An Introduction to: IT Consulting
2017 was a historic year for the Glen Ridge Country Club, complete with a $12 million dollar renovation and winning the New Jersey PGA’s impressive “2017 New Jersey Club of the Year” award.
While their property underwent major renovations that consisted of a new state-of-the-art fitness center, lounge and kitchen, we helped them navigate a complete virtual overhaul. We started by upgrading their aging technology infrastructure and IT services by replacing it with a brand new IT Operations as a Service (OaaS) partnership.
This allowed us to align their technology with their business goals while updating their protocols and processes. We also helped them upgrade their cybersecurity, boost their system performance and help them realize their goal of becoming New Jersey’s premiere golf course.
The Challenge
Here’s What WeWere Up Against.
From a business and security perspective, upgrading the club’s information technology was just as, if not more critical, as the upgrade to their physical property.
We knew that in order for them to be in-line with their prestigious brand and identity, they needed to be able to outperform their competition and offer unparalleled services.
The problem was that their existing IT model was no longer proactive, which meant it couldn’t meet the demands their new infrastructure was about to put on them. On top of that, their IT projects weren’t being completed on time and they still lacked a real process for general IT services, end-user support or basic documentation.
That’s where we came in.
The Solution
Here’s How WeHelped Them Overcome.
We took the time to sit down with their club management and show them how our white-glove service model along with our disciplined processes were a natural fit for their project.
The plan was for us to completely take over the club’s IT and deploy our unique Operations as a Service (OaaS) model within their organization.
We started by splitting the project up into there separate phases.
Phase One: Our technologists reviewed all of their systems, software and hardware. Then we upgraded all the technology that was already consistent with current best-practices so they were up to date. In the process, we also applied current software and security patches and corrected all the preexisting network and system issues that were impacting their operations.
Phase Two: Once we laid a strong foundation for their IT services, we began to deploy system health monitoring software on all of their servers, PC’s and laptops. This gave us the ability to monitor and respond to issues proactively, before they turned into problems. Then we created a custom, best-in-class ticketing and response system so that club employees could easily submit support requests. This system gave us the ability to track each issue as they came up in realtime.
Phase Three: We began to fill the role of their IT project management team and virtual Chief Information Officer (vCIO). As certified Project Management Professionals, our Project Management as a Service (PMaaS) allowed the club to identify projects, prioritize them, develop strategies and follow them through to completion. As their vCIO, we continue to meet with them on a regular basis where we advise them on budgeting and their ever-evolving business needs.
The Outcome
This Is How ItImpacted Them.
Today, their IT Services and Support Desk operate proactively with greater consistency and accuracy. Their frontline security has been hardened and made more secure by industry-standard password policies, regular software patch updates and secure managed network devices.
The changes haven’t just been internal.
Glen Ridge Club members have also noticed the change, especially when it comes to the new technology made available to them. With a new, state-of-the-art “mesh wireless” system that we integrated throughout the facility, club members can now easily (and securely) access the internet from their mobile device with minimal latency.
Club members also experience a more seamless experience each time they show up to the golf course now that the club no longer experiences outages or IT glitches.
At the executive level, now that the day-to-day technology concerns have been taken off their plate, executives now have the time to focus on developing the club by pursuing high-impact business opportunities.
