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America's Remote Help Desk
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In June 2010, ezStorage contracted America’s Remote Help Desk (ARHD), following a detailed IT management and strategic direction study conducted by Hartman Consulting. Hartman identified the need to take ezStorage’s complex, 30 server infrastructure to “the cloud” and requested a solution from ARHD. The objective: to secure a detailed plan to optimize the infrastructure, align it with IT best practices to improve general functionality, and effectively prepare ezStorage for their move to the cloud.
It was no easy task for ARHD, which was given a very tight deadline to complete the proposal and which faced a litany of issues to address, given the strategic change in direction from a complex “on premises” structure to a “cloud based” system. In addition to being unnecessarily complication, the IT infrastructure was also misconfigured. All 30 servers were located at the ezStorage’s Columbia, Maryland headquarters and many elements of the infrastructure were on the verge of failure. There were significant risks associated with having all of the equipment located at one site.
In just weeks, ARHD was able to reduce ezStorage’s server count by nearly 50% (from 30 to 16) by identifying opportunities for optimization, migration, consolidation and decommissioning of servers throughout the process. This reduction represented a significant financial benefit to ezStorage by minimizing their monthly per-server cost.
ARHD also created a Cloud Staging Environment, a virtual infrastructure designed to simulate “the cloud” to create a smooth migration and identify any potential issues with servers operating as virtual servers prior to the move. Several cloud migrations were performed flawlessly, inside down-time windows and with no unexpected service interruptions. A number of other strategies were devised for ezStorage to reduce costs and maximize efficiency. ARHD has also developed a comprehensive plan for the next phase of the remaining local infrastructure to be executed in 2011.
“Over time, ezStorage senior management became concerned about the overall complexity of the IT infrastructure and what seemed like a never ending investment with diminishing returns,” stated the company’s CFO, George Abdow. “We decided on a strategic change including a change in IT leadership. ARHD was with us at every stage with a superior technical staff to study and implement a very difficult strategic initiative. Their execution and results were flawless.”
America’s Remote Help Desk has spent their 11 years working with and satisfying demanding clients and end users. Developing detailed processes and procedures that are customized for every client ensures positive, long-term working relationships.
“I really appreciate the way ARHD covers my business. I am happy to be a client.” – CEO
“ARHD keeps us cutting edge in IT. Their Help Desk is fantastic.” – COO
“By the time we notice an issue, ARHD is already addressing it.” – CFO
“ARHD is a proactive company working to help us meet our IT needs.” – Finance Administrator
“The consistency and reliability has made ARHD a fantastic resource for us.” – Co-Founder
“ARHD has always taken care of our IT and as far as we’re concerned, that will continue.” – Partner
“ARHD is on the ball. They know what needs to be done and they take care of it.” – CFO
“It’s all about having happy, productive employees and ARHD has helped us accomplish that.” – VP of Operations
“ARHD’s execution and results were flawless.” – CTO
“They are responsive, dedicated, knowledgeable; the best outsource solution we have.” – COO
America's Remote Help Desk provides 24x7x365 remote/outsource help desk, IT support, system maintenance, proactive monitoring, network monitoring and outsource IT services to companies nationwide. ARHD area of focus remains the Maryland (MD), Virginia (VA), Northern VA (NOVA), and Washington (DC) area.