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Accord Services was having communication issues with their previous IT provider. They did not have a dedicated account manager and were not getting timely responses. The varying support team had difficulty understanding their needs.
DynaSis was able to help Accord Services by providing them with a Technical Account Manager and an onsite Staff Augmentation of Supplemental IT. Once a week, their Staff Augmentation of Supplemental IT is onsite for a half day to assist with any issues. This has helped put the Accord Services staff at ease to knowing always have help available.
Accord Services has not had any major outages and is very pleased with the service and responsiveness of the DynaSis team. DynaSis is providing ongoing services to ensure their IT infrastructure is solid and meets their business needs.
Before working with DynaSis, OnePoint was dealing with technology challenges. They were struggling to keep their operating system and equipment up to date. Their user base was growing and they needed help managing IT services for the larger group of employees.
DynaSis met with OnePoint and offered solutions for their current problems, as well as the ability to look forward and suggest a path to stay on to be proactive and avoid future issues.
“When we started working with DynaSis, the initial implementation went well. Taking advantage of the cloud and the virtual world has been very valuable for our company and our employees,” said Jeff Bening, OnePoint’s Operation Manager.
OnePoint is very happy with the stability of their infrastructure and how DynaSis manages their account. Their hardware and applications are always up to date with the latest compliance regulations and security protection. Whenever any of their employees have questions or concerns, they are able to get quick responses and support from the DynaSis team.
“DynaSis truly cares how things are going at our company. They took the time to really learn what we do and how we operate. Learning about our processes and systems helped them come up with the ideal services that we need to manage our IT flawlessly,” said Bening.
Before working with DynaSis, Echo Media had an in-house IT Director. When they lost their internal IT support, they had an immediate need for a Managed Service Provider with the right knowledge and skill set to handle all their IT needs. They wanted a company that they could partner with, trust and build a relationship.
“Searching for an IT partner can be daunting, especially if your expertise is in Sales! We were worried there could be potential disruptions to our day to day business and create havoc with our business operations,” said Stacey Reece, Vice President of Echo Media.
After choosing DynaSis to manage their IT, Echo Media had to go through the recommended changes and processes to get things up to speed. One of these changes included moving all their employees to the DynaSis Business Cloud. Echo Media was not familiar with working out of a cloud based system and had a lot of concerns due to the unknown nature and how it would affect their day to day environment. Their minds were quickly put at ease about this concern.
“DynaSis is great about telling you everything they will be doing to get your company set up. They are very good about scheduling any migration or work that needs to be done around your needs so that there is minimal business time lost,” said Reece.
DynaSis and Echo Media have been working together for over 15 years. Echo Media has had various competition knock on their doors but they are pleased with the level of service that DynaSis provides. The trust that they have developed with DynaSis is very valuable so they have no desire to go anywhere else for support.
“The support DynaSis offers is top notch. They are available 24/7 and get back to you very promptly. Promptness is very important when you are having computer issues that affect your ability to work (or sell!). They provide an outstanding level of customer service. The DynaSis service techs are quick to come up with solutions and able to fix our problems. You can feel their confidence over the phone which resonates comfort in knowing that they can help. Just knowing this allows my time to be spent where it needs to be in growing the company business,” said Reece.
Aegis was desperately in need of an upgrade to their computers and server. They were using computers with outdated operating systems and they badly needed an update. They also needed to migrate their legacy applications and software to the new systems.
In the past, Aegis had always taken care of their IT in-house. However, setting up a new server, firewall, and workstations proved to be too much to handle.
If that weren’t enough, Aegis also needed to handle a new cybersecurity compliance regulation that they were unfamiliar with (NIST 800-171). With over 100 different – and necessary – security controls to implement, Aegis decided that they needed some help with managing it all.
The DynaSis team began their consultation by understanding the scope and problems that Aegis faced. They developed a detailed plan that covered every aspect that needed to be addressed. Once the plan was approved by Aegis, the DynaSis team performed all the necessary upgrades over the weekend in just three days.
DynaSis also helped Aegis establish a comprehensive backup strategy, while also conducting cybersecurity training for Aegis employees to maintain compliance.
Aegis now has a more efficient network than ever before. With fiber channel partitioning, the DynaSis team was able to create ultra-fast internet speeds. DynaSis updated the server operating system to Windows Server 2016, and all the workstations to Windows 10. The legacy applications were all ported over seamlessly and without issue.
Aegis is also safe from internet threats. They’re now compliant with the stringent cybersecurity requirement and their customers are happier than ever.
Implemented solutions:
Aegis couldn’t be happier with the work that DynaSis completed. They’re now up and running efficiently, and have been operating with minimal issues since the upgrade happened. DynaSis continues to handle the few remaining help desk tickets quickly, without slowing down operations.
Scarlet Deahl, Controller for Smart Lighting Solutions, recognized there was a problem with their managed I.T. service provider when she was unable to get fast response to resolve recurring I.T. problems. “We kept seeing the same problems over and over.” Among other issues, it sometimes took the provider’s service team as much as two hours to reach Smart Lighting’s Duluth, GA, office. “This was more than inconvenient”, states Deahl. “We were actually having trouble serving our customers because of network issues.” Additionally, neither helpdesk nor field support were available before 8 AM nor after hours.
Taking advantage of the technical knowhow of an intern who was working at the company, Deahl assigned him the task of researching the best of the best managed IT service providers in the Atlanta area and coming back to her with the two companies he had determined were the best fit to take over the Smart Lighting Solutions account. The intern came back with his final two choices and, after meeting with both, Deahl chose to go with DynaSis.
Knowing that the Smart Lighting executive team was concerned about their network security, DynaSis sent its Chief Solutions Architect onsite to perform a full assessment, including an in-depth cyber security review. Among the problems he discovered were: there was no business-grade backup, passwords were set to never expire, and their network was running on an old repurposed Cisco server that has been designed to run a phone system. While the server functioned, it was so old that it was out of warranty and there would have been no way to get it rapidly up and running again in the event of a failure. To resolve this, a new server was installed and the old server was again repurposed as a backup, with further backup to an offsite cloud-based facility.
Additionally, there was a switch problem that was causing trouble in fully accessing server resources, and this poor network performance was negatively impacting productivity. A full documentation of all network switches was conducted during which it was discovered that two “loops” existed, essentially causing information requests to run around in circles. This was also rectified.
Today, Smart Lighting Solutions’ I.T. network is running smoothly and when minor problems do arise, the DynaSis helpdesk and field support teams are available 24 x 7 to address all issues. As with all DynaSis clients, network monitoring is performed 24 x 7 x 365.
“DynaSis works proactively, not reactively. For example, when our power went out overnight recently, DynaSis discovered it and alerted us. With our old I.T. provider, nothing was done unless we reported it.”
Deahl also reports that the onboarding process went more smoothly than expected and that everyone has taken to the new processes very well.
“DynaSis has taken a burden off my team and me, now that I no longer have to be the main point of contact for I.T. issues. But the most important consideration is our customers. When our IT network isn’t functioning properly, servicing our customers becomes very difficult and that is something we simply cannot allow.”
Alpharetta, Georgia 2016 – DynaSis, Atlanta’s premier provider of IT services and support for small and midsized businesses (SMBs), recently announced it has completed the first phase of a comprehensive IT planning and upgrade effort for Oglethorpe University. The first major project, begun in late 2015, has provided the institution with redundant firewall capabilities to protect hundreds of servers across a network that has hundreds of thousands of open connections at any given time.
The firewall chosen for the project, a Dell Sonic Wall NSA, is a next-generation appliance that provides consolidated, centralized and advanced filtering, and threat protection, while achieving low latency with a very large number of connections. It represents an important step for Oglethorpe as part of a cohesive plan, developed with the input of DynaSis’s IT experts, to modernize the university’s technology infrastructure and processes.
“DynaSis started with a comprehensive assessment of our core systems, which helped us focus on areas that could make a significant difference for our students, faculty and staff” said Oglethorpe Chief Information Officer Mike Gonsalves. “In August 2015, DynaSis started remote monitoring and maintenance of our servers, which resulted in a more stable and reliable server environment. The benefits have been a 24/7 operation with minimal unplanned downtime as a result. They really do a great job.”
On the horizon for Oglethorpe is a storage area network (SAN) and then a network upgrade after DynaSis completes further analyses. Like most educational institutions, Oglethorpe must pace its upgrades to align with student and faculty needs during the school year, which made systematic prioritization of projects critical to the effort.
“Educational institutions today are under attack, literally, with some of the world’s brightest people trying to gain access to sensitive data” said DynaSis's President of Managed IT Services, Dave Moorman. “Our most pressing concern, after performing a comprehensive situational assessment, was to ensure Oglethorpe had 100% firewall protection—with both a main unit and a high-availability unit that would take over in the event of an outage. Additional upgrades, which will give the university an IT platform to match its world-class reputation, continue to be implemented.”
When Classic Collision IT Manager Scott Britt looked for help reducing network outages and handling day-to-day IT duties, his search led him to DynaSis. Working together, DynaSis and Classic Collision formulated an ambitious 2- pronged plan: move Classic Collision’s entire day-to-day operations to the cloud, and provide day-to-day IT support for Classic’s employees.
“Our company used an another IT service previously. At that time, there was a server we had acquired when we bought an existing body shop. They hooked that server into our network without checking for viruses and compatibility, and it infected our whole system. We knew it was time for a change.”
Now, Britt reports, the new technology framework is helping the collision centers “do everything right the first time” for its customers.
Prior to signing with DynaSis, Britt had been charged with managing the IT needs for the nine collision centers then owned by Classic Collision (currently 18). However, providing support and assistance for so many different locations was a struggle. “We did everything ourselves—from training people to use our management system to repairing PCs,” says Britt. “Even with just the nine locations we had then all over metro Atlanta, it was hard to get to everybody.”
In particular, Britt reports, keeping tabs on licensing requirements for software was difficult, and untimely network outages hampered efforts to provide the excellent customer service for which Classic Collision is renowned. Britt interviewed four or five managed IT service providers but after meeting with DynaSis's VP of Managed IT Services, Chas Arnold. DynaSis was hired to provide IT support, which dovetailed perfectly with Britt’s own plans. “We like to have the latest and greatest technology, and I had already envisioned that the cloud was where we wanted to go,” says Britt. “Once we got DynaSis in for the day-to-day IT issues, we were able to set up a meeting with our boss, Brandon Bishop, who liked the availability, security and mobility of the DynaSis Business Cloud.”
With the Cloud project approved, Classic Collision and DynaSis immediately began working to implement the complete solution, which would include moving all of Classic Collision’s operations to the cloud, hosted at DynaSis's world class Tier 3 data center. DynaSis would also provide 24/7/365 monitoring and maintenance, including software updates. Each Classic Collision location would still have a single on-premises server to assign IP addresses and help connect the desktop PCs in the office to the cloud environment.
To prepare for the move to the cloud, Classic Collision agreed to upgrade its aging desktop PCs and then began transitioning the company’s software, as well. DynaSis provided Classic Collision with hosted Microsoft Office and the Microsoft Exchange email client, two products frequently used in cloud environments. However, a bigger challenge was transitioning several specialized programs used by Classic Collision, including a collision shop management system, as well as estimating packages. “We had one nagging issue with one of the estimating packages, and DynaSis went above and beyond to figure it out,” says Britt. “As far as we know, none of the products had ever been run in a cloud environment before, and DynaSis was able to make them work.”
With Classic Collision’s cloud-based operations in full swing, the company began focusing on its new
mobility benefits. “With the DynaSis Business Cloud, we immediately saw the benefits on the mobility side,” says Britt. “Mobility gave our estimators the freedom to work from home, instead of having to come in over the weekend to complete estimates.”
To add to its mobility, Classic Collision has since purchased laptops for each of the estimators in its 18 current stores. Each laptop rests on a mobile cart, equipped with a printer, battery, and battery charger so that they can be moved wherever needed within the facility. For offsite estimates at one of the many dealerships that uses Classic’s services, the estimator simply takes his laptop and remotely logs into the Classic Collision network.
With his responsibilities growing along with the number of collision centers, Britt had a decision to make: try and hire a full-time employee with the knowledge base and skill set he needed to support him, or look for a more practical solution. The answer: DynaSis Supplemental IT Staffing. Under this program, Classic contracts with DynaSis for a full-time, highly skilled DynaSis engineer who works on-site with Britt, and travels to all their centers. (DynaSis also offers part-time staffing.) “In addition to our DynaSis engineer, I also have access to DynaSis's own in-house senior IT executives who have been extremely helpful”
Overall, Britt says, working with DynaSis and their cloud solution has given him more confidence in their system’s stability and reliability. He also likes the security of knowing the entire Classic Collision network is being monitored and updates are being done. “DynaSis is very efficient,” says Britt. “If the first tech cannot finish an issue, they stay with it until they resolve the problem.” On a professional level, the new solution has provided another benefit, as well. “We now have the ability to focus on things such as improving processes,” Britt says.
If there’s one takeaway from the project that Britt would offer other potential DynaSis clients, it’s to ensure they share with DynaSis every possible detail about their business. “During the initial implementation, DynaSis’s employees went above and beyond to learn how we do business and make sure every- thing interacted well with the cloud environment.”
Mary Barnes, General Manager of America’s 1st Maintenance in Norcross, GA, was faced with two challenges concerning the company’s IT Infrastructure. First, it was time to replace aging equipment and upgrade the overall system, and, second, as Mary put it, “Anytime there was something wrong with the old system, I had to dig around and try to fix it.” The company needed a managed IT service provider who would take over this responsibility.
“DynaSis provided the most comprehensive overview of what they were going to do. They gave us the most detailed quote. You could tell that they had spent the time looking at the way we were operating and laid out a plan out for us so there wouldn’t be surprises along the way. They spent a lot of time talking to our existing software company to confirm system requirements to ensure everything would be done right, before they even knew we would give them business.”
It was determined that a new server would be required. To help with the budget, the existing Windows 2008 SQL server would be repurposed as a secondary domain controller, which was an important component missing from the current environment. Because the Windows 2008 license could remain as-is, it again helped the budget and saved A1M from having to buy a separate copy of Windows. Working with America’s 1st Maintenance’s software vendor requirements, DynaSis’s Solutions Architect selected a Dell PowerEdge T630 with 2-CPUs and 64GB RAM. This new server would be implemented as a VMware virtual host so it could run two instances of Windows without the need for a second physical server. The Internet firewall and the network switch were also scheduled for replacement.
The final area of technology that DynaSis addressed for America’s 1st Maintenance was the backup and disaster recovery solution. Prior to the upgrade, the backup was just protecting A1M’s database. DynaSis implemented a Synology Disk Station DS415+ NAS with 8TB storage so that both servers are now fully backed up and, if ever required, can either restore individual files or recover a fully downed server. DynaSis was also selected to provide ongoing IT support and maintenance for America’s 1st Maintenance equipment.
“I remember thinking through the whole process that this was way easier than I thought,” said, Mary. “We had been putting it off for a long time, because we thought it would be a huge hassle. Had I known upgrading computer systems would be this easy, I would have done it two or three years ago.” When asked how she felt about the results, she replied, “Anytime there was something wrong with the old system, I had to dig around and try to fix it. Now we just put a ticket in and somebody fixes it remotely and I don’t have to worry about it. I would absolutely refer DynaSis.”
When Betty Lea, MBA, Chief Financial Officer, started at MAAC, the entire team consisted of two people, including
Betty herself. As the staff grew (there are now more than 40), and their IT needs expanded, Betty found that she became the go-to person for anything IT related. “I was spending too much of my time dealing with IT issues so we brought in a third-party IT service to handle these things for us,” says Betty, “but over time, as we grew, we simply outgrew them and needed to look for a larger, more diverse IT company that could handle our growing needs.”
Betty asked DynaSis to perform a complimentary IT Assessment, the results of which revealed that MAAC’s desire to move to the cloud, while staying within a tight non-profit organization budget, was attainable. DynaSis immediately implemented its Managed IT Services full service support plan, and then laid out a plan to upgrade MAAC’s IT network over a 15-month period. The first upgrade came when MAAC’s email was migrated to Office 365. Along the way, file data was moved to DynaSis Blue, a cloud file share platform, and the overall server footprint was reduced. DynaSis also coordinated with Internet and cabling providers as they executed a smooth transition when MAAC relocated to a larger suite of offices. Upgrades came with this move in the form additional Wi-Fi access points, new firewall, switches, and printers.
DynaSis also assigned a personal Technical Account Manager to work with MAAC. The vCIO now meets quarterly with Betty and her team to discuss any issues that may arise as well as to plan for the future.
According to Betty, “DynaSis’s service is support centric and has gotten us to where we need to be, on budget with a much more stable system.” Importantly, DynaSis has taken the IT load off of Betty’s shoulders. “We have far fewer IT issues these days and for those that we do have, their centralized system takes care of 95% of the issues I used to deal with.”
With his IT vendor unable to support his company’s needs or ensure the uptime his workers required, Courtesy Finance President William P. Anderson knew his firm needed a change. One of Anderson’s top concerns was the security of the sensitive financial and customer information that his firm stores—and for which it must meet strict regulatory compliance – so an important requirement was the restricting of access to corporate resources, making available to each employees only that information needed to perform their jobs.
Having previously spoken with DynaSis's Vice President of Managed It Services Chas Arnold, Anderson decided to give DynaSis a call.
After evaluating the situation, the DynaSis team recommended a cloud-based model, and Anderson liked what he saw. To secure his corporate assets against accidental exposure, the team recommended the DynaSis Business Cloud, through which users access cloud-hosted apps and data through a secure online portal that works on any browser. The plan called for DynaSis technicians to migrate the resources to cloud servers hosted at DynaSis’s state-of-the-art, redundant data center. The technicians would also upgrade eight firewalls to increase network security from all office locations and transition the firm’s hosted Exchange email to the secure environment of Microsoft Office 365.
To ensure uptime and robust support for company personnel, DynaSis recommended deploying 24 new desktop PCs to replace older equipment at Courtesy Finance’s nine locations in Tennessee and Georgia. DynaSis would also provide 24/7/365 user support and network management, ensuring continuity and uptime in the offices. To showcase the new solution, DynaSis generated a mock version of the Business Cloud portal and invited company personnel to try and break through. When his employees were stumped—Anderson was ready to proceed.
DynaSis engineers created a parallel environment so Courtesy Finance users could experiment with the system before the actual migration. DynaSis then performed the live cutover at night, switching everyone to the virtual server and deploying the new portal on all the PCs in a single effort, resulting in virtually no production downtime at all.
Anderson says he’s glad he made the switch. “We are a customer-facing company, and when customers walk in the door, we cannot help them if the computers are down,” he says. “With the new solution, our prior issues with support and reliability have gone away. Atlanta has a lot of IT providers, but many of them are just not that great. I have had a great experience working with DynaSis.”
After the migration was complete, users worked through the learning curve quickly and now “everyone likes it. We have had no major problems and minor issues are fixed remotely by the DynaSis support team, or they quickly talk our people through it.”
With the new solution, company personnel have total working flexibility when they travel. “We don’t need laptops anymore when we travel to our different offices as everyone can sign on to any computer at any office in our company.”
A final benefit, Anderson notes, will be the savings he anticipates. “We already knew we had to replace the old PCs, but because we were migrating to DynaSis’s Business Cloud, the new PCs cost a lot less and are expected to last years longer. And with DynaSis’s fixed pricing, we are also saving money on a monthly basis.”
DynaSis is currently helping Courtesy Finance move to a virtual telephone system, Fonality, and Anderson says he is considering bigger projects for the future. “We are already talking about virtualizing our corporate office,” he says. “We could get it down to just a firewall and a switch!”
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