Ranger Business Solutions

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I run two startup organizations. One is Pro Star, an online marketplace for professional services. We focus on matching big consulting resources to clients, and the company has been out for over a year.

The second one is a social media company for Generation Z.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Ranger Business Solutions?

They’ve supported us with both of my business’ infrastructure for the past couple of years. We’ve outsourced our DevOps to them, including our network and Outlook emails.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Ranger provides IT network administration services for us. Recently, they’ve helped us set up our internal email accounts so users can contact us. They’ve also put together a no-reply to send emails without going to people’s spam.

What is the team composition?

Over the past couple of years, we’ve worked with 5–6 people in different email, network administration, and security roles.

How did you come to work with Ranger Business Solutions?

They were Dallas-based as well, so that made it easy for us. We’re now in Denver and New Orleans, but we still keep in touch.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $50,000, but it’s more about what we’re not spending. We’re saving at least 75% of what we would pay to hire people internally.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in December 2017, and we still have an ongoing partnership.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

One of the biggest bonuses is that we haven’t had to create the infrastructure to support our admin and email services, which has allowed us to do other things with our capital. Moreover, everyone in our team who has had contact with Ranger has had a good experience. They’re great partners, and we also have the opportunity to help them outsource their work, which is interesting from a B2B perspective. Overall, I’m a big fan of them, and they make my job as a business owner much more manageable.

How did Ranger Business Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

Their service has been seamless. When we need something, we just have to pick up the phone and ask or go into their portal and create a ticket. The problem is usually done within an hour, so they’re great at taking in trouble tickets and clearing them quickly. We don’t have to worry about that part.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s their quality of customer service. We’re not used to that level of efficiency from a service provider. With Ranger, the person that answers the phone knows what they’re doing.

Are there any areas they could improve?

At one point, we wanted them to customize a Microsoft solution. Initially, we thought it would limit what we were going to do with them, but they were able to split and provide us with specific services. They’ve adapted and taken care of the things we’ve had problems with.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just connect with them. If you have a problem, all you have to do is pick up the phone or do a service ticket.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CFO & COO of a transportation management company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Ranger Business Solutions?

We needed help with the technology or IT infrastructure of a larger company without having it in-house.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Ranger Business Solutions evaluates our hardware, security, and software needs. They assess the current load and the servers we have. The team makes sure that patches and all of those things are pushed out.  

Ranger also evaluates all of our different integrations. They’re consistently a resource for maintenance. Additionally, the team provides help desk and infrastructure as well.  

What is the team composition?

We work with Mark (Managing Partner), Brett (Senior Systems Engineer), Brett (Senior Systems Architect), and Clay (Managing Partner).

How did you come to work with Ranger Business Solutions?

They reached out to us. We might have had a mutual connection back in the day. Initial conversations started in October 2006, and we agreed to do some work with them shortly thereafter.

How much have you invested with them?

Last year we spent $76,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2006.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The fact that they’re still our provider 15 years down the road speaks volumes. We haven’t had any issues or security breaches. It speaks to their effectiveness.

How did Ranger Business Solutions perform from a project management standpoint?

Anytime we’re doing more project-based operations, the team is good about keeping us on track.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their knowledge base is very strong, and they're very responsive. You put a lot of trust in someone when you give them access to your information. Their level of integrity is very high.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything off the top of my head that we would change.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure that you communicate what you need as best as you can. Make sure that you trust them. Ensure that they’re a good fit culturally with your organization.