Testimonials

Terracon Geotechnique

When Terracon Geotechnique Needed An IT Infrastructure Refresh, Why Did They Choose To Work With Vital Business Systems?

“The health of our IT systems has never been better!”

Terracon Geotechnique is a consulting and field services business that focuses on serving resource, industrial and civil based projects.

Working out of multiple locations, the Terracon Geotechnique team specializes in geotechnical engineering, geosciences, field services, material testing, construction monitoring, drill rig monitoring and instrumentation installation and monitoring. Additionally, they provide quality control, design, testing, and monitoring services to their clients.

Andrew Taylor, Manager, Operations Support for Terracon Geotechnique explains their situation:

“We lacked a proper plan with regards to our IT infrastructure,” says Andrew Taylor, Manager, Operations Support for Terracon Geotechnique. “We lacked the internal expertise to transition from a small business IT set up to a medium or enterprise network that we needed. We were at risk for security concerns and were experiencing pain points with employee support as we operate out of different locations and did not have IT support in all those areas.”

The problem is that Terracon Geotechnique’s IT model at the time – a primarily in-house, ad-hoc arrangement across multiple locations – had resulted in a number of pain points:

Inconsistent support capabilities: Depending on where a given client was and which Terracon Geotechnique location they were dealing with, IT-based support capabilities could be vastly different from one another. The same was true of their ability to support remote employees.
Incomplete security: Another symptom of a divided IT infrastructure, the security capabilities at each location varied as well. This is particularly an issue where client data, shared among the multiple Terracon Geotechnique locations, is concerned.

Recognizing that it was time for them to overhaul their IT infrastructure before it resulted in an otherwise avoidable accident involving client data security or their support process, Terracon Geotechnique began looking for the right Calgary IT services company.

“Vital Business Systems came highly recommended”.

After doing their homework and carefully considering their options, Terracon Geotechnique decided to partner with Vital Business Systems for their IT infrastructure overhaul.

“Vital Business Systems came highly recommended and after an extensive review and comparison process with other providers, we chose Vital Business Systems as we felt they would be able to meet our specific needs and would be able to help us develop our IT infrastructure,” says Taylor. “They were reasonably priced and had worked with clients similar to our size and structure previously.”

“Vital Business Systems has been very easy to work with and the transition to them was seamless”.

To start, Vital Business Systems developed a high-level plan to oversee each and every aspect of the overhaul process, taking into account the many ways that Terracon Geotechnique relied on their IT, as well as accounting for the future of their business, and what they would need as they continued to grow. From there, the Vital Business Systems team broke the process into its separate projects to be tackled by those most qualified.

“Vital Business Systems was able to work with us to develop both a high-level plan and then specific project plans to upgrade our network and servers,” says Taylor.

As a part of the IT infrastructure refresh, Vital Business Systems addressed the following technical aspects of Terracon Geotechnique’s business:

Equipment Refresh: Vital Business Systems replaced, installed and configured Terracon Geotechnique’s servers, network devices, and security solutions. This newly developed network provides the digital resources needed to support Terracon Geotechnique’s multi-location business and growing client base.
Enhanced Remote Support: Vital Business Systems converted Terracon Geotechnique from Linux to Windows Virtual Machines, and equipped them with a Secure Remote Access Virtual Private Network solution from Sophos, allowing them to better connect with and support their remote employees.
Updated Security Solutions:Vital Business Systems transitioned Terracon Geotechnique to Bitdefender and subsequently to Sophos for Anti-Virus, as well as Sophos for their Firewall.
Multi-Location Support: In addition to facilitating an office move for Terracon Geotechnique, Vital Business Systems also added more remote offices to their WAN network, including a 2-way VPN for simple and secure access to business data.
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery: Vital Business Systems implemented a StorageCraft backup solution, providing image-based backup and replication capability to protect against data loss.

“Vital Business Systems rolled out remote support company-wide and have worked with me directly to provide the appropriate support to both our office and field users as necessary,” says Taylor. “They were able to provide the expertise and experience to help mitigate security risks and limit our exposure to such problems.”

“We have eliminated our in-house IT overhead”.

“We have eliminated our in-house IT overhead with some small exceptions and have increased the response time in supporting our remote employees,” says Taylor.

While there are many benefits to this IT overhaul process, there are three key aspects that Taylor and Terracon Geotechnique notes:

Increased Security
By updating their firewall and anti-virus solutions to those offered by industry-leader Sophos, as well as ensuring they’re implemented at each and every business location, Vital Business Systems has developed cybersecurity system that Terracon Geotechnique can rely on to keep their data secure.
Decreased Downtime
With their newly implemented servers and network as a whole, Terracon Geotechnique’s staff has experienced much less downtime than they had before the refresh process. This allows them to work more productively, respond to client requests more quickly, and increase their efficiency as a business overall.
Decreased Employee Response Time
Thanks to this IT infrastructure refresh, Terracon Geotechnique can respond to their remote employees much more quickly, allowing each and every staff member to do their work more effectively.

“We have little to no downtime and have greatly improved our security. Overall the health of our IT systems has never been better! Vital Business Systems has been very easy to work with and the transition to them was seamless. The overall cost may be slightly higher but the increased value far outweighs the cost increase.”

“Vital Business Systems has met or exceeds all my expectations”.

“Vital Business Systems has met or exceeds all my expectations thus far and continues to work very closely with us to ensure success,” says Taylor.

In addition to this project, Vital Business Systems has continued to deliver support, IT consulting, and more as need be to Terracon Geotechnique. Providing ongoing support via a dedicated technician, Vital Business Systems continues to assist Terracon Geothecnique with any IT-related matters.

“I have been most impressed with our dedicated support,” says Taylor. “We have a dedicated technician that visits our office for both regular maintenance as well as isolated projects or concerns. This is in addition to their excellent team at their office which I can contact with questions and who work remotely to support our staff that works out of town or in other regional offices. Vital Business Systems has also been very involved in aiding in our planning for the future growth and development of our IT program.”

“I would happily recommend Vital Business Systems to anyone!”

The Vital Business Systems team is proud to offer unbeatable IT solutions combined with our extensive experience in the field to assist businesses like Terracon Geotechnique when their IT is in need of a refresh.

But don’t take it from us…

“I would happily recommend them to anyone who either does not have internal IT or who’s internally IT acts as desktop support and who could use additional support for their network and infrastructure,” says Taylor.

For more information about Vital Business Systems services and what they will do for you, get in touch at 403-215-8070 or info@vitalbusinesssystems.com.

Viewlevel Equities Corp.

Unbeatable Calgary IT Support – for 18 years and counting!

Viewlevel Equities Corp. has relied on Vital Business Systems for years of IT support – most recently, they underwent a total IT infrastructure refresh.

Viewlevel Equities Corp. is an office services business providing facilities management for a number of CPC accounting firms and private enterprises. In managing professional settings for businesses like these, Viewlevel Equities Corp. requires a robust IT infrastructure that can meet the needs of different workplace environments.

As their business grew and their clients’ needs changed over the years, so did Viewlevel Equities Corp.’s IT needs. They had to keep up with how their clients used IT, which meant having to make sure their own IT was up to the task.

Fortunately for Viewlevel Equities Corp., they didn’t have to go looking for an unknown third-party to handle their IT infrastructure refresh. They were already working with Vital Business Services and has been since 2001.

“Our relationship with Vital evolved over the years as our needs became more complex,” says Eve McGuire, Viewlevel Equities Corp.

Nearly 2 decades of IT Support in Calgary!

Over their many years of service to Viewlevel Equities Corp., Vital Business Systems has kept their technology up to date and prepared to handle their changing needs as a business. While this continual updating process has taken many forms over nearly two decades, their most recent IT infrastructure refresh involved a few specific projects, ranging from the virtualization of hardware to the migration to more reliable and proven email clients.

As a part of the IT infrastructure refresh, Vital Business Systems addressed the following technical priorities for Viewlevel Equities Corp.:

Updated Hardware With Virtual Machines: For their IT infrastructure refresh, Vital Business Systems overhauled Viewlevel Equities Corp.’s servers and other hardware. Specifically, they replaced four physical servers with one physical Hyper-V host, and four virtual servers (two Server 2016 and two Windows 10).
Improved Security Capabilities:Vital Business Systems transitioned Viewlevel Equities Corp. to Sophos for Anti-Virus and their Firewall.
Migration To Office 365: Vital Business Systems helped Viewlevel Equities Corp. transition from Exchange 2010 to a superior Microsoft Office 365 configuration for their work email.

The many benefits of an IT Infrastructure refresh…

Whereas Viewlevel Equities Corp. has gained a number of advantages thanks to reliable IT support over the past 18 years, when it came to their recent IT infrastructure refresh, there are three in particular worth noting:

Reliable Security
Security is often the quickest aspect of IT to go out of fashion. The fact is that cybercriminals are constantly adapting to new security measures in order to find ways of circumventing them. By having Vital Business Systems update their security with proven Sophos solutions, Viewlevel Equities Corp. can be more confident in their ability to keep employee and client data secure.
Up To Date Infrastructure
Given that they house a number of accounting firms and other private enterprises, it’s vital for Viewlevel Equities Corp. to provide a robust IT environment for their clients to use for work. Updating their IT infrastructure with virtual machines and current hardware is a foundational part of their ability to deliver for their clients.
Ongoing Support
This IT infrastructure refresh is just the latest in a long list of services that Vital Business Systems has delivered to Viewlevel Equities Corp. over the past 18 years. Both before the refresh, and since, Viewlevel Equities Corp. has enjoyed responsive and effective IT support to maintain their IT environment.

Viewlevel Equities Corp. recommends Vital Business Systems to you!

For all the reasons explored in this study, Viewlevel Equities Corp. has chosen to continue working with Vital Business Systems. When they have an issue with their IT, they get in touch with the Vital Business Systems team to get it addressed quickly and effectively.

As far as Viewlevel Equities Corp. is concerned, so long as this high quality of service is maintained, there’s no reason to make a change in their Calgary IT services.

The Vital Business Systems team is proud to offer unbeatable IT solutions combined with our extensive experience in the field to assist businesses like Viewlevel Equities Corp. when their IT is in need of a refresh.

But don’t take it from us – Viewlevel Equities Corp. has referred us to a number of other businesses in the past as well. We must be doing something right.

For more information about Vital Business Systems services and what they will do for you, get in touch at 403-215-8070 or info@vitalbusinesssystems.com.