Profile: Large Automotive Dealer with over 30 Sites and 2,000 Employees
Problem: The dealer had limitations with their current Wide Area Network provider, and needed to be able to have more control and customization of their network that connects all of their dealerships together, and connects them to the software systems that run their business.
Solution/Benefit: We brought in multiple telecommunications providers, telecommunications consultants, and specialized WAN design Engineers to obtain the best possible solution. We designed, planned, and implemented the transition from their current wide area network to the new wide area network in two phases, while still maintaining site-to-site connectivity during the transition. The result is that much greater control, monitoring, and performance of the network are now in place, and the dealer can rest assured that they have a reliable network in place. In addition, we are now able to provide a much more comprehensive support structure, since the control and toolsets for the network are available.
Profile: Jewelry Store Chain with 10 Locations
Problem: The IT person was leaving the company and they needed someone who could come up to speed quickly and affordably. Their outdated database also needed constant maintenance and needed a long term fix.
Solution/Benefit: After a thorough assessment of their IT support needs, we collaborated with the former IT manager and through careful planning, implemented a support program that allowed the retailer to utilize our help desk, gain access to our engineering expertise, and provide after hours on-site support technicians just in time for the holiday peak season. We also assessed their current database system and helped them with the design of a new hardware platform utilizing VMWare technology and highly available servers from Dell Corporation. The transition to this new platform allowed the jeweler to reorganize their server’s functions and paved the way for the new database software platform being developed. As a result of our NOAH support program, the customer was able to reduce ongoing IT expenditures by almost forty percent.
Profile: Well known Golf Club located in Western Mass.
Problem: Golf course’s main server dies during the peak of the golf season.
Solution/Benefit: This golf club’s main production server, which runs the entire facilities network, including the restaurant, pro shop, point of sale operations, electronic tee time system, accounting, and connects the entire staff’s pc’s, was showing signs of failing over quite some time. Cooperative Systems had been applying temporary fixes to the server to prolong the life of the server. As luck would have it, the server completely died during the absolute peak of the golf season. The owner and staff were in a panic over the server dying so unexpectedly. A senior engineer showed up very quickly with a temporary loaner server to bridge the gap until we could order a new server and deliver it about two weeks later. The engineer worked straight through for fifteen hours until everything had been migrated from the old server to the temporary server and all software systems had been restored, tested, and fully operational. The owner and the staff of the golf course were so ecstatic and relieved that all of their systems were back up and running so quickly. Once their new server was delivered, Cooperative Systems’ senior engineer migrated all data and applications from the temporary server to the new one. The new server has been running smoothly ever since it was deployed.
Profile: Large Upscale Caterer and Event Planner located outside of Hartford
Problem: The Server which provides external network access to employees was failing and needed to be replaced. Often the Server was shutting down or crashing resulting in frustrated employees who rely on this Server to be able to work off of regardless of where they are physically.
Solution/Benefit: Cooperative Systems designed a Server to replace the failing Server. The new Server now provides a stable network environment that either inside or outside employees can use without the worry of the Server failing. The new Server has been reliable so the increased “up time” has been instrumental in allowing employees to have consistent access to the company’s network.
Profile: Credit Union in Western Massachusetts with Branch Office Operations
Problem: This financial institution was frustrated with continual turnover with their single IT in-house position.
Solution/Benefit: We met the President and subsequently, the Vice President of this Credit Union to determine their technical challenges and after some probing, we discovered that their internal employee was leaving and it was the third time in about two years that they were facing this dilemma. We found that their overall business IT requirements would be a perfect fit for our managed services solution. They were intrigued that we could monitor and remotely administer our customers’ systems and resolve most of their technical issues without coming on site. So we proposed a thorough preliminary assessment of their systems which included servers, PC’s, software currently being used, third party vendors the Credit Union interacts with, anti-virus, anti-spam, network components, disaster recovery, and their business locations. Once we had gone through this exercise, we were asked to put some initial pricing for supporting the Credit Union on a day to day basis for their IT requirements as well as to outline any recommended changes to their current network. We were then granted a follow up meeting with the Credit Union’s President. The President was encouraged by the overall solution that we delivered to him as he offered to have Cooperative Systems make a presentation to the Board of Directors at their next meeting. The presentation went very well as Cooperative Systems answered many question that the Board members had. A few days after the presentation the President of the Credit Union informed Cooperative Systems that we were being awarded the contract to be the Credit Unions full time IT vendor. The relationship between the two companies has exceeded expectations for excellent service and support since 2007.
Profile: Community Based Credit Union Opening a New Branch
Problem: The incumbent vendors were not able to address the rather complex needs of proper network connectivity and overall project management to get the new location online in a timely manner.
Solution/Benefit: Before signing a support contract, we thoroughly assessed their communications requirements and proposed a solution that would simplify ongoing maintenance of the network. Through a NOAH Premium contract, we now provide the Credit Union an outsourced IT department. The Credit Union gained a much needed design improvement to gain operational efficiency and tighter network security.
Profile: Credit Union employee working from home
Problem: The CFO of a Credit Union was on maternity leave and needed to work from home. Her PC died unexpectedly and she was in a bind.
Solution/Benefit: One afternoon she called Cooperative Systems seeking help as her home PC stopped working completely. This was important to her due to the fact that she uses her home PC to remote into her work PC from home. The account manager drove out to her home the same day to diagnose the PC. He determined that the PC needed to come back to Cooperative Systems to be worked on. The PC was repaired by an engineer and was delivered back to the CFO the next day. The CFO was extremely thankful for the “beyond extra effort” that Cooperative Systems had given her. This kind of service exemplifies our philosophy of helping people solve their computer problems at a time when they need it most. The relationship between our two companies has been strong since 2007.
Profile: Multi-Branch Credit Union in Western Mass.
Problem: The Credit Union’s roof was in the process of being repaired. Upon arriving at work an employee noticed that the office space was unusually warm.
Solution/Benefit: Cooperative Systems Engineer was on-site at the time and offered to go up on the roof to look at the air conditioning unit and ultimately he was able to fix the unit and the air conditioning was restored. With the air conditioning unit functioning again, thus the concern regarding the temperature rising in the Server room was now put to rest. This was quite a relief to the Credit Union as well as Cooperative Systems who supports the server room in its entirety. This is yet another example of our ability to go beyond the call of duty to resolve our customer’s technical problems.
Profile: Insurance Brokerage Firm
Problem: The Firm was un-happy with the level of service and lack of attention they were getting from their current service provider. Cooperative Systems had been in contact with the owner of the company for a few years, and thru persistence and attention to their needs, they decided to make a transition from their current provider and begin doing business with Cooperative Systems.
Solution/Benefit: We recommended an appropriate on-going support and maintenance plan, as well as a Server upgrade for reliability with increased features, so that their business can run efficiently. A much better, and more integrated support plan is now in place, where we can help the company focus on their business needs, and allow them to work more efficiently. They now have a group of experts to call on that know their business, and can recommend appropriate solutions.
Profile: Specialized Manufacturer Located in Yonkers, NY
Problem: The company was running mission critical Oracle databases running on an old version of Novell Netware not being supported by the vendor. They needed a vendor expert in both Netware and Linux as they planned on running both systems for awhile simultaneously.
Solution/Benefit: Our staff has a very strong expertise in both NetWare and Linux technologies and was well suited to handle this job. We provided a Novell OES server to host the new Oracle database and converted their main file services over to Linux with minimal issues. The company can enjoy the performance gains of Linux and OES knowing their system will be supported for many years to come.
Profile: Growing Aerospace Manufacturer with Two Sites
Problem: The CEO needed an IT consulting firm to help plan a new infrastructure for voice and data and then have that firm provide implementation and support.
Solution/Benefit: We did a complete technology assessment on their systems, applications, phone system, communications, and network infrastructure. We installed 3 Windows servers, a Cisco Call Manager Express system and voice and data VPNs between sites to simplify future moves, adds and changes to the system. With modernized VOIP, worldwide remote access via PDA, and wireless CNC machinery, the company is well positioned to compete in the global economy.
Profile: Mid-sized specialty item manufacturer in Western Massachusetts
Problem: This client was dealing with an aging system and needed to make a move before their critical production servers started to fail. There were not many Windows NT experts in the area, and they needed to have a knowledgeable engineering team deal with sensitivity to downtime since their customers relied heavily on JIT manufacturing which in turn placed demands on continual uptime.
Solution/Benefit: We proposed a P2V (physical to virtual) migration path that would allow a graceful migration to the new systems we were installing. The project encompassed 4 servers in a VMWare VSphere 4 environment with high availability and Windows Server 2008 R2 as the standard OS. All mailboxes were converted from Exchange 5.5 to Exchange 2010 using PST files. The customer was able to reduce risks of downtime and was afforded a way to add new applications with minimal future investment. In addition, support costs were greatly reduced and the MRP system was updated to the latest version for a much broader array of reports and features.
Profile: Small tool manufacturer with no IT staff in place
Problem: A small manufacturer needed to replace an aging server, a fax server, and needed a strategy for updating client workstations without breaking the bank.
Solution/Benefit: We worked with this customer to develop a way to maximize the value of their investment by conducting a phased upgrade. We first updated their key desktops and made sure their existing software worked with the latest hardware and operating systems being deployed. After about 9 months of service, we introduced a new server into their network and migrated files and key network services to the new server. We also upgraded their outdated fax server with improved software that allowed for automatic redirection of faxes based on the sending fax number. This small company enjoys the benefits of a fast and modern network with a much smaller cash outlay than what most vendors were proposing. By doing this in a phased approach, they were able to stretch the length of their investment by about 2 years longer than the typical installation.
Profile: Archdiocese Center with Decentralized IT
Problem: While the center had a common wiring infrastructure, each office was separately administered and selected the IT vendor they felt was best. Systems did not interconnect and there was no common platform.
Solution/Benefit: An administrative initiative was established to consolidate the voice and data systems into a single managed network. We were selected as the consulting firm to assess each office’s IT and voice needs and determine how to best consolidate all IT functions. Our detailed analysis and recommendations are being used to solicit bids from various providers in the area. The anticipated benefit is that once a single vendor is chosen and systems upgraded or interconnected, the Archdiocese will achieve significant operational cost savings.
Profile: Early Childhood Education Center
Problem: The Center needed a new computer system to allow their administrative staff to work more efficiently, and to allow their teaching staff access to a computer-based childcare & learning systems.
Solution/Benefit: Cooperative Systems bid on and won the project. We worked with the staff members at the Center to determine their operational needs and designed a computer system that could meet those needs. We installed the system and have provided on-going support to maintain the system at its optimal performance and capacity. The Center has benefitted from being more efficient in their administrative office, and more importantly, is now able to provide better child care in the classroom as a result of having a robust computer system in place to support their computer-based childcare & learning systems.
Profile: Agency providing sexual minority youth and family services
Problem: The growing agency had an aging stand alone computer system that was interfering with their growth. We worked with them on a Technical Assessment of their agency to assist with attaining grant funding for computer system upgrades as well as management consulting to assist with their growth.
Solution/Benefit: The funding was approved, and we installed a new server-based computer system along with many new workstations. We designed the system to allow for sharing of their data and information, including daily tasks and schedules. The new system allows the staff to work more efficiently, as well as have access to their information when outside the office. We provided training to the end-users to ensure that the new systems were being used as optimally as possible. The agency now has the technical toolsets to assist in growing their agency and providing their services to many more people.
Profile: Town/Board of Education with a population of 24,000+
Problem: The IT director needed a company to work with that could meet strict timelines to set up a VMware environment while upgrading their entire Microsoft Exchange e-mail system.
Solution/Benefit: We provided this customer a simple block time retainer and allocated several engineers to handle different aspects of the project. By doing so, we were able to bring their new system up in time and under budget. Because we also provide occasional outsourced support and work cooperatively with the internal IT staff, we are able to help save the town and taxpayers additional ongoing costs relative to maintenance and support.
Profile: Regional Housing Authority/Government Agency
Problem: A large government agency was looking to update their technology infrastructure but wasn’t sure of the best approach and needed some good advice.
Solution/Benefit: Our consulting staff met with key personnel and discussed business goals with department heads and presented these findings to upper management. The outcome of these meetings served as the basis for a 5 year technology plan that incorporated a wide are network, telephone system, remote access, infrastructure upgrades, application servers, and a comprehensive server phase-out/upgrade plan. The agency was able to take the technology plan and use it as a basis for an RFP to implement a major network upgrade. This project has been fully funded and approved through federally backed technology grants.
Profile: Municipal government with a population of 65,000 residents
Problem: A local municipality has the opportunity to upgrade their mail system and perform network level upgrades that affect the entire town infrastructure. They need assistance with design and implementation of a robust and scalable network email system.
Solution/Benefit: We were hired to develop a plan to upgrade their domain to Windows 2003 Active Directory and Exchange 2003. This was a phased plan that fit their strict budget requirements. We are now in the process of a smooth migration to Windows 2008 and a domain consolidation project which conforms to best practices in an environment where multiple domain administrators in multiple departments must work together. Our design has incorporated a scalability that fits well into the town’s plans for redundant data centers connected on a fiber optic grid. The fault tolerance of this solution will last well into the future and accommodate changes to operating systems, hardware, and virtualization environments.
Profile: School District of 5,000 students located in central Connecticut
Problem: A local school district has periodic demands on their internal resources and sometimes cannot keep up with the workload and more complex projects. They were looking for a one stop source that could help with both ongoing support and more sophisticated network projects.
Solution/Benefit: Our staff is consistently able to provide the additional resources necessary to augment our client’s current staff capabilities. In addition, when summer projects hit their stride, our engineers are ready and capable of getting projects done under very strict timeframes. We have assisted this particular school district with a highly available Exchange system supporting 3000 users in addition to Lightspeed Email message journaling for the entire school district. The school system can obtain knowledgeable staff to support them and who already understand their systems. This saves a tremendous amount of time compared to bidding out the work. And because we have a long history supporting school systems, they benefit through our knowledge and sensitivity to school schedules and strict project timeframes.
Profile: Specialty Care Hospital needing a plan to phase in Electronic Health Records system
Problem: Health Care Reform has had a major impact on small hospitals requiring compliance with HIPPA and electronic medical records. To manage the upgrade process in a cost effective and well executed manner, a knowledgeable consultant was required.
Solution/Benefit: We developed a proposal that would transition the hospital away from Novell e-directory and GroupWise email into a network with Active Directory, Windows Server 2008 and Exchange 2010. With the right combination of tools, engineering talent, knowledge transfer, and project management, we were able to smoothly migrate 400 plus users over to an environment that would support their EHR initiative. We provided their IT staff invaluable knowledge and best practice methodologies that they will be using for years to come. Our familiarity with the needs of the medical industry helped propel this project faster and for much less cost than most of our larger competitors.
Profile: Medical practice seeking consultant to help with modernization of patient care systems
Problem: Doctors at a local OB/GYN office were seeking mobile devices to be able to bring from room to room for patient exams. Other network upgrades were essential to the overall success of the implementation.
Solution/Benefit: The practice was in need of a mobile PC such as a laptop but not as bulky with the flexibility to be written on as well as having a keyboard. An account manager from Cooperative Systems went to visit the customer to determine their needs and sent an engineer to do a thorough site survey and technical assessment. We proposed a network and system upgrade to allow for the implementation of new software and portable hardware devices they sought. Now the doctors and the medical assistants of the practice are using tablets which can be used either as a writing instrument or a laptop. A patient’s records can be updated while they are with the patient and go directly into the patient’s permanent file. Their investment, in addition to secure storage of sensitive patient information, conforms to HIPAA, HITECH, and Early EHR Adoption as part of the Health Care Reform Act of 2010. The customer is very appreciative that Cooperative Systems took the time to conduct several onsite meetings at the practice to ensure that the multi-faceted project was correctly planned and implemented in a timely and non-disruptive fashion.
Profile: Dental Endodontic practice with 4 locations
Problem: The practice was in need of a computer-based digital imaging system to stay ahead of their competition by providing quick access to patient record information.
Solution/Benefit: We worked with the dentists to determine what the best network and system design would be, and worked with the software manufacturer to install and configure the system to support connectivity and access to the system at all 4 offices. We provide on-going maintenance and support of this system. The dentists are now able to utilize the latest technological advances in their industry to ensure that their patients are receiving the best quality care.
Profile: Law firm in downtown Hartford, CT
Problem: This small law firm had an outdated server hardware platform but could not upgrade their operating system or application because of the associated expense. Someone had to figure out how to upgrade the hardware without affecting anything else on the network.
Solution/Benefit: We utilized a P2V (physical to virtual) migration strategy which allowed our engineers to take an “image” of their current server and migrate it seamlessly into a virtual environment that could emulate their old hardware platform. By doing this, we were able to provide a new lease on their application and help them avoid a major expenditure for several more years. In addition, we sold them licenses that will “future-proof” their investment when the time comes to upgrade their legal application. This project provides multiple benefits and we were able to extend these benefits to this customer without affecting system uptime or re-training their end users. An additional benefit is that our staff can now provide quicker and more responsive support as a result of the upgrade.
Profile: Law firm in downtown Boston
Problem: The law practice had historically been a “paper-based” practice where all legal documents were only in paper form. The practice wanted to stay current with their industry as well as realize the efficiencies and savings associated with migrating their office to a computer-based document storage system.
Solution/Benefit: We recommended and installed a computer system that was suitable for the size of their practice, and was appropriate for their needs. We worked with their staff on best-practices for storing documents electronically, as well as provided safe guards for the storage of this data. We provide on-going support and maintenance of their computer system, as well as off-site backup of their data. The firm has realized significant savings in cost and efficiencies associated with investing in a server-based computer system. They are now able to access documents much faster, have access to their data from anywhere (including outside the office), and have peace of mind that their clients’ information is properly protected.
Profile: Small law firm in Norwich, CT. Very unhappy with current IT support provider
Problem: The Law firm’s email system was down for over a week. Their current vendor could not fix the problem and they needed it up and running fast.
Solution/Benefit: We received a call and remotely accessed their system to determine where the problem was. We quickly determined that there was a problem with their backup system and the ability for the email server to completely boot up without conflicts. We went in and reinstalled the backup system and they were up and running within a few hours. After performing this rescue mission, we visited them to conduct a more thorough site assessment. We have engaged in a support contract with them that provides server monitoring and support on demand when they are in need.
