When I started at SFAR, I arrived to find the server room in disarray. The cabling was all over the floor, the machines weren't being treated properly, and one of them was even lying on the floor for cooling purposes. It looked like the whole thing needed to be overhauled.
I know what needed to be done, but I didn't have the time to do the work directly myself. So, I immediately started looking for someone to assist me in getting all the work done - someone who would be able to keep me looped in on the projects, could communicate with me in the way that I needed in a timely fashion, and to help me to achieve my goal, which was to modernize the infrastructure says Jay Pepper-Martens, Director of Multiple Listing Services and IT of San Francisco Association of Realtors (SFAR).
What was it like working with ITS?
Working with ITS has been fantastic! They always answer the phone when I call. If I put in a support ticket using their online ticketing system, I get a response back very quickly. I've deployed personal relationships with some of the people I've worked with, and they've been great. Everyone I've worked with has been professional and responded in a way that helps me meet my business goals.
Are there any specific pain points that ITS resolved for SFAR?
Yes! Our firewall and the wireless system were horribly out of date, and we knew that we needed to modernize them. ITS upgraded the firewall and changed over the entire wireless network. They found a bunch of firewall configurations that didn't make any sense. So, they migrated everything that did and cleaned up everything that didn't. This helped us realize our security goals, and cut out a bunch of the chaff that had been leftover from projects that were no longer in flight anymore.
ITS has helped us in many ways, from a security standpoint, and from an up-to-date hardware infrastructure standpoint.
How was your experience working with ITS staff members?
The ITS staff has been great. I look forward to talking with them every time I get a chance. I've even found that sometimes they over-communicate, which is great. If I miss an email, or it seems like I haven't responded to them for a while, one of the staff members will text or phone me. This is excellent because I never need to worry that I've missed something. ITS endeavors to ensure I get reached, which is crucial. I fly a lot, and have a lot of out-of-town business commitments - so having someone who's willing to over-communicate, so I don't miss something has been invaluable.
Has ITS helped you achieve any business goals?
ITS has helped us achieve our goal of modernizing our infrastructure. It was woefully out of date. We found that our servers were at least 9 to 10 years old. They were being cooled by the floor, and nothing was up to snuff or spec. Now we have a secure infrastructure running on the latest hardware and operating systems.
And, I don't have to worry about anything! Another goal that was crucial for me was to be able to sleep at night. Now I can, because I know ITS is watching the servers.
Would you recommend ITS?
Gladly! The team has been fantastic to work with. The projects have all been completed time and on budget, and even sometimes under budget. ITS has been a phenomenal partner and I would recommend them strongly.
Jay Pepper-Martens
Director of Multiple Listing Services and IT
San Francisco Association of Realtors (SFAR)
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