Challenge
IGC Dorel was growing rapidly, so decided to complement its IT expertise with external medium-sized IT providers. Initially this was successful yet, soon after, company acquisitions and new management with different levels of understanding led to the level of service being compromised. Frustrations included multiple contacts with no continuity, absence of supporting documentation, diminishing responsibility, and inadequate Help Desk Support provided by junior technicians, resulting in an unstable IT environment. Disappointed by the results, Zohar Berchik, IGC Dorel’s IT Manager decided to seek another IT provider in the quest to better IGC Dorel’s IT environment. The search proved to be exceedingly difficult.

Ms Berchik recalls “I just wanted a supplier that I could talk to as little, or as much, as needed, who would remotely manage our IT network and be willing to liaise with our third party software vendors seamlessly.”

Process
Ms Berchik decided to ask three new providers to tender. She recalls, “When I met Chris Marshall (MD of Blue Apache) he didn’t just tell me what he proposed; he showed me that the company had the expertise, structures and methods in place to ensure that what was promised would be delivered”.

Blue Apache was chosen because of its methods and its people. According to Ms Berchik, Blue Apache’s proposal was thorough and showed clear understanding of their needs, including expertise in medium to large Citrix environments, focus on technology advice not sales, pro-active support and follow up, and experienced engineers to answer and resolve technical calls. Their proposal exceeded expectations and was competitively priced.

Solution
Blue Apache recommended a clear IT strategy that addressed IGC Dorel’s business needs & resolved existing IT challenges. As part of the business plan, the needs analysis clearly defined immediate requirements and opportunities to meet future growth. Blue Apache’s emPOWER Managed Services was then implemented to support, manage and stabilise the existing systems. Next, aging, risky infrastructure was replaced with HP’s Adaptive Infrastructure solutions, the application delivery platform was migrated to Citrix XenApp to improve performance and Blue Apache’s commitment to best-practice implementation ensured a consistent user experience from every location and device.

Results
According to Ms Berchik, the new IT environment was a far cry from the original IT set-up.  Two years in the ‘business relationship’, the emPOWER Managed Services solution continues to deliver consistent, reliable support, and proactive monitoring at application as well as system level ensures constant system availability. Coupled with regular strategic reviews with Blue Apache, IGC Dorel has converted an inadequate IT environment supported by the business to a well executed IT strategy that helps to drive it.

Feedback
“Blue Apache has provided us with a consistently professional service. They listened, correctly assessed our needs, ensured a smooth transition and provided a substantially improved computer network. They follow this up with proactive support, provided by very able technicians who take pride in what they do, have great communication skills and thorough follow through. I couldn’t be happier!”