IT Case Study: Commercial Mechanical Contractor
When embarking on large-scale building projects, selecting the right commercial mechanical contractor can make all the difference. This selection impacts the efficiency and success of the endeavor.
In January of 2020, Doceo began the process of performing an IT Assessment of a York, PA-based Mechanical Contractor focused on servicing commercial customers. Being a Commercial Mechanical Contractor, they were dissatisfied with their current IT relationship. It was a widely recognized and large local provider. They knew something just wasn’t right with their IT infrastructure, but they needed assistance. They needed help to determine the depth of their issue.
Assessment & Discovery
The findings of the assessment were surprising to both the customer and to the Doceo team. Key findings included:
- The on-premise Windows server, which was hosting 20 years of CRM data, was running on an obsolete operating system and had received no regular maintenance or security updates in years.
- Many workstations were running unsupported operating systems, and no workstations were being maintained or updated.
- The customer was being charged monthly for an anti-virus software license, but only the free trial version, now expired, was installed, and no commercial licenses had been activated.
- The backup solution was not being monitored and had not performed a successful backup for months.
- The outdated firewall appliance was not being monitored, and the security subscription had expired.
- The software licensing for line-of-business applications was inaccurate and left the organization exposed to legal action and fines.
In summary, Doceo has taken a partnership approach with the Commercial Mechanical Contractor. This approach minimized budgetary impact but offered many valuable benefits to the client. We are not only providing them a higher level of service and ensuring that regular maintenance is taking place. We are also helping them to leverage their investment to improve employee productivity. Additionally, we are reducing the cybersecurity risks to their proprietary information and providing them valuable guidance in planning for future technology needs.
Solution
Phase 1
Doceo made several key recommendations for upgrades to the key components of their infrastructure. As a Commercial Mechanical Contractor, Phase 1 has been completed and has addressed the most serious issues as follows:
- A new Dell PowerEdge Server was implemented with a 5-year Dell Mission Critical Warranty to ensure that any hardware failures would be addressed in less than 4 hours. The server is maintained regularly and kept up to date with all approved security updates and operating system patches.
- The outdated backup solution was replaced with a Datto appliance with both on-premise and cloud backup. This solution fully images the server and boots the backup each night to verify a successful backup. Both Doceo and the customer receive daily confirmations.
- All workstations are now up-to-date and receiving regular maintenance.
- The CRM was fully updated and migrated to the new server.
- Doceo worked in conjunction with their CRM vendor to complete this migration and get the valuable data protected.
- All software licensing was corrected for the true number of users, eliminating the potential for legal exposure and large fines.
- All of the up-front expenses for this project were unplanned, so Doceo was able to provide aggressive financing that packaged the entire project as an operating expense.
Phase 2
At the writing of this study, we are commencing the bi-annual account review process in which we will discuss how things are going and what may have changed with the customer since Phase 1. There were a number of future projects for Phase 2 that we will be attacking shortly. These include the following:
- Upgrading the firewall appliance to a more current system that provides fewer bandwidth bottlenecks improves the remote user experience.
- Guiding transitioning employees to use OneDrive effectively in support of further improving remote work.
- Moving file-sharing from the server into SharePoint to further improve access to shared information.
Conclusion
A Technology Partnership should not be a one-time, “set-it and forget-it” experience. A Commercial Mechanical Contractor faces constant change in its competitive landscape, requiring full attention to business goals. They do not have time to worry about whether they are being taken advantage of by their IT provider. Instead, they need a partner with a business-focused approach to technology.
Doceo’s approach to the Technology Partnership is rooted in this methodology. We are not buried in the “nuts and bolts” of technology and all of the associated buzzwords that proliferate in the marketplace today. Technology is just a tool that can be used, or misused, to execute an organization’s business plan. We are among the best at coming alongside a business partner to understand what they are trying to achieve, where their goals are focused, and what needs to be done to get them there. That is the Doceo Difference.
