When Classic Collision IT Managers Scott Britt and Johnny Ward, along with shop manager Shannon Blevins, looked for help reducing network outages and handling day-to-day IT duties, their search led them to DynaSis. Working together, DynaSis and Classic Collision formulated a more ambitious plan: to move Classic Collision’s entire day-to-day operations to the cloud. Now, Britt reports, the new technology framework is helping the collision center “do everything right the first time” for its customers.

A Step-by-Step Process
Prior to signing with DynaSis, Britt and Ward had been charged with managing the IT needs for Classic Collision’s nine collision centers. However, providing support and assistance for so many different locations was a struggle. “We did everything—from training people to use our management system to repairing PCs,” says Britt. “With nine locations all over metro Atlanta, it was hard to get to everybody.”

In particular, Britt reports, keeping tabs on licensing requirements for software was difficult, and unnecessary network outages hampered efforts to provide the excellent customer service for which Classic Collision is renowned. After Classic Collision hired DynaSis to provide IT support, DynaSis's VP of Managed IT Services, Chas Arnold presented Classic Collision with its ITility by DynaSis Cloud solution, which dovetailed perfectly with Britt’s own plans. “We like to have the latest and greatest technology, and I had already envisioned that the cloud was where we wanted to go,” says Britt. “Once we got DynaSis in for the day-to-day IT issues, we were able to set up a meeting with our boss, Brandon Bishop.”

With the project approved, Classic Collision and DynaSis immediately began working to implement the complete program, which would include moving all of Classic Collision’s operations to the cloud, hosted at DynaSis’s best-practices data center. DynaSis would also provide 24/7/365 monitoring and maintenance, including software updates. Each Classic Collision location would have a single server to generate IP addresses and help connect the desktop PCs in the office to the cloud environment.

Making the Move
To prepare for the move to the cloud, DynaSis informed Classic Collision that they would need to upgrade its outdated desktop PCs and then began transitioning the company’s software, as well. DynaSis provided Classic Collision with hosted Microsoft Office and the Microsoft Exchange email client, two products frequently used in cloud environments.

However, a bigger challenge was transitioning several specialized programs used by Classic Collision, including ProfitNet™, a collision shop management system, as well as estimating packages Audatex and CCCOne. “We had one nagging issue with one of the estimating packages, and DynaSis went above and beyond to figure it out,” says Britt. “As far as we know, none of the products had ever been run in a cloud environment before, and DynaSis was able to make them work.”

A Mobile Future
With Classic Collision’s cloud-based operations in full swing, the company began focusing on its new mobility benefits. “With ITility by DynaSis, we immediately saw the benefits on the mobility side,” says Britt. “Mobility gave our estimators freedom to work from home, instead of having to come in over the weekend to complete estimates.”

Now, Classic Collision looks forward to its next improvement—putting iPads in the hands of those estimators. “Once the estimators have iPads, they will be able to do estimates in the field,” Britt says. “We work with a lot of dealerships, and the estimators used to have to go out to a car, look at it, and then come back to the shop and do the estimate. Now, they’ll be able to go to the vehicle, do the estimate, and print or email it, right there.”

Bottom-Line Benefits
Overall, Britt says, working with DynaSis and their cloud solution has given him and Ward more confidence in their system’s stability and reliability. They also like the security of knowing the Classic Collision network is being monitored and updates are being done. “DynaSis is very efficient,” says Britt. “If the first tech cannot finish out an issue, they stay with it until they resolve the problem.” On a professional level, the new solution has proved a benefit for both Britt and Ward, as well. “We now have the ability to focus on things such as improving processes,” Britt says.

If there’s one takeaway from the project that Britt would offer to other customers, it’s to ensure they share with DynaSis every possible detail about their business. “During the initial implementation, DynaSis employee's went above and beyond to learn how we do business and make sure everything interacted well with the Citrix cloud environment,” Britt concludes.

When disposable medical supplies provider Remington Medical began searching for a new technology provider, management knew it wanted to be on the cutting edge of emerging technologies. With three locations—one outside the U.S. in the Dominican Republic—robust remote networking and data exchange was a core requirement.

"I wanted somebody who could handle those areas and had technical competency," says Remington Medical CFO Steve Garner." DynaSis, which already hosted Remington's email server and had previously provided other services to the firm—was ready with the perfect solution.

Early Adopter
Since DynaSis already had a relationship with Remington Medical, it was a natural fit for DynaSis's VP of Managed IT Services Chas Arnold to make a presentation, and Garner had full confidence in DynaSis abilities. "I always thought they were technically competent," Garner says.

In addition to needing a new IT provider, rapidly growing Remington Medical also needed to upgrade its technology infrastructure. Initially, Arnold recommending Remington Medical move to DynaSis's cloud computing solution, ITility by DynaSis. However, Garner had previously researched cloud computing and says he "hadn't reached the comfort level of having my operating data stored offsite."

At the time, DynaSis was rolling out Ascend, a new Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) offering. For a low, fixed, monthly fee, DynaSis installs, monitors and maintains a custom-engineered, end-to-end, on-premise hardware and software solution. The fee includes remote monitoring and maintenance of the entire infrastructure from DynaSis's network operations center, and users can access the 24 x 7 helpdesk, 365 days a year through a trouble-reporting icon on each workstation.

Ascend was a perfect match for Remington Medical, as it enabled the firm to avoid the substantial capital outlay of new equipment. As part of the solution, DynaSis also provides secure Web-based access to the company's applications and data for remote users in offices outside the Georgia headquarters. With Ascend, Garner knows the company will remain on the cutting edge, as DynaSis handles all necessary software and hardware upgrades as part of the contract.

"Ascend appealed to me because it includes things I like, such as its ability to backup my whole system rather than rely on tape system," says Garner. "It was a mental step for me, rather than having to lose control of my hardware completely."

In the Clouds
With the transition to the new system complete, Garner is thinking ahead. Despite not being ready for cloud computing just yet, Garner says Ascend is the perfect transitional step that will enable his firm to harness the power of the cloud, down the road. “Moving to a cloud-based solution is a more real and practical possibility today than in the past,” says Garner. "ITility by DynaSis is probably where we’ll head. If I were a brand new company, ITility by DynaSis would make a lot of sense. There are a lot of advantages, and we’ll probably get there eventually."

For now, he's content with Ascend and DynaSis, which completely eliminates the need for him to have even a single in-house IT staffer. "Chas was smart enough to keep our relationship going," says Garner. It took five years, but it paid off for him."

When Electric Cities of Georgia broke away from its parent company, they were faced with building an entire IT solution from scratch.“Our startup dollars were limited and we felt ITility by DynaSis was the best solution for us so we didn’t have a huge capital expense up front. The infrastructure was purchased and is maintained by DynaSis. This guarantees us the best technology available for a fixed monthly cost. Considering we operate on a strict budget, the monthly fee is perfect for our situation,” said Ellen Richardson VP of Business Development.