LPS Labs Finds Great Service; Proactive Problem Resolution with Novatech Managed IT Services
3 min read
When LPS Labs, a U.S. manufacturer of chemicals for industrial, aerospace, military and telecommunications facilities worldwide, looked to replace its managed services provider in 2011, the company had specific requirements in mind. According to LPS Labs Network Administrator Sam Torke, the firm wanted a responsive, proactive firm with a local footprint and a team that had the IT expertise to evaluate their requirements and help plan future improvements. They found what they wanted, and more, with Novatech and their Managed IT Services.
Going Local
“Having a local presence was very important to us,” says Torke. “We found three or four companies that said they had both a local and national footprint. Some presented themselves as being local, but when we met with them, there was no team. There was one person in a conference room and we never saw anyone else.”
“With Novatech, when we did a site visit, we actually met the people who would be helping us. Everyone was really customer oriented and they had the broadest offering that matched our needs.” Nearly two years later, Torke says, he couldn’t be happier about the decision.
“Right after we started our contract with them, we installed a new firewall,” says Torke. “We have also virtualized servers and workstations, and they have been right up to task on everything we want to do.”
A Higher Level
Torke says that working with Novatech affords him a higher level of expertise than he had previously enjoyed, as well as access to a wider pool of talent. “There is only one of me and there are a dozen of them,” says Torke. “It’s been a big improvement for us, their ability to handle complicated issues. They have resolved some very complex problems for us.”
Shortly after Novatech began working with LPS Labs, Torke relates, the firm ran out of IP addresses, which limited employees’ ability to access the Internet. “Everybody was screaming, but the solution to the problem wasn’t immediately obvious,” Torke says.
“I needed more eyes to look at the situation from a broader perspective and find a solution. Novatech pointed out right away that we didn’t have enough IP addresses. We went from one subnet to five subnets and everything has worked out great since.”
Self-Service Problem Resolution
As part of its Managed IT Services agreement with LPS Labs, Novatefch provides Help Desk support, maintains and updates the company’s server infrastructure, and maintains and manages its backups and disaster recovery appliances. LPS Labs has a dispersed workforce that accesses the company network via a VPN connection, and the Novatech Help Desk provides problem resolution for all the firm’s remote workers, as well.
“In the past we wanted our users to go through a web portal to our helpdesk, or to send an email to our helpdesk,” says Torke. “With Novatech, we now have a self-service model that lets personnel go directly to the Novatech Help Desk when they have a problem.”
LPS has an assigned Novatech Technical Account Manager to help them assess the current IT environment and develop a roadmap for the company’s needs in the future. “We’re now looking at document and workflow management solutions, and our Novatech Technical Account Manager is working with me on this and helping me set realistic expectations.”
When asked how likely he would be to refer Novatech to another company, Torke rates Novatech a 10 on a scale of one to 10. If someone else asked him for a reference, he says, “I would tell them that you won’t find anybody better.”
