SugarShot

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re an education nonprofit that designs curriculums meant for K-12 educators to facilitate project-based learning. After designing the curriculums, our team instructs educators on how to teach them. We’re a company of about 30 people, and I’m the IT and Salesforce manager. 

What challenge were you trying to address with SugarShot?

As the IT manager, I’m responsible for maintaining our relationship with our IT managed service provider. When I started, we had another partner that wasn’t meeting our expectations. They were expensive and couldn’t meet our needs.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The primary service they provide is IT help desk support. That includes constant monitoring of our computers and network to ensure that it’s always healthy and updated. They’re also available by phone, email, or text to support our users.

Their team is using a suite of tools to monitoring our networks and firewalls, jumping in to take care of potential threats 24/7.

What is the team composition?

We have a customer success manager. My staff also interacts with 6–7 technicians responsible for closing our tickets. 

How did you come to work with SugarShot?

The director of IT and I set out to find a new managed service provider after being unsatisfied with our previous partner. We interviewed 6–7 options.

We narrowed our search down to three finalists. They stood out because they were able to provide hours of support that best fit our needs. We have staff across the country, so they impressed us by being able to cover the majority of our staff’s working hours. Their pricing was also the most competitive. 

We’re a high-care organization. They presented a great value proposition that detailed how they would care for our users. It seemed like they had the patience and the knowledge needed to provide an excellent service that would differentiate them from our other options.  

How much have you invested with them?

Our annual cost with them is just under $50,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We went live with their services in April 2020.

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

I haven’t needed to jump in on help desk support requests for several months now, which is great. After anyone engages with their technicians, they’re invited to rate their experience. Almost all of their interactions have earned full marks. That showcases that they offer strong customer service and can solve issues extremely fast. Their work has taken a lot off my plate.

How did SugarShot perform from a project management standpoint?

I have access to a view of their ticketing system, so I know how often problems are reported, the types of problems we’re experiencing, and more. They provide a nice set of dashboards and reports that I can monitor at any time.

We communicate with our customer success manager on a bi-weekly call. There, we can talk about outstanding issues and pending tasks on our larger projects. We also engage in quarterly strategic meetings, which have been incredibly useful. Our IT footprint is quite large, so their expertise and input are quite valuable.

They’re also willing to assist in managing larger projects along with me as we take them on in the future.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

They presented themselves as a true partner, wanting to support our team. We appreciated them identifying key bottlenecks and showing a strong commitment to solving those problems.

The quality and speed of their communication are amazing. If they can’t answer something right away, they provide a timeline that indicates when they will have more updates for me.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’ve exceeded our expectations to this point. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Designate someone to outline goals and problems with them on your end. It’s important to be very clear about what systems you’re expecting them to monitor and other standards you may have.

Make sure your team is aware of everything that SugarShot is and isn’t supporting to keep everyone on the same page.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior people operations manager for MASHStudios. My responsibilities encompass general operations including IT.   

What challenge were you trying to address with SugarShot?

We had invoicing and communication challenges with our previous managed service providers. They would essentially bill us depending on the ticket, and we wouldn’t know how much a ticket would cost in advance. There was poor communication regarding the length of tasks and downtime.

What was the scope of their involvement?

After they onboarded, SugarShot conducted an assessment and gave us recommendations regarding server equipment. Their team helped us consolidate the server, which brought down our billing.

SugarShot’s our managed IT services provider. We have meetings when they ask how their team can help us with software, hardware, and asset management tools to ensure alignment down the road. If an employee has an issue or needs to update their computer, their team handles the tickets.

What is the team composition?

On a weekly basis, I probably interact with 2–3 people from SugarShot.

How did you come to work with SugarShot?

I screened different managed service providers and SugarShot seemed like the right fit for us. They appeared to be hands-on and creative, which aligned with our brand.

How much have you invested with them?

To date, we’ve spent about $80,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We finished onboarding in February 2020, and our partnership’s ongoing.

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

SugarShot proactively communicates their plans to resolve challenges. As opposed to our previous managed service provider, they charge one monthly fee depending on the number of users. We no longer have concerns about invoices. In the short amount of time that we’ve worked together, I’ve seen significant improvements in response time and the number of tickets entered.

How did SugarShot perform from a project management standpoint?

We mostly communicate via email, and I have a weekly call with our account manager. They’re great. Their team communicates all the details related to potential issues. If they fix an issue quicker than expected, they let me know. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

SugarShot’s a proactive team. They don’t wait for a ticket to be opened. SugarShot lets us know about any potential issues whereas other providers address problems once they arise.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not at this point.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Do your due diligence and be transparent about your needs. Transparency’s key to ensuring that you find the right partner.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of IT operations for a texting software company.

What challenge were you trying to address with SugarShot?

We needed some staffing and remote IT work done.

What was the scope of their involvement?

SugarShot handled everything related to IT, including audio, hardware recommendations, setting up internet firewalls, networks, and much more. They also did reboot work on laptops and desktops. They handle about 200 tickets and would give us the rest. 

What is the team composition?

I worked with Arnie (Co-Founder & CEO), Brandon (Solutions Architect), an account manager, and a couple of other teammates who took care of tickets.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2016 and our engagement is ongoing.

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

SugarShot does pretty well. Through the system, we were able to see metrics such as how many tickets were still open and how many had been closed. 

How did SugarShot perform from a project management standpoint?

We have weekly meetings to go over tickets and any other issues. The team is available and responsive. When necessary, Brandon is personally involved in tasks. They give us what we need on time, taking responsibility and accountability for their tasks. SugarShot makes proper deadline estimates, gives itemized invoices, and is very communicative.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I really like their flexibility and availability. If I call to speak with a certain person, I receive a callback quickly, or a time when that person would be available to call back. Regarding flexibility, they don’t tell us that tasks we ask them to do aren’t in the scope of their job. 

They go with the flow of the project, doing what we asked them to do. If they don’t have something we need, they come up with that feature for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They are a startup, and we’ve seen improvements over the course of our engagement. They listen to feedback and make changes accordingly. For example, they didn’t have a dashboard. We asked them about it, and they worked on that.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Share the pain points immediately. If there’s an issue, share that with them, and don’t let it go on. They can only work on it if they’re made aware of it.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of IT for a nonprofit organization that serves K–12 educators. We focus on the implementation of project-based learning. We’re generally acknowledged as though-leaders in that realm.

What challenge were you trying to address with SugarShot?

We’re a quickly growing organization that didn’t have the time or money to build an internal IT department. We needed to grow our capacity to meet our folks’ needs with half of them being anywhere between the East Coast and Hawaii. We were challenged with how to best support our folks, especially those in the field who may be in front of clients.

What was the scope of their involvement?

SugarShot met with us to create a roadmap that would attend to the different needs within our organization. They took the time to meet with those who often didn’t engage with our former IT partner because of their location. It was important for us to come up with a plan to help assure those people that they were going to be able to have their needs met in real-time.

Their team developed a map that made clear what we needed to tackle first based on our budget and security needs. And we’ve been able to work closely with their team to implement that roadmap. Their team was able to build a process and confidence around the new plan for employees to access help.

What is the team composition?

SugarShot met with our IT manager and me to build capacity.

How did you come to work with SugarShot?

I worked as a managed service provider years ago, so I was familiar with our local landscape. I looked at some service providers and found reviews of modern agencies. I noticed that many responses from firms were traditional, which we didn’t want. SugarShot wasn’t looking to replicate a large, corporate IT structure for a smaller to mid-sized nonprofit like ours. Their team had a clear understanding of our culture and mission before we got on our first call. They did background work, which intrigued me. I also focused on finding a firm with the ability to speak to us as a peer. Their team showed a disposition to attend to our needs as a partner.

How much have you invested with them?

Our monthly spend is around $5,400 but the onboarding process cost about $6,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with SugarShot in February 2020 when we transitioned from our former provider.

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

First and foremost, our teachers who are on the frontlines are more relaxed about their IT needs. Before, they would go to one another and post random questions in a Slack channel to see if anyone could help them.

SugarShot’s willing to meet with our teams to understand their needs. We’ve heard positive feedback and didn’t hear one complaint during the onboarding process. No one’s complained about not having their tickets addressed. I consistently get pinged in Slack by teammates who express how nice it is to have this resource.

How did SugarShot perform from a project management standpoint?

We use either email or direct phone calls to set up specific times to start working on tasks. In our weekly calls, we talk about any potential challenges so that small issues don’t become big ones. We use Microsoft teams to manage projects and keep the communication clear.

Additionally, their team has a portal that we can use to see any hotspots. We can also review tickets and their solutions. It’s clear when a ticket’s submitted and when it's resolved. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

SugarShot really walks their talk. It’s one thing to claim that you’ll be responsive and feel like part of the team. But they actualized those claims, which is hard to do in this industry. Their team doesn’t feel like a standard managed service provider. They’ve far exceeded my expectations. There’s integrity between what they promised and what they deliver.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t say that there’s anything that we wish they’d done differently. It’s important that their team continues to be dedicated to understanding our culture and what motivates our decisions.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

See this engagement as a partnership. I don’t know what the experience would be like if you only wanted IT services. My experience is having SugarShot meet with different groups in our organization to make connections. That investment made the transition successful. Our staff was able to see SugarShot for who they are, which is a group of people who are fun and communicate well.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re an engineering membership-based association. Our primary function is to disseminate information. We put on a few trade shows each year, including several conferences. My position here is director finance.

What challenge were you trying to address with SugarShot?

We had an in-house specialist who was assigned to assessing risk and threats from a technology standpoint. Eventually, that became too much work for one person, so we wanted to bring in a team to support those efforts.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’re on a monthly retainer with them. In the beginning, they conducted site surveys. After we hired them, we were in the process of relocating to a new facility. They assisted in moving all IT equipment and properly reinstalling it. At this point, we reach out to them with any IT issues that come up in our day-to-day work. Whether it’s a printing issue or if we’re planning on implementing a new system, we can call on them. Even if we aren’t experiencing any problems, they often check in to make sure that we’re up and running effectively.

They manage our whole system, providing us with a solid backup and recovery system. We’re writing out to the cloud, which has helped us develop a rock-solid recovery plan. That was shakey beforehand, so it was nice to experience upgrades. They also update our hardware, working with us remotely to manage our system.

What is the team composition?

If we have something more severe, I’ll get involved with a higher-level engineer. Oftentimes, though, our problems would be solved upon our first call with their team. In terms of the move, they sent out people to assess the work along with a team to make the move happen.

How did you come to work with SugarShot?

We met with several vendors, but they were reasonably priced and caring in their interviews. It felt like they would be easily accessible, always within reach of our team. This seemed like an opportunity to start a personal relationship with a qualified team of professionals. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $37,000 annually to be a part of their maintenance program. From time to time, there are additional minimal charges as well. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2015, and our relationship is ongoing.

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

Their team acts as our IT team. I rely heavily on them for all of our IT needs. They have a matrix that they use to keep track of our strengths and weaknesses and a company. That’s helped us focus more closely on things we want to address. For instance, they’ve pointed us toward multi-factor authentication to make our systems more secure.  

How did SugarShot perform from a project management standpoint?

At this point, everything seems to be running smoothly. However, we don’t always have their full vision communicated to us. It would be nice to have more guidance on that. However, they’re great at identifying our needs and initiating change. They’ve met with us in response, but we want to continue to work them further into our internal team. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their turnaround time is great, and they’re always quick to get back to us. Additionally, they’re accomodating. I genuinely enjoy the people that work there. They’re pleasant and courteous. I like the way they conduct their business. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Sometimes, we don’t know what we need even when we think we do. We’d love for them to continuously communicate with us further. That would help them better understand our goals. Growing our relationship has been a learning process. It would be great if they could understand our goals and business even more than they do now.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

The company that I work for is called Jewel Box Platinum. We have been in business for 25 years and are located in Inglewood, California. My name is Ashley Gomez and I am the general manager.

What challenge were you trying to address with SugarShot?

We were trying to grow as a company, utilizing technology and team-based environments to interact with each other and our clients in a better, more efficient way.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had an older security system in place, but it didn’t work very well, and our old IT provider had made everything very proprietary. He knew all of the passwords, and we weren’t able to update things ourselves. We initially brought SugarShot in to help us establish a more streamlined and accessible security system.

The first phase was establishing an offsite backup for all 15 years of our digital asset files. Then we phased in Microsoft 365, which allows our employees to communicate with each other and share files more easily. Since then, we’ve been working to update the rest of our server infrastructure and develop plans for them to support our website.

What is the team composition?

We work with their owner directly, as well as account managers, team managers, their finance team, and a plethora of engineers both on- and off-site. Our primary points of contact are the account manager, team leader, and one particular engineer who has been absolutely incredible.

How did you come to work with SugarShot?

It was really important for us to find an LA-based company because we wanted to have the ability to get face-to-face help relatively easily. That was particularly important to our owner. SugarShot was basically just up the street, and from the start were very open to coming on-site on a moment’s notice.

We looked at a few other vendors, and they were essentially the only company to just sit down with us and discuss what our goals were and what it would take to get there like normal people. That was what convinced us to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend about $8,000 a month, not including specific project charges, which puts us around $ in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2018 and the project is ongoing.

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

Our partnership with SugarShot has been very successful, and at several points genuinely critical to our operations as a company. For example, a construction company once cut through all of our internet and phone cables, and as a digital company, we were basically completely unable to function. Their engineers worked around the clock on the phone with our provider until they figured out what had gone wrong.

In that situation and others, they have consistently provided status reports on everything they do, troubleshooting for problems of any kind, and explanations of all the aspects of the work they think you should understand.

Between their work on our passwords, our servers, and restoring access to our security camera system, they have saved us thousands of dollars in the long run. I absolutely believe that the engagement has been worth it, and on top of that, it’s been an enjoyable experience.

How did SugarShot perform from a project management standpoint?

They really excel in project management. The only thing that took us a little while to get used to is that we were previously able to call our engineer directly, and now we have to call a dispatch person and wait a little bit longer for the right engineer to call you back. However, I think that’s just a product of having a much more organized system in place.

Overall, SugarShot does a great job. We have weekly or biweekly calls set up according to our needs, and larger quarterly meetings where we establish a larger direction for our work together and evaluate our progress toward and achievement of various goals.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their customer service combined with the level of knowledge that their engineers have is truly excellent.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think there is anything we wish they did differently.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They are a heavy-duty IT firm, so you really want to be a company that needs that kind of help. If you do, they’ll do an excellent job, but make sure you have a list of all of your goals for them to be able to work through in order to make the engagement as productive for you as possible.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the business administrator of a community church located in Los Angeles, California.

What challenge were you trying to address with SugarShot?

We wanted to improve the IT infrastructure of the organization, which was fragmented when I was hired. Our goal was to organize all aspects of IT and IT products.

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, they assessed the organization’s current infrastructure and determined which computer systems would work well for us. That process included site surveys where they examined our hardware to decide whether or no we needed to upgrade. They ended up recommending new computer systems to make our team more efficient. In addition, they supported us in connecting with an ISP service.

Initially, the work was done on-site. That allowed them to get a good idea of our current systems. After the survey and setup of new computers, they began to monitor their work remotely.

How did you come to work with SugarShot?

I looked at various potential providers, focusing on those that could meet the needs of a unique organization. Our users’ ability and knowledge of technology are varied. It was imperative that our partner could understand that. We also wanted to be able to grow with our partner, so we were looking for someone who was just establishing a foothold in the industry like we were. SugarShot fit that bill for us.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $50,000 each year with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started our engagement in February 2014, and it’s still ongoing.

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

The work has been implemented and acceptable for our organization as we stand today. Because of our variety of user experiences, we’re not the most straightforward customer. This has been a growing experience for SugarShot. We’ve often explained the importance of keeping our users’ perspective in mind when planning a project because what gets implemented easily at a small business may take twice as long at a church. Our users vary in technical skill levels. Overall, though, I think they did an adequate job.

How did SugarShot perform from a project management standpoint?

Again, they did an adequate job in this area. In order to create an effective project management plan, you have to know your client, how they operate, and how long implementation might take. The shop is growing in their understanding of our unique client base. They’re learning that what might work for one type of business, may not be successful at another type of small business.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re notably strong with information security. That’s been very helpful to us. In this day and age, a small business has to be able to protect itself from various IT risks. SugarShot was also a great fit for our organization because it matched our growing pattern. They were building a client base, in the same situation as we were. We’ve been able to grow together, and their prices were not extremely high as a result. That was also helpful for us. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

It all goes back to being able to effectively assess the environment and user base. When taking surveys, it would be great if they could understand the long-term climate versus immediate client needs. For instance, we had ended up having to pay much more for wireless access points than they estimated because of the steel infrastructure in our building.

The same goes for the computers they recommended. While they were an upgrade, they’re not necessarily conducive to the work we do here. The results would’ve been excellent if they more accurately understood and assessed our business.

Introduce your business and what you do there

I’m the manager of information technology at Quinn Company, a caterpillar and heavy machinery dealership. We’re a one-stop-shop for all our customers’ earthmoving, agriculture, engine, lift truck, and equipment rental needs. I am responsible for all aspects of business technology services companywide. 

What challenge were you trying to address with SugarShot? 

Within the last decade, our company’s growth had outpaced the capabilities of our existing infrastructure, which was aging quickly and had become incapable of delivering our required level of service. Additionally, our existing IT team members were spending their day performing reactionary crisis management instead of performing root cause analysis and fixes.

I needed to partner with a professional organization that had the specific skillsets our infrastructure was built around and that could take a non-biased, holistic view of our network. They also had to offer a phased improvement roadmap that could be jointly implemented and maintained. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, SugerShot did an analysis of our network and presented a comprehensive, multi-phase roadmap prioritizing higher risk issues. They presented their findings and recommendations, and we entered into a partnership to begin implementing the fixes. This involved installing network traffic monitoring and alert tools and bandwidth consumption controls. 

SugarShot became the “eyes” on our network traffic and worked closely with team members to make improvements where necessary. We held regular status meetings and the network stability and reliability quickly improved. 

What is the team composition?

Our entire IT team had access to their helpdesk hotline 24/7, and we were given points of contact to address or elevate issues if need be.  I had direct contact with Sr. Engineers, Security Experts, Administrators, and Helpdesk Technicians, and even their executive staff on occasions. 

How did you come to work with SugarShot?

My predecessor initiated the relationship with SugarShot; however, they were not actively engaged in any efforts when I came on board.  SugarShot’s executive team remained in contact with me as I assumed the IT leadership role, and when we were ready, I reached out to them for assistance. The existing IT staff knew of them from prior discussions and were open to their assistance. They possessed the skillsets we needed at the time. 

How much have you invested with them?

It varied, depending on what we were trying to accomplish. We had a monitoring contract in place for around $45,000–$50,000 annually, in addition to adhoc ventures that ranged from a few thousand to $10,000–$15,000 per effort.  

What is the status of this engagement?

We initiated our business partnership in 2016 and just recently ended the contract, as we matured to a point where we can manage the network in-house. Though I don’t have a need for their services at this time, I maintain an active relationship with them and would not hesitate to call them back into action if needed.

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

Simply stated, system reliability, user response, and system uptime have all improved.       

How did SugarShot perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed very well. Scopes of work were generated that clearly explained the deliverables and expectations. Tasks were organized, proper resources were assigned, and realistic timelines were projected. They have a ticketing system that tracks all adhoc request so the disposition of those items can be reviewed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

In it for the long-haul, they consider your concerns with the bigger picture in mind. They’re also able to communicate their ideas and proposals to technical and non-technical audiences. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Assistance during non-traditional work hours can be more difficult to acquire than standard assistance.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company plans, promotes, and produces showcases for emerging artists in the United States, Australia, Canada, and Mexico.

What challenge were you trying to address with SugarShot?

We were looking to partner with a team that could offer IT support and systems administration services to our website’s server network on a 24/7 basis.

What was the scope of their involvement?

In our ongoing partnership, they make sure our servers are running and address problems with downtime. SugarShot also assists with security efforts, ensuring we have the correct protocol in place. The team manages our SSL certificates, backups, and data recovery plan.  

What is the team composition?

We work with about five of their team members, one being our account manager who is our main point of contact.  

How did you come to work with SugarShot?

First, I did an online search for local managed services companies and eventually narrowed it down to two companies. After a few weeks of getting to know them both, which included them visiting our office, SugarShot seemed to be the right fit for our company. They were local, offered 24/7 systems management services, and their team had extensive security experience. Their skills and services were also within our budget, so we chose them.  

How much have you invested with them?

We are on a monthly agreement with them, spending about $2,000 each month. Here and there, we also pay additional one-time costs.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in March 2019, and the work is ongoing.

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

Throughout the process, they’ve been responsive, knowledgeable, and great communicators. SugarShot is made up of a lot of dedicated team members with different areas of expertise, creating a diverse team addressing our problems on our schedule.

How did SugarShot perform from a project management standpoint?

They accurately identified issues and worked with us to correct them, but there are a few problems we should’ve worked out sooner than we did.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Based on their work with us so far, we intend to grow the relationship over time, working with them in larger capacities. We plan on handing greater responsibilities over to them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

If issues occur, they are communicative and willing to talk through them to work with us.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of the Assistance League of Los Angeles. We are a nonprofit organization that serves children who live in poverty, around half of whom are homeless or fostered. We have five different programs to help children get to school and stay in school. We serve around 22,000 children a year. We run a service enterprise as well, the revenue of which we put back into our nonprofit program.

What challenge were you trying to address with SugarShot?

We decided to outsource our IT services because we didn’t feel that we needed an in-house person working full-time for us. We needed something that was set up more like a help desk, where we could call in when we had issues or needed help with certain solutions.

We have various satellite offices which face specific IT challenges. We felt that we needed people in the field that were accessible.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Primarily, they are a help desk function for us. They also manage some of our servers and our domain services as well. We have some proprietary software that they don’t necessarily manage, but they do troubleshooting for us. They also manage our ISP services in terms of making sure that everything is running. If our internet goes down, we can call them, and they will work on that. They do everything that an in-house IT person would do except that it is remote and as needed. They also help us with cybersecurity, offsite backup, and email management, as well as cloud services.

What is the team composition?

We worked with several people, including the CEO, COO, and project manager. If something is going to be outside of the scope of our monthly service or to check on the status of something, I will get in touch with the project manager. For basic troubleshooting, I work with the helpdesk.

How did you come to work with SugarShot?

They were recommended to us by another nonprofit agency that I worked with in the past. They had done a big overhaul of their IT and were letting go of the only in-house IT person they had. They had researched various options and one of their recommendations was SugarShot, whom they worked with for a while.

One of their strengths that we liked is that they have engineers all over our area should an in-person call be needed, because we can’t wait a week on certain things. A lot is done digitally, but there are certain times that things need to be set up, removed, or reinstalled.

How much have you invested in them?

We have invested between $50,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in August 2016, and it is still an ongoing engagement.

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

We feel that our cybersecurity is at a whole different level, which is very reassuring. They really manage that for us very well and they catch a lot of issues. Some things come through via email, but they have also done in-house training for all staff to make people aware of what to look for and what the signs are when there is any type of cyber sabotage happening and what it looks like. We forward anything that looks vaguely suspicious to them. They have taken us to a new level and that in-person training was very effective as many people learned a lot. The staff were very appreciative. We are always trying to offer our staff tools for their professional development and this was just one of them.

We have had a very positive experience with the alacrity with which the tickets go through and how the helpdesk responds. Before we worked with them, we were in a frustrating situation where things would get dragged out and became even more problematic. They have done a lot to help us up our game when it comes to responsiveness to any issue that comes up.

How did SugarShot perform from a project management standpoint?

They have very good communication over at SugarShot. We have an ongoing monthly call with the project manager, to review all the tickets for the month, and just to check in and see where we are, as well as how we feel about the services and what they can improve on from an IT standpoint. We also have a quarterly meeting with the project manager and CEO onsite to review things and to go over any suggestions they might have for us.

We get an immediate response with the helpdesk ticket. We get a number which we can then follow up on and an engineer will reach out and communicate with us the whole way through the ticket.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their flexibility in being able to tailor their product to the customer stands out to us. When we bring something to their attention that isn’t working for us, for example, a process they might have, they are very good about addressing it and correcting it almost immediately. We have a dynamic relationship where they really tailor their services to us.

When we first started, their helpdesk processing really didn’t work for us in terms of letting us know what the status was and if someone was working on it. We had a call and it was completely changed by the next week and things were much more transparent for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There have been things that have come up over the last couple of years, but they have responded quickly when something wasn’t working for us. Their response rate and willingness to change things in order to meet our needs is exceptional.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be very clear about your specific needs because they will tailor their services to those needs. The less you leave open-ended, the more they are able to bring their strengths to the table. Give them a very clear understanding of the scope of work and what the needs are, as well as potential changes. They will bring their expertise and recommendations on the best ways to make things work.

As a nonprofit, having that hands-on personalization is very important to us. We may have gotten lost in some of the larger IT companies out there. There is never too much information that you can share with SugarShot because they really use that information to provide the services that you need.