Halco Lubricants: Digital Veins Keeps the Technology Engine Running Smoothly

When automotive, commercial and industrial lubricant supplier Halco Industries found service going down and prices going up with its former IT support firm, the company decided it was time for a reboot. After discussing the situation with its current firm, the company called DynaSis for a consultation. The result was a retooling of Halco's IT strategy that not only increased satisfaction but also is helping them explore adoption of new technologies.

Business Basics.
Halco's 29-user IT configuration centers around five on-premise servers running either Windows Server 2003 or 2008. The firm uses MS Exchange 2010 for email messaging and archival, Multiview Financial software, plus Microsoft Office (with Excel power users) and heavy reliance on Internet access. Despite having sufficient infrastructure running leading software products, prior to DynaSis's arrival things were always going wrong.

"We were continually having downtime across the organization. On different systems and at different times our Internet, email and order entry would be down," says Halco Accounting Manager Joann Carney. "The president of the company was familiar with of DynaSis, so we had them come in a few times to discuss how they would address our needs. We liked their approach and we switched."

DynaSis recommended its Digital Veins service, in which it manages, monitors and patches the on-site servers and other IT equipment for its customers, either remotely or on premises. The solution adopted by Halco also includes a backup and disaster recovery system as well as spam filtering and patch management. DynaSis also provides problem alerting and support notification to Halco users.

Service First.
DynaSis installed a dedicated software solution that placed an icon on the desktop of every Halco user. When users have a problem, they click the icon to initiate a service ticket.

"DynaSis responds directly to the user, as opposed to our previous solution where only one or two people could call in with issues," says Carney. "I love the fact they are willing to talk to every user, and will talk to folks in the warehouse about how to reboot a computer so I don’t have to go out there and do it."

According to Carney, DynaSis's proactive approach ensures she is notified of problems before she is aware of them. "I get a text message telling me the server is down before I get to work," she says. "The monitoring on their end watches our servers."

While she is driving into the office, Carney relates, DynaSis works to restore the problematic server remotely. "They ask me to call when I arrive if the server isn’t restored to normal operations," she says.

"I just had a nasty virus and they dialed in and repaired it," she continues. "While they were there, they noticed a patch missing from my machine and checked all the other workstations to make sure they had the patch, then reported back to us on the resolution."

On the Spot and Within Reach
Carney reports that she has timed DynaSis's response time and found it to be "excellent." She says the average is around seven minutes, and if DynaSis cannot repair a problem remotely, they are quick to arrive and take care of the problem, on site. "We’re a sales-based business, and sales people are taking orders all day, so if a server goes down it puts us in a backlog," says Carney. "We are unable to take orders and make our money."

DynaSis also supports the Blackberries and iPhones of Halco's outside sales force, who call DynaSis directly for support. DynaSis's engagement has also extended the reach of Halco's employees, in some cases enabling them to perform tasks they never before considered. "Some of us work at home and have the ability to dial-in; they have made a big difference in our remote capabilities," says Carney.

"Our sales manager just got an iPad and is trying to do quotes from it," she continues. "DynaSis is helping him enable direct desktop access from his iPad." So successful has the effort been, so far, that Carney says DynaSis will soon be helping Halco integrate more iPads with their system as well as easing the transition into a new CRM solution.

"One of our oil company partners recently provided iPads to our representatives and invited us to join a beta program for order taking," says Carney. "Now, our sales people are exploring what else they can do with the devices, and DynaSis is helping them out."