CASE STUDIES
See how our systems have helped other people
ABNA
RESTORATION ST. LOUIS
WILSON SCHOOL
KEMCO
ABNA
Delivering all-inclusive cloud technology solutions in the engineering space
Background:
With 18 years of experience in the civil engineering industry and multiple awards as one of the best and fastest-growing engineering rms in the region, ABNA has signi cantly contributed to the growth and urban development of St. Louis and other cities in both Missouri and Illinois.
Among ABNA’s successful projects are the I-64/40 design-build projects in the St. Louis area, the Lindbergh Boulevard Tunnel construction beneath Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and the MetroLink cross-county extension. ABNA’s breadth of services and commitment to exceed clients’ expectations has led the company to its rapid growth.
Problem:
Throughout ABNA’s success, however, company leadership noticed that their technology environment was not meeting their increased IT system requirements and demands. In response, ABNA made efforts to improve their IT solutions by:
• Hiring an in-house IT resource
• Investing in technology upgrades
• Outsourcing part of their IT responsibilities and securing a server maintenance contract
Soon the inevitable happened – the same server that was under the maintenance contract crashed, leaving ABNA’s IT system down for three days, heavily impacting the rm’s productivity.
Solution:
With a clear interest in new technology solutions, ABNA attended a cloud computing seminar featuring a presentation about CompleteCloud. ABNA’s leadership learned about its fundamentals and applications, which entailed eliminating ABNA’s hardware dependency and implementing an ef cient cloud solution. More speci c suggestions included the addition of 12 CAD thin clients, 30 general-purpose thin clients and a wireless LAN.
After reviewing the recommendations and receiving a compelling reference from one of our current clients, ABNA was very impressed with the bene ts CompleteCloud offered in a cost-effective package. A cost-bene t analysis between other cloud computing vendors and the CompleteCloud solution convinced ABNA’s president, Nicole Adewale, that this was the best option.
ABNA can now focus on delivering projects and expanding the business, instead of worrying about their technology and system performance.
Mike McCurdy: President | mikem@itechinc.com | Mobile: 208.293.4010 | www.itechinc.com
Results:
Since fully integrating their solution with ABNA’s applications (AutoCad, Microsoft Of ce and Adobe), CompleteCloud has allowed for a substantial increase in productivity, accessibility, exibility and mobile capability. ABNA can now focus on delivering projects and expanding the business, instead of worrying about their technology and system performance. Previously, IT solutions that could be successfully integrated with the AutoCad program were rare for the engineering industry.
ABNA now considers the CompleteCloud solution to be a business partner and team member, instead of simply an IT support provider, thanks to the great communication and relationship maintained. In her own words, ABNA’s Nicole Adewale refers to us as a caring partner that promptly helps with any problem that arises, either over the phone, by email or in person.
With the mobile capabilities CompleteCloud enables, ABNA’s staff is not concerned about system breakdowns that may threaten productivity and security—managers are now able to take the company’s laptops to any location with a reliable Wi-Fi connection and the company’s operations can continue uninterrupted.
Future:
What’s next for ABNA? In the short term, the engineering rm plans to donate their old hardware to a local organization and fully experience their technologically refreshed facility.
Looking forward, ABNA will continue to explore new business opportunities in Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi. Future expansion includes incorporating ongoing strategic technology planning in partnership with CompleteCloud
RESTORATION ST. LOUIS
Providing technology solutions for diverse needs
Background:
Originally started as a husband and wife team, Restoration St. Louis began rehabbing with just a couple of multifamily buildings and an SUV for their office in the 1990s. By the new millennium, Restoration St. Louis grew to become an 80- plus employee enterprise and expanded its abilities and expertise into real estate, development, design, construction and property management.
Today, FrontDoor, LLC — the entity that leases the apartments rehabbed by Restoration St. Louis — is one of the city’s largest providers of apartments to college students.
Problem:
Each of the different companies within Restoration St. Louis and FrontDoor, LLC — design, construction, development, leasing — were on desktop PCs ranging in age and various operating systems. All were served by a maxed out file server and inconsistent email server located in the basement. Each arm of the organization was handcuffed to their own immediate work group, barely able to exchange spreadsheet files, let alone share contacts and email between entities.
Restoration St. Louis is now saving more than $2,400 a month on their IT.
Despite employing a full-time IT manager along with expensive, contract management services, they were plagued by regular crashes and incompatibility problems that seriously affected their productivity.
In 2006, severe storms caused extended, citywide power outages that did more than just kill the lights. Their websites, phone system and connection to each other — and their hundreds of tenants — vanished.
Once the power came back on, they called about CompleteCloud.
Solution:
The first step was virtualizing the Restoration St. Louis network and their PCs. The company also faced several unique IT challenges. Attention was focused on improving efficiencies for several areas key to this business, including BlackBerry support, improving thin clients and allowing virtual access to desktops.
Mike McCurdy: President | mikem@itechinc.com | Mobile: 208.293.4010 | www.itechinc.com
Results:
Focusing on Restoration St. Louis’ needs, CompleteCloud was able to improve efficiency overall in several key areas.
- BlackBerry support: Through CompleteCloud, Restoration St. Louis is now able to afford Fortune 500-level technology like BlackBerry Enterprise Server to sync the company’s field managers automatically with the home office’s Microsoft Outlook.
- “Chubby” clients: Thin clients are sometimes accused of being a poor match for graphic-intensive programs like AutoCAD. CompleteCloud engineers built custom thin clients (nicknamed “chubby clients”) with enhanced graphics abilities to keep Restoration St. Louis’ staff architect and draftsman working and connected.
- Mobile desktops: Ownership needed the ability to access their virtual PCs from home or the road. In case of a power outage at the main office, they now can simply take their laptop and log in to the entire company’s system from anywhere with an Internet connection.Similarly, vital consultants were given their own virtual PCs so they could connect, communicate and contribute within the network as employees. When the relationship with a consultant ends, access to their virtual PC is simply “switched off” keeping prior email, notes and files as assets within the Restoration St. Louis network.
Future:
Restoration St. Louis is now saving more than $2,400 a month on their IT. Insurance, property tax and electricity are all now significantly reduced in cost. With these savings, the company can continue to grow as well as better serve their own clients and customers.
WILSON SCHOOL
CompleteCloud tested with school fire
Background:
For more than 100 years, The Wilson School has been an innovative and vital component in the educational landscape of St. Louis. The small, private elementary school itself occupies a historical building in the suburb of Clayton, Missouri.
Through its commitment to innovation and education, The Wilson School’s students consistently rank in the top 10th percentile in testing nationally.
Problem:
While ahead of the curve in educational standards, The Wilson School had suffered from using outdated technology. They lacked several components to help the school and its staff function more efficiently:
• A shared file storage system for all business and education documents
• A modern education registrar system and database
• Upgraded accounting software to move operations in-house instead of outsourced • Remote access to technology
• Updates to hardware and Microsoft Office licenses
• A disaster and continuity plan
In assessing their own technology needs, The Wilson School found that the capital investment required would be extensive and their next major capital campaign was still a couple years away. Upgrades would have to come from operating funds and The Wilson School found themselves at a crossroads — until they looked into CompleteCloud, a solution that would have to soon be put to the ultimate test.
Solution:
The CompleteCloud’s Utility Model allowed The Wilson School to upgrade all of their hardware and software, created
a centralized SharePoint server and hosted the new registrar and associated database. The teachers and staff could now access their computers from anywhere because the entire technology platform was secured in an enterprise data center. All of their goals were accomplished with no capital investment, making it a huge victory for The Wilson School.
“We made a strategic decision to move onto CompleteCloud and start leveraging technology
instead of being frustrated
by it. That decision, along with the hard work of the staff and the support and patience of our families in the aftermath of this fire, has led to this tremendous success story here at Wilson.”
– Head of School, Thad Falkner
Mike McCurdy: President | mikem@itechinc.com | Mobile: 208.293.4010 | www.itechinc.com
Put Into Action: The Wilson School Recovers From a Devastating Fire
Not long after their decision to rely on CompleteCloud, The Wilson School was forced to put their new technology and disaster plan into place. On the verge of their centennial celebration, the Head of School awoke to an alarm and found the building filled with smoke. The next morning, a significant portion of the school was in ruins.
Because The Wilson School’s entire technology was now in the cloud, none of their functionality, data or computing power was lost. The school’s phone was immediately rerouted to the Head of School’s cellphone to speak with anxious parents. Teachers had access to their computers remotely and were freely able to communicate with parents and fellow staff.
While The Wilson School’s historic building was being repaired, temporary locations were found to continue the school year. Because the staff had very little to do to setup their technology solutions and business operations, they could focus on creating a welcoming experience for children and parents — their technology just kept working. Through the transition, they did not lose a single file or document. They simply plugged in new Thin Clients and picked up right where they left off.
Over the course of the nine months, the team continued to leverage the CompleteCloud as they bounced from their replacement location and their construction site during the rebuild. It was a critical time for The Wilson School staff as they were entering their 100th year and had been planning the most significant capital campaign the school had ever executed. They were planning a new technology wing that would put them in the forefront of all private schools in the nation. A fire would not impede their progress.
Future:
Less than one year after the fire, The Wilson School opened its doors
again to its students, families and staff. Every single student enrolled at the time of the fire walked back through those reopened doors. Because of a successful capital campaign, the new technology wing opened along with the rest of the rebuilt and remodeled school. The pride of the Technology wing is its Immersion Wall, 24 feet by 7 feet of monitors (18 of them in all) curved on a nine-degree radius. Students can now do PowerPoint book report presentations in front of their class and Skype researchers at NASA.
A decision five years ago to upgrade its technology has this small, private elementary school positioned to be a leader in education for the next 100 years. Head of School Thad Falkner reflects, “This could have easily been the story about how a small school closed its doors after 100 years. Instead it’s about a school that’s poised for the next 100 years.”
KEMCO
Leveraging Technology to Pull Off a Successful Business Turnaround
Background:
Kemco Aerospace Manufacturing is a diversified solutions provider for the aerospace and defense industries. They employ stringent controls and lean manufacturing practices to deliver certified, flight critical components that exceed exacting quality, cost and delivery standards. From precision manufacturing to innovative engineering services, Kemco Aerospace Manufacturing is the partner of choice for a wide range of aerospace and defense applications.
Problem:
When business partners Rick Zimmerman and Dan Ladenberger acquired Kemco in 2007, they were facing a challenging turnaround project. There were many issues with the company varying from internal manufacturing operations and infrastructure to external account related issues. As they built a plan to turnaround Kemco, they identified their IT infrastructure as strategic in their turnaround efforts, yet not core to their business. They needed a solution
in place fast so they could focus their energy on improving manufacturing processes and enhancing client relationships.
The current IT infrastructure had a long list of issues:
• Outdated hardware
• Patchwork network
• Part-time/non-skilled IT support • Expensive external IT consultants • No backup
• No off-site storage
• No disaster recovery
Because the business was in financial distress, they wanted to avoid a major capital expenditure with their IT infrastructure.
Solution:
Kemco decided to go with CompleteCloud. They were able to avoid the capital expenditure while completely rebuilding their IT infrastructure. Their new infrastructure was built in a secure enterprise data center, which was critical due to the sensitivity of their client base being a Department of Defense supplier. They addressed the computing needs of their diverse 70 employees, varying from assembly line terminals to manufacturing engineers. They also checked the box on off-site backup and disaster recovery, which was important to them and their clients.
“Our IT just works, it is reliable and secure and allows us to run our business effectively. I am a financially driven business owner and I have done cost comparisons 4-5 times over the last seven years; I cannon find a more cost-effective solutions.” -Rick Zimmerman Kemco CEO
Mike McCurdy: President | mikem@itechinc.com | Mobile: 208.293.4010 | www.itechinc.com
Results:
Kemco has now been on CompleteCloud for seven years. They have grown to more than 170 employees in two locations. CompleteCloud supports three separate businesses: Kemco Manufacturing, Kemco Labs and Rhino Arms. What was once a turnaround project for Rick and Dan is now a thriving enterprise.
Dan Ladenberger, who is the President and runs the operations commented, “There were some unexpected advantages to the CompleteCloud. (1) We went through a major facility move, and it
was easy and painless as we did not have to worry about moving computers. (2) We have 24/7 support. We did not consider this upfront, but we are manufacturing all night long and our IT issues used to just wait until the morning. Now they can be addressed in the middle of the night, which has increased productivity and employee morale.”
Future:
Rick and Dan recently started another business, Rhino Arms, which delivers commercial grade assault rifles. They will continue looking for opportunities to leverage their engineering and manufacturing expertise to grow their enterprise while spending very little time thinking about IT