“With Prosper-IT as our Managed Services partner, we know our systems will continue to function at a high level—along with the proper security and system backups in place so that we can recover from a disaster at the facility if we need to. We also know we will not have to face again the challenge of an aging or poorly-maintained IT infrastructure.”
- Susan Boyer The Charles River Center, Vice-President of Finance and Administration
The Challenge
The Charles River Center had just turned to Prosper-IT to complete a refresh of its entire IT infrastructure. Phase I included three new virtual servers, a storage area network and switching hardware while Phase II consolidated and upgraded the operating system software. The refresh was a much-needed change for end users of the organization as the previous degraded performance of applications had hampered their ability to efficiently provide services to clients for many years.
Fortunately, the budget allocation for the IT infrastructure refresh came along just in time. Just as importantly, Prosper-IT presented a cost-effective approach to replace all the major devices on the network. The IT systems now function flawlessly.
The Solution
To find an IT solution provider that could build a new infrastructure that would allow the firm to grow easily, The Davis Companies consulted with other similar businesses in the investment sector, and Prosper-IT was the solution provider recommended most often. “Prosper-IT is the ideal size partner for us,” Martin said. “They are not a one-man shop, which can be risky, but they are also not so large that we have to work through multiple layers of people or red tape to get things done.”
When The Davis Companies needs a new proposal for work, Prosper-IT delivers quickly, and the senior system engineers are also owners of the company. “In addition to solving immediate problems, they always think about the bigger picture and long-range plan,” Martin said. “They understand how problems and changes might have repercussions across the rest of the system and are truly a strategic partner.”
Other key attributes that Prosper-IT brings to the table according to Martin include competency and communication—with the ability to translate between technical terms and business-value terms. Prosper-IT also has experience deploying IT solutions for the real estate industry, another plus. And in addition to providing an updated and reliable computer network infrastructure, Prosper-IT has helped The Davis Companies plan what to consider for new technology—for one to three years down the road and how future changes might impact the systems they deploy.
“They also do not hesitate to jump in and call our software vendors to resolve issues,” Martin said. “They are especially helpful in working with the vendor that provides our investor-relations database, which has been challenging to maintain. Prosper-IT has reduced issues by working with the vendor on an on-going basis. Whenever the vendor updates the software, Prosper-IT makes it as painless as possible.”
The Benefits
With Prosper-IT keeping a close watch on the Charles River Center IT infrastructure, Todd Anderson, the organization’s Director of Information Technology can focus on helping the internal staff leverage technology to function more efficiently. The Managed Services offering also made it easier for Prosper-IT to deploy of a wireless solution at the organization’s home office and a Citrix remote-access solution for staff working at residential homes.
Prosper-IT is now collaborating with Anderson on a possible new electronic medical records system. They can work together more effectively given that they don’t need to worry about the performance of the IT infrastructure—thanks to the Managed Services provided by Prosper-IT.
