Ireland in 2010 when our servers went down. Our previous company couldn’t help us, so the managing partner called me and said we had to let them go and find someone new. We’d been shopping around to see who could take over our IT services and interviewed a couple of people, including Platte River Networks. We most likely found them through the Association of Legal Administrators, a professional organization where we’re both very active.

In the end, I told them to give Platte River Networks a call. They won our business because they were able to help us in a pinch.

How much have you invested with them?

They’re a valued partner, so we spend quite a bit of money — it's between $200,000–$1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in March 2010, and it’s ongoing. Every year we review what they offer and what’s working to grow and continue our relationship.

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

We get quarterly meetings with Nick and other technicians, and they measure uptime, the number of tickets submitted and dealt with, company response time, and more metrics and provide them to us in a report. Overall, it’s nice that they give that information without us having to track it.

How did Platte River Networks perform from a project management standpoint?

They have project management tools on their end, but we only deal with our go-to person, which is Mike. We recently upgraded our servers, so we had weekly project calls with him; he’s amazing.

In general, we communicate through Teams calls, but we also use text messages, emails, and phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

When you manage a law firm, you can plan for everything you can, but you can’t prepare for the unknown. I could’ve never predicted our servers would go down while I was out of town, so having Platte River Networks assist us when I was out of office speaks leaps and bound for us.

Also, getting us up and running remotely for the pandemic was huge because if we can’t service our client, we’re not making money. Therefore, having a great IT company behind us is a win-win for everybody.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Everybody has room for improvement, but they try to stay ahead of the game. Additionally, we have such a great working relationship that if we ever come across any issue, we can work together to overcome it.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The next big spend besides personnel and rent in a law firm is IT services, so you need somebody who’s great at what they do. Vet other vendors; we usually do our due diligence on three companies when selecting a provider. It ensures us that who we’re selecting can provide us with the services we need.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and owner of a catering company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Platte River Networks?

We needed their team’s IT managed services to help simplify and automate our accounting and management processes.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Platte River Networks monitors our extensive IT equipment and networks to ensure smooth relationships between our staff and vendors and streamline our planning, delivery, and procurement processes. Their team also protects our system by installing software products and securing our firewalls. On top of their IT and cybersecurity services, Platte River Networks maintains and hosts our platforms.

What is the team composition?

We work with four resources from Platte River Networks.

How did you come to work with Platte River Networks?

We found Platte River Networks through a referral.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend about $28,000 every year.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement with Platte River Networks commenced in October 2018.

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

I don’t have specific metrics to share, but I can confirm that we’re highly satisfied with Platte River Networks. Our continued engagement with their team is our main success indicator for their work.

How did Platte River Networks perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate via email and phone calls. Platte River Networks is an efficient IT partner that’s attentive to our needs and requests.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What stands out the most about Platte River Networks is their responsiveness.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust their team to address your technical and cybersecurity needs.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a Senior Vice President at Horizons North Credit Union. We serve all the financial needs of our members in the Metro North area and beyond.

For what projects/services did your company hire Platte River Networks?

We were working with Platte River long before we utilized them as a Managed Service Provider. We were one of the first customers of Platte River upon their inception. We had a long standing relationship with the owner, Brent Allshouse. Initially they handled our basic IT service needs. We converted to a Managed Service Provider model in 2018, with an onsite technician. We knew we needed additional support as our business was growing and Platte has been integral to this success along the way. In 2020 they helped us move our business operations to our new building in Westminster, CO. Our onsite technician is just like a member of our own staff, backed by the experience of a professional IT support staff versed in all areas of IT management.

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

Our relationship with Brent prior to the creation of Platte River was so positive that we knew we could trust him with all our business needs. They have grown over the years just as we have, and it has expanded our service options with them. We are very happy with the service we receive.

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

We have worked through many projects with Platte over the years. From server updates, to troubleshooting, additional security monitoring, and moves, they have been there to support us along the way.

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

We have worked with many of the individuals at Platte River through various projects. Currently our onsite technician is Jared Parks, and we also work very closely with Heath Kellerman in more of a CIO type of aspect.

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

With regards to our move, everything went very smoothly and we were fully functional by the time we reopened. They are excellent at managing our network and offering solutions for enhancements and security.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We currently have bi-weekly strategy calls with our service team, and the staff uses the ticketing system to submit requests which are then handled by our onsite technician.

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

The culture of this company is customer focused. I understand that if I am having issues with any aspect of our service that I can communicate those concerns and have my voice be heard in order to find ultimate resolution.

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

With the introduction of more remote work with staff members sometimes communication can lag a bit.