Skalable Technologies

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I work for a biotechnology company. We are a molecular diagnostics company that helps identify diseases in patients preoperatively so they don't have to go through the incurred expense of doing an invasive procedure.

What is your position?

I am the VP controller and have been here since the end of September 2015.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Skalable Technologies?

For the longest time, the company had been relying on consultants for their [Microsoft Dynamics] GP support work. The consultant we used to have didn't seem to have any knowledge of what we needed, so we decided to look elsewhere.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

They help to support the ERP [enterprise resource planning] system that we use. The arrangement we have with them is for one individual to come here once a week and provide online support on a daily basis. They help with change control, change management and when we're trying to implement a new module. They help develop reports, tweak existing reports, and handle troubleshooting and bugs.

How did you come to work with Skalable Technologies?

I had previously worked with Skalable at two other companies and was impressed with their work. I first worked with the CEO [founder Sunil Kumar Nelabhotla] in 2009 when I joined one of my previous companies. He has a good knowledge of our ERP system: Great Plains. His technical expertise is very good and because I was so impressed with his work, I reached out to him at my current job. Variscite had no ERP support person. The firm they had been using was not local so communication was extremely difficult. The folks assigned to us were competent technically, but they weren't that knowledgeable in the accounting items. I reached out to him and had him give me a proposal. The rates were reasonable.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

It is $50,000 a year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We are currently working with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

I don't have any stats but, with regard to feedback, Skalable Technologies has been very good. They are a strong player that knows Great Plains. Our point person there communicates well and is able to provide good recommendations and solutions. He is timely in his responses, and he's able to help us think outside the box and not just be reactive but also proactive. We like him. He's very impressive.

How did Skalable Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

We haven't met all of our deadlines, but I don't completely blame Skalable. We understand that some things are beyond anyone's control. What needs fixing is making sure that clients are getting feedback and status updates.

What distinguishes Skalable Technologies from other providers?

Skalable Technologies certainly meet our needs. Their rates are reasonable, and they are much better than some other service providers that I've worked with. I don't think they installed any solutions to help us monitor our network performance or stability.

Is there anything Skalable Technologies could have improved or done differently?

There have been a few times where I have had to push to get answers to my questions. Because of that, I would say that communication could improve.