Technical Sales International. Private Cloud Delivers Critical Productivity Boost For International Construction Software Provider

Transcription

1 CASE STUDY: Technical Sales International Private Cloud Delivers Critical Productivity Boost For International Construction Software Provider Case Study TSI 1

2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Technical Sales International, Inc. (TSI) provides technology solutions and services to the construction industry that are designed to increase contractor profitability, productivity and consistency. TSI recently selected PayPerCloud (PPC) to replace the fast-growing company s aging in-house IT infrastructure with a hosted private-cloud solution. Benefits of the transition include an 80% increase in hardware utilization, a 60% increase in application speeds and an improvement in network uptime from 80% to a guaranteed 100%, all of which has been crucial to TSI s ability to expand internationally. In addition, the cost of migrating to PPCs s dedicated private cloud was significantly less than the cost of modernizing and scaling up TSI s existing IT investment. Case Study TSI 2

3 The Case For Hosted Solutions: Revenue User Productivity Capital Efficiency Asset Protection Compliance Incremental Revenue Increase Tempered by any COGS Increased Output per Worker Worker Time Saved Avoidance (Staff) Increased Output per Capital Exp Direct Avoidance Avoidance of Liability X Probability Insurance Avoidance Avoidance of Penalties (Software etc.) Often Assumed to be a Business Requirement In addition to increasing productivity and lowering costs, PayPerCloud hosted solutions offer the important advantages of instant and infinite scalability, as well as allowing enterprises to focus on their core business. (Data sourced from Forrester Research, Inc.) Situation Technical Sales International, Inc. is a leading provider of a wide range of innovative technology solutions and services for the construction industry that are designed to increase contractor profitability, productivity and consistency. Among its software products are intelligent 3D-design CAD/CAM, AutoDesk and estimating software used in construction, manufacturing and fabricating applications for mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineers to use in BIM (Building Information Modeling) and design-build planning. Established in 2001 in Austin, Texas, TSI has been named to Inc. magazine s list of the top 5,000 fastest-growing private companies for three consecutive years. TSI currently employs 65 people in its Austin, TX corporate headquarters and offices in Sacramento, CA; Geneva, Switzerland; Sydney, Australia; and Mumbai, India; along with up to 25 remote representatives and trainers across the U.S., Australia and Great Britain. As TSI has expanded beyond the U.S. to serve clients in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Australia, its in-house IT department based in Austin has experienced increasing difficulty supporting TSI staff working on four continents in nearly all 24 time zones. For Brian Gruel, VP of Technology, it was time for a change. The issue for me wasn t just staff frustration and loss of productivity. Here we were, a technology company that had built its reputation on delivering truly innovative software applications that significantly improve quality and productivity, yet what our customers were seeing was a company that never knew whether Here we were, a technology company, yet what our customers were seeing was a company that never knew whether its own network would be up or down. Case Study TSI 3

4 its own network would be up or down. And since our reputation is also founded on whatever-it-takes support, our IT problems had real consequences. Solving them was imperative. TSI s existing infrastructure included two physical servers running Microsoft Windows 2003, Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft CRM 4.0 and file services in support of 50 desktop computers and more than two-dozen laptops. The hardware was old and out of warranty. Disk space was becoming an issue. Hardware failures were occurring more and more frequently, and TSI also had begun to experience stability issues both with hardware and applications. In addition, the in-house IT technical staff became less responsive, unable to keep up with TSI s need for 24-7 support as the company expanded overseas. All this was not only reducing productivity, it had a potentially negative impact on TSI s ability to win business in a highly competitive industry driven not just by the quality of solutions but the rapidity of responsiveness in their support. It might have been possible to solve our problems by modernizing and upgrading our existing solution and staffing up to achieve around-the-clock support, or maybe opening a satellite IT center in another part of the world, but that would have been inordinately expensive, Gruel stated. In addition, an overseas IT facility could create a complication of a different kind. If TSI data resided in one or more other countries, it could be subject to foreign laws and compliance regulations. Our goals were a reliable network with added capability and scalability, a forward-moving SQL environment and simplifying our IT vendor situation. We do a lot on the web and had been going to different companies for services for each domain. And we wanted a turnkey solution so we could stay focused Technical Sales International Organization Profile: Technology solutions and services provider to the construction industry, with 65 employees and offices on four continents. Business Situation: Rapid growth and an IT infrastructure unsuitable for international operations drove TSI to consider a hosted solution to achieve the 24-7 reliability needed to maximize productivity. Solution: TSI chose a hosted private cloud from Pay- PerCloud. Benefits: Increased employee productivity, stabilized IT environment, unlimited scalability, improved application performance. Hosted Environment: Exchange 2010 SQL 2008 R2 General Application servers File servers Web servers Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Standard CRM 4.0 Windows Server 2008 R2 for all operating systems Case Study TSI 4

5 PayPerCloud hosted-solution clients benefit from fail-proof redundancy and disaster recovery, virtually 100% uptime, the performance of best-of-breed hardware and automatic upgrades to the newest versions of software, all for a predictable monthly fee rather than repeated capital expenditures. on doing what we do. In the end, a hosted solution made the most sense to me. Gruel had previously utilized the Professional Services Division of PayPerCloud (PPC) for a largescale CRM customization project and for subsequent projects involving firewall, server and desktop support. He discussed with them the options he was considering, and they suggested that a hosted solution would be a good fit for TSI, so he asked PPC for a proposal. Gruel then presented his recommendation to the TSI partners. It wasn t a tough sell. We re a technology-driven company of innovators. The partners are comfortable with new ways of solving problems. We ran the numbers and decided to proceed. Solution Once the decision was made, it was full-speed ahead. PPC immediately provisioned the environment and began the transition planning. During the process, PPC communicated with all users for individual signoff and training. Within 90 days, everything was ready. To minimize disruptions, PPC transitioned all TSI systems in a single weekend. Not only did PPC move TSI to the cloud, they replaced their phone system as well, with an advanced Unified Communication solution hosted in the cloud. Considering all the systems in place at the time of the migration, this was a huge feat. We took TSI from two severly aging servers running off a DSL line to an enterprise-class IT infrastructure literally overnight. Case Study TSI 5

6 PPC s hosted private-cloud solution for TSI includes the following: Exchange 2010 SQL 2008 R2 General Application servers File servers Web servers Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Standard CRM 4.0 Windows Server 2008 R2 for all operating systems The performance increase was huge. We took TSI from two severely aging servers running off a DSL line to an enterprise-class IT infrastructure literally overnight, explained Eric Westrom, Network Services Manager for PPC. Does a private cloud cost less than what they had? No, but it s a fraction of the cost of solving their problems any other way, and the consolidation of resources, the elimination of both a staff position and the need for constant outside tech support offsets a serious chunk of what they re paying now. Benefits Reduced Complexity: While any hosted solution is complex in nature, that complexity is transparent to the hosting client. PPC maintains all systems to bestpractices standards and handles all upgrades and licensing, freeing TSI to concentrate fully on its core business. Improved Flexibility: With one central location manned 24-7, TSI users are free to roam the globe and access all the datacenter features at any time from wherever they are. Increased Scalability: Prior to migrating to the cloud, all TSI hardware was maxed out. The ability to grow was restricted by the high cost of purchasing new equipment. PPC devised a scalable virtual environment that will accommodate unlimited growth, no matter how fast TSI expands. Server Utilization: PPC achieved an 80% increase in hardware utilization by virtualizing the majority of the infrastructure. IT Productivity: TSI was able to eliminate one fulltime IT employee due to the reduction in maintenance needs. In addition, the company can now three-digitdial any of their staff around the globe, see staff-presence information from their and easily launch Live Meetings hosted on their servers. Application Performance: Application speeds have increased by 60%. Hosted solutions assure access to mission-critical data and applications 24/365 anywhere in the world. Reliability: Network uptime has gone from 80% to a guaranteed 100% Case Study TSI 6

7 Security: Previously, administrative access was only loosely controlled and ACL enforcement was lax. Full security controls are now in effect. For Brian Gruel, the benefits have been profound. Personally, I m no longer bogged down reacting to problems, so I can focus on strategic issues. For the company as a whole, TSI now has an absolutely stable IT infrastructure. Instead of the network crashing one or two or more times a week, it s never down. No one is prevented from working and everyone is always in touch. TSI now has an absolutely stable IT infrastructure. Instead of the network crashing one or two or more times a week, it s never down. And what has working with PayPerCloud been like? TSI isn t the world s biggest company, but our IT challenges are probably unusually complex for our size. Meeting them required more than an offthe-shelf solution, and PayPerCloud took the time and had the know-how to customize their privatecloud solution to do exactly what we need. Now we don t have to think about anything. They handle everything, including web requirements and SQL databases, and now we have an IT infrastructure that gives us the ability to expand quickly, which we really never had before. Pay Per Cloud Solutions PayPerCloud is a full-service cloud hosting company headquartered in Folsom, California that specializes in creating High-Availability Cloud Hosting Infrastructure and extending Cloud-Enabled Software Applications to companies that need enterprise-level infrastructure and stability without enterprise-level costs. Our solutions are delivered and backed up with expert-level technical support unmatched in the industry. We create and provide infrastructure that allows any company to gain the maximum flexibility, mobility and security available in the cloud today. Our products and services include: Dedicated Private Clouds A custom-built Private Cloud that you manage Public Clouds Managed or self-directed virtual machines Dedicated and Managed Infrastructure Services A Private Cloud that we manage for you Hosted Exchange Enterprise Class Solutions Pay Per Apps A suite of Software Applications running on our PayPerCloud environment that can be accessed anytime from anywhere Consulting and Migration Services Your Trusted advisor to get you in the cloud Contact For More Information For more information, please call us at or visit us on the web at Sales@paypercloud.com Case Study TSI 7