The TNS Group

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a Catholic Elementary School in the Bronx NY. I have been the Director of Technology since 2002.

For what projects/services did your company hire The TNS Group?

We hired TNS to do a complete technology assessment and then went on to have them redo our entire infrastructure and workstation installation back in 2017. Everything was replaced by TNS.

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

We originally hired Chelsea Computers but they changed to TNS. Our current principal had used Chelea in the past at his first school so he recommended them to us when he began working here at St. Raymonds.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

TNS handled upgrading our entire network with classroom workstations, wireless AP's in every room (approximately 50 AP's). They replaced our servers, UPS, all switches and wiring. They handled our upgrade to Fiber as well. Handled all workstation cloning, our Firewall and every other aspect of the network. They monitor everything 24x7 and we can put in support tickets for anything we need.

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

We had approximately four people handling this job. Chris was our point of contact and handled all logistics and prepared all quotes etc. Steve was the senior engineer and was onsite through the entire process with two other network engineers. Since then I have dealt with many many people there and all have taken care of any and all needs remotely, over the phone, or in person when needed.

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

Once the job was completed, the network was perfect. The upgrade brought us to the forefront of Technology in the Archdiocese of New York City. Many other schools used us as a model for what they needed. Since then we have never had a single day where the network was down because they provided a backup of each piece of equipment. The last piece of the puzzle was the Fiber line which made the network seamless. When we went remote in 2020 we had to upgrade our internet connection. Chris handled this job and had it done for us at blazing speed. We now have over 700 Chromebooks, iPads, and Windows 10 pro workstations for all.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Workflow has been amazing. TNS has exceeded all expectations when it comes to our needs. Available 24x7 they have ALWAYS come through in any clutch situations almost immediately. Since this began I cannot remember a single incident that wasn't resolved same day.

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

TNS, especially Chris, has made us feel as if we are their only customer. The level of professionalism and friendly interaction has been fantastic with every employee and we were made to feel important. We are a priority even though they have much bigger clients.

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

In all honesty, TNS has done so much for us in the last five years and I can't think of anything they could do to be better. Perfection is almost impossible, but on a scale of 0-100 I would give TNS a 99.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Opengate is a nonprofit that provides residential and day program services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. I’m the chief compliance officer.

What challenge were you trying to address with The TNS Group?

We outsource our IT processes to TNS.

What was the scope of their involvement?

TNS helps institute policies and procedures surrounding IT processes. They manage our HIPAA compliance audits and make sure that we are HIPAA compliant. We also rely on them to manage our IT properties, such as our mobile and agency electronic devices, and conduct background tests on our email systems. They monitor and improve upon any system or device to help us manage our processes better. 

We make use of a ticketing system where we reach out to them via phone or email. They provide remote technical support and assistance and resolve any issues that come up within our system or devices. Whenever we have questions related to our audit, we also reach out to their team. 

Apart from those services, TNS also helps with policy creation with regard to IP issues. When necessary, they reach out to other organizations that can provide additional technical support. For instance, they sometimes reach out to Microsoft to secure us a hardware and software package deal. 

What is the team composition?

I predominantly work with two people. 

How did you come to work with The TNS Group?

I wasn’t with the organization yet when TNS was hired, but we continue to use their services because they provide great customer service. They always answer our questions and help us get through audits with zero deficiencies. They’re also good at staying within our budget range, which is important sine we’re a nonprofit. 

How much have you invested with them?

I would have to get that information from our finance department, but we’ve probably spent under $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with them in March 2020, but the organization has had them on board for some time prior. We’re still working together to this day.

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

Our partnership is working well. TNS is a very helpful resource. We’ve recently introduced a mobile device management system and it has gone rather well and progressed quite quickly thanks to them.  They’ve also identified and successfully addressed three key areas in our IT, which has helped us progress with a recent audit. 

They’re now helping us with two of the recommendations that have come out for the next couple of years, and we’re steadily achieving our goals of becoming completely well-managed in regard to cybersecurity.

How did The TNS Group perform from a project management standpoint?

TNS is very good when it comes to communication and meeting deadlines. Their response time is just exceptional. Whenever we send out a ticket, they get back to us within the same day. If they don’t have an immediate answer or solution, they still make sure to keep us updated. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to relate to us as a client is a clear standout. They understand our parameters, and they will either work within that or find alternative solutions that don’t require additional funds. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything at the moment. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be as communicative and timely in your follow-up as they are.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief administrative officer at a national organization. We’re a technology nonprofit whose main focus is upskilling and training people from underserved and underrepresented communities to take on tech positions across the country.

What challenge were you trying to address with The TNS Group?

We needed help with our entire IT infrastructure. We had to outsource people so we didn’t have to hire IT staff.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The TNS Group provides managed IT services for us. They purchase hardware and software and provide onsite and offsite support. We can call, and someone gets back to us or logs into our system remotely. If it’s something more hands-on, they can meet us at the office. The last couple of years have been challenging because we were all working 100% remotely, but now we’re in a hybrid situation.

What is the team composition?

We have a couple of representatives at the organization; we can talk about our strategy and plans for the year with them. Also, we work with several people on tech support.

How did you come to work with The TNS Group?

I’m not sure. The relationship predates me; I’ve only been working on the organization for a few months.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $400,000–$600,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve worked with them for 10 years, since January 2012. Our relationship is ongoing.

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

The pandemic has generated additional challenges from IT and staffing perspectives, especially when having to quarantine away from the office suddenly. We had to ensure we could transition our entire operation to a virtual environment, which required a lot of work with The TNS Group.

We’ve hired many people over the COVID-19 pandemic, and onboarding new employees remotely has been critical. It includes sending them equipment to their homes and being available to work through any challenges they might have. The team has been really responsive and knowledgeable, and they’ve helped our business to continue to operate successfully.

How did The TNS Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They do well. At times, they’re a little overwhelmed, but it’s understandable because everyone is working in some hybrid or remote model, so they don’t have people in their places at all times. When people are in the office at different schedules, it creates additional challenges. However, The TNS Group works hard to mitigate that.

We usually communicate through email. After we send the ticket, we go into a queue. Then, someone calls us and works with us. Depending on the issue, they’ll log in remotely or do whatever they need.

What did you find most impressive about them?

First, our two representatives are fantastic. They’re personable, responsive, and available to us. Also, getting to know some of the staff who works on issues, I’ve seen that they try extremely hard to work a problem until it’s resolved.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’d definitely want them to connect more often on strategy and plans for the organization. At this point, we’re getting beyond where we were two years ago, so we’re looking forward now. We need to do a lot more planning, and I’d love to see them be more proactive with that.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be as detailed as possible about your expectations and needs and check in regularly on their progress.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of an alternative-to-incarceration nonprofit organization. We work with youth and young adults aged 18–24 who are caught involved or at risk of involvement with the criminal justice system.

What challenge were you trying to address with The TNS Group?

We partner with The TNS Group for our IT needs because we don’t have an internal IT department.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The TNS Group is responsible for everything that has to do with our IT needs. We have four locations: our main office located inside the courthouse building, where our server is, two community centers, each of which has computer labs and workstations, and an office shared space. Thus, I work with them to purchase hardware and software for our various workstations in our four locations. They give me a quote for every purchase we require, and I approve it based on our budget. Then, they purchase the equipment, deliver it, and send technicians to the site to install it if needed.

Additionally, they manage our IT infrastructure, helping us make changes and implementations as needed. For example, they’ve helped us move most of our employees to a remote working environment since the pandemic started. I also recently worked with them to migrate from a physical server to a cloud-based one.

Most of The TNS Group’s work is off-site. They have a customer service line that we call if we have any issues, and they remotely help us troubleshoot. If the issue can’t be solved over the phone, they send a technician.

What is the team composition?

I work directly with an account manager, and I’m in contact with the account executive, the account manager’s supervisor. Additionally, we’ve communicated with many people from their helpdesk.

How did you come to work with The TNS Group?

We’ve worked with The TNS Group since they had a different name. The original company was bought out by another company, and we moved with them when that merger happened. Later, they became The TNS Group, and we kept working with them. We’ve worked with them over the years as they’ve changed and evolved because they’ve always offered excellent customer service.

How much have you invested with them?

Our monthly contract costs $2,500, but we spend an average of $40,000–$60,000 per year, considering the additional cost for upgrades to our locations.

What is the status of this engagement?

I believe that they became The TNS Group in 2017, and our engagement is ongoing.

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

An example of the success of The TNS Group’s involvement is the upgrades we did last year to our computer labs. They helped us purchase over 20 workstations for our participants, and the installation was very smooth. They understood our needs very well and did the proper software and hardware installations to ensure that everything was up and running. We started planning the project during the first quarter of 2021. They were installing the computers by June, and they finished their work in August; it was a very successful project.

How did The TNS Group perform from a project management standpoint?

The TNS Group always does the best they can, and they offer constant communication. For example, we had a lot of delays during last year’s project due to the pandemic, but they constantly kept me informed of delays and gave me clear timeline expectations.

If we have an issue, we send an email or call their helpdesk, and they send an email back as confirmation. They also send emails with updates, and they send a ticket once the issue has been solved to let us know. Additionally, they send a small survey to provide feedback about their performance and our satisfaction level.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The TNS Group’s responsiveness is impressive. Whenever we call them, we always get someone on the line.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be great if The TNS Group could dispatch technicians more easily. As an organization, we need to focus on our primary responsibilities, and we occasionally find that their helpdesk expects us to work through physical issues ourselves. Sometimes, there’s nothing we can do ourselves to fix the problem, and getting them to dispatch a technician takes time and is counterproductive for our operations.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Assess your environment and look at what you’re trying to achieve or optimize. Then, engage with them and listen to their recommendations to ensure that they align with your needs. If so, working with them is definitely a great choice.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the technology director for the Jeremiah Program, a multi-state national nonprofit. We have seven sites across the US, and we work with single mothers to provide low-income housing, childcare, coaching, and other benefits.

What challenge were you trying to address with The TNS Group?

We hired The TNS Group to be our managed service provider.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The TNS Group team is providing helpdesk support to our staff and the single mothers we work with. They also have a pool of resources for any major projects we want to do within the organization such as upgrading our network infrastructure, establishing new cloud-based storage, implementing new software, and rolling out new hardware. The major technologies they use are Adobe and Office 365. Other than that, they mostly deal with standard network equipment and Palo Alto firewalls.

What is the team composition?

I work directly with a dozen of people fairly regularly, mostly from the higher-up management. I also have access to their entire helpdesk team.

How did you come to work with The TNS Group?

They were brought on to the Jeremiah Program before I was hired, so I was not part of their onboarding process.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing collaboration began in March 2020.

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

Their team has an extremely quick turnaround when it comes to tickets, and they’re good at jumping on emergency situations such as if our network is down or if we’re facing any security issues. They know how to ask the right questions, and they deliver everything we need, too. Overall, The TNS Group is fast, good, and smart.

How did The TNS Group perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very responsive, and they’re great at sticking to schedules and budgets. If they’ve ever broken any schedule, it’s because of stuff outside of everyone’s control such as shipping and lack of inventory. We use an internal system that generates tickets when we contact them, so we don’t have any project management tools to bounce back and forth.

We communicate through email, phone calls, and video conferences. Furthermore, we work in the same timezone, so communication is nice and smooth, and we can often work with the same person throughout the course of an issue rather than bouncing between different people.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We appreciate that The TNS Group double-checks things. In addition, they go above and beyond their work because they care about our success. In that sense, they’re better than managed service providers we’ve worked with.

Most of those service providers just do exactly what we tell them. They don’t ask clarifying questions, and they don’t get involved in the project at all. On top of that, if we make the wrong request, they’ll never get anything done.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. I really don’t have any critiques about their work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The more you tell them, the better they work. You’ll really get the most out of them if you give them the context about what you’re doing. If you don’t have a lot of technological expertise, you just need to go with The TNS Group because they will help you build a plan to accomplish your goal. More importantly, if you work with them, you’re going to have a partner.

Introduce your business and what you do there? 

I’m the compliance manager for Strive International, Inc. We’re a nonprofit organization that helps people get ready for the workplace, offering construction, medical, and more training.

What challenge were you trying to address with The TNS Group?

We needed an IT service provider.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The TNS Group is our IT service provider; they handle everything from finding the best deals on equipment, hardware, and software for us to upgrading servers, installations, maintenance, cybersecurity, email cleanup, and more.

They also provide 24/7 monitoring and are on call to assist us with any onsite tasks, such as setting up a new copier. They also handle the setup for new employees, fulfilling tickets submitted by us to make sure they have everything they need, such as apps, software, etc.

What is the team composition? 

Chris (Director of Business Development ) is our main point of contact. We’ve also interacted with approximately four technicians, sent out as needed.

How did you come to work with The TNS Group?

We felt this team had more to offer and was the best fit for us out of the candidates we considered.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent more than $300,000 with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together around September 2019, and the engagement is ongoing.

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

I appreciated their analysis initially and that they pointed out things missed by our previous IT provider, such as email cleanup. They continue to make suggestions to put things into, or keep, order. They also quickly address issues that arise, and often over the weekend before we know there is an issue.

Overall, they do a great job meeting our expectations, and I have no complaints.

How did The TNS Group perform from a project management perspective?

We handle project management internally, but they provide us with quotes before making purchases, allowing us to accept or request further searching. Overall, they’ve been spot-on in finding solutions that work well within our budget.

In terms of communication, we use phone calls, emails, and a ticketing system.

What did you find most impressive about them? 

They have a quick response time and resolution of issues — I love them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I'd like to have a dedicated tech for each project area, including email, onboarding, etc. It'd make it easier to reach out for clarity. It would also be nice if someone were onsite for a couple of hours each week, especially during a project.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Know what you want, and articulate it clearly to them. They will help you figure it out if that’s what you need.

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are the US sales, marketing and distribution company for LOWA Boots, a Germany based brand of outdoor boots and shoes. My rule is General Manager for the US.

For what projects/services did your company hire The TNS Group?

TNS manages our network which includes all of our in office, in warehouse and remote employee computers, scanners, printers as well as the network firewalls, back up systems, spam & junk control and anything related to the Microsoft suite of products. This also includes working with other vendors for CRM, shipping programs and other outside software needed to be integrated.

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

We started working with them when we had only 1-2 employees many years ago and still work with TNS 20 years later. They know computers, we know boots.

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

TNS has managed our networks as we have grown, moved locations, added remote employees, dealt with all employees going remote during Covid as well as thru challenges including hurricanes and other disasters.

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

We have worked with everyone from the CEO down to the techs who come on-site and at the help desk.

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

The biggest outcome is that unless there is an external challenge like a hurricane which takes out power & communication we are never down. If we need to do certain updates they are also scheduled for nights & weekends.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The TNS Group generally exhibits great patience in working with our team!

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

Like everything else in tech, there is change and they have managed change well.

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

Sometimes the techs speak tech and we have to ask them to explain something in normal person speak and sometimes we get multiple techs on a job and they spend a lot of time trying to figure out what their colleague did and where they left off. They have tried to address this with more dedicated teams.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a manager at LEDA Scholars, a nonprofit organization in the college access space.

What challenge were you trying to address with The TNS Group?

The TNS Groups is our external IT service provider.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The TNS Group manages our IT infrastructure on- and off-premise. They support our general network infrastructure and our cloud servers based on Jira. Additionally, they help us manage our cloud offerings and perform hardware configurations as needed.

What is the team composition?

Tony (Business Development Associate) is our account representative, but depending on the need, we communicate with other team members that they assign.

How did you come to work with The TNS Group?

I wasn’t part of LEDA when The TNS Group joined, but I assume that we looked at several vendors, piloted The TNS Group for several weeks or months, and decided to hire them as our IT service provider.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent less than $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The TNS Group started working for my company sometime around early 2018, and our engagement is ongoing.

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

Although we don’t need to track metrics like network speed, system stability, or response time due to the nature of our business, I informally oversee the performance of those. So far, every metric has been in line with our needs and goals. Our servers have been up and running almost 100% of the time, and we’ve experienced very little downtime.

How did The TNS Group perform from a project management standpoint?

The TNS Group’s project management is very good. They seem to be available 24/7 through a hotline that we can access, and they’re very accessible and open overall, which is great. Whenever we have new projects in mind, they tend to be very responsive and accommodating in the options that they offer.

We communicate via email. Whenever we need something, I email Tony so that everything is documented and has a reference point.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The TNS Group’s accessibility is impressive. Whenever I email Tony, he replies quickly and with very helpful insights about the issues at hand. We’re very happy with their customer service; they’re quick, efficient, and helpful.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’re very happy with them so far.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Working with an IT service provider depends on your strategy and needs. If you understand how your business operates, you can decide where to go.

Please describe your company and your position there.

My name is Dion Calheta and I am the Vice President of Capeway Roofing Systems, Inc. We are a commercial and industrial roofing company specializing in all types of roofing and sheetmetal. We service the public and private market.

For what projects/services did your company hire The TNS Group?

We hired TNS to service our IT needs. We are a fast moving and growing company and to have someone internally focus on IT and try and keep up with the ever changing technology field is nearly impossible.

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

We previously partnered with Thinktech. With the merger with TNS, we continued to work with TNS as we knew most of the team. With years of working together, I trust Nathan and the team when they assured me the services would only get better.

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

We hired TNS to provide ALL of our IT services in a "turn -key" method. We are a construction company and need to focus on what we are good at and let TNS focus on what they are good at. TNS is working with us on our hardware (PC's, server, back-up, firewall and internet connection equipment).

Also part of the services is software management and updates. Lastly, and most importantly, is security. With the nature of the ever evolving threats, we need someone who can stay ahead of the curve and be proactive and not reactive. TNS provides firewalls, anti-virus and offsite back-ups among other solutions. .

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

My main point of contact is Nathan. I have also worked with several technicians both electronically and in person. All of whom are professional and knowledgeable.

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

We have been through many projects over the years from simple PC swaps to a server replacement. We have added a firewall, back-up server and monitoring software. While the level of complexity varies based on the project, I have no issues with there service.

The server replacement was challenging and did not go issue free, but nothing that they didn't take care of quickly and efficiently with little to no down-time.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Communication is key between any companies and we have no issues in that regard. Items of high importance were handled quickly to avoid downtime. Items of minor importance were handled with the urgency directly relating to the problem.

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

The most impressive thing about TNS is that I do not have to worry about IT on an in-depth level. I can manage the business and simply oversee progress giving me time to do what is important and manage my business.

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

Every business can be improved, my business included. Simple things like quicker response times and improved hardware availability. I do not mention those things as they negatively effect them, but just things to make a good thing better.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the main customer contact at a custom powdered metal component manufacturer.

For what projects/services did your company hire The TNS Group?

They manage all IT issues with our MRP system, adding new computer equipment, loading new software, existing software updates and general daily computer helpdesk tickets.

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

TNS was already on board before I was hired.

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

We've completed two Global Shop (our MRP system) updates with TNS. They took the reins with the Global Shop techs and worked out the plan and schedule with our management team.

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

On both updates, there was one main tech contact at TNS that oversaw the project and worked directly with individual users as needed.

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

The updates went smoothly and minor glitches were taken care of within a day. In addition, I've had my workstation replaced twice and all was done very quickly and efficiently.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

I have found all the techs I've worked with to be very responsive. They get back to me via email or phone within the same day.

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

They sent techs to help with all the users's issues. they may be having that they haven't addressed through the helpdesk. It's nice to put a person to person instead of always being virtual.

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

I think the in-person tech was put aside during Covid. I'd like to see them back in the near future. It's helpful to get the tech team to understand how we are set up here and how we work.