“ISO is the gatekeeper for anything that happens with our computers: hardware, software, updates, anything like that.”

Gallatin Public Affairs is a Professional Services firm that has been in business for nearly 20 years. Gallatin describes its business as, “At the often complex intersection of business, government, politics and the media, we’ve helped our clients seize opportunities, overcome challenges and grow.” Gallatin has six locations nationwide: Seattle and Spokane, WA; Helena, MT; Portland, OR; Boise ID; and Washington, D.C.; and they rely on isoutsource.com® to maintain their IT infrastructure.

The partnership between Gallatin and isoutsource.com®, a team of more than 40 consultants, is bridged by Mike Macri. Macri, Gallatin’s Primary Consultant from isoutsource.com®, provides IT management services and oversees the account. He manages the other consultants and engineers working with Gallatin to ensure all their needs are met. Mike has also employed most of the isoutsource.com® IT products, such as Disaster Recovery & Managed Data Backup, Network Server Monitoring, and Computer Maintenance & IT Asset Tracking, in the Gallatin IT infrastructure. By doing so, he has ensured the isoutsource.com® team can proactively manage Gallatin’s IT and has leveraged many of the cost saving efficiencies of these products.

Prior to the isoutsource.com® Disaster Recovery & Managed Data Backup Solution, Gallatin relied on tapes to save firm data and restore that critical information.  Tape-based backup solutions have long been the de-facto standard for corporate backup, but Gallatin wanted a system to provide more than just nightly backup. Gallatin relies on the Disaster Recovery & Managed Data Backup product to protect its data and keep business running smoothly. Julia Weisenburger, CFO/Partner at Gallatin, describes the importance of having data accessible throughout the company. “Everything we present to our clients is ideas and written word. We depend on communication between the six offices and our clients 24/7. To have that information unavailable for even 5 minutes is the end of the world.”

The isoutsource.com® backup solution not only offers clients like Gallatin a reliable disk-to-disk backup solution, it also ensures very rapid recovery in the event of a major disaster or server failure.  Gallatin’s business will be back in operation within hours rather than the days it would have taken with its old tape solution.

Before using the isoutsource.com® Network Server Monitoring product, Gallatin used a number of different consultants to handle IT needs in the firm’s various locations. This made coordination and communication difficult and meant there was no single party to oversee efforts and be accountable.  As Weisenburger notes, “No one at that time was proactive at all.” Often, updates and warning signs were overlooked, which lead to a reactive approach– calling in a consultant– and those costs were unpredictable.

Gallatin has five servers at its Seattle location, ranging in uses from email communication to accounting. These servers are used by the entire organization and it is critical for Gallatin’s business that they be up and running.  Weisenburger explains why they depend on this product, “[Network Server Monitoring] is like an insurance policy. You may never get an alert, but you can sleep at night because you know that someone else is watching that [server]. With six offices across the country, our employees are coming in to work, working remotely or traveling. Everyone is trying to access these servers 24/7, and to have ISO monitoring them to make sure they are working is critical.”

 The isoutsource.com® Network Server Monitoring Solution includes monitoring  servers to alert Gallatin of any potential problems, patch management, a monthly hands-on check of the server  as well as monthly reporting. It also frees up time for Mike Macri, their isoutsource.com® Primary Consultant to focus on other higher value IT work projects that Gallatin requires.

Gallatin has more than 30 computers (desktops and laptops) distributed throughout the firm’s six locations. Before using Computer Maintenance & IT Asset Tracking, Gallatin used individual consultants at those locations to manage computer hardware and software. These investments can be difficult to track for any small company, especially those with remote locations.

With different consultants managing each location, Gallatin would typically replace any malfunctioning hardware to keep productivity from being interrupted. Now, Gallatin relies on Computer Maintenance & IT Asset Tracking with isoutsource.com®. Wiesenberger explains, “We tried to do [IT asset tracking] internally; we never knew who had what computer or what software because they would get moved around. Now ISO makes sure everyone has the same software, we are all getting to the same platform operating system, and we all have compatible equipment.” Weisenburger adds, “ISO is the gatekeeper for anything that happens with our computers: hardware, software, updates, anything like that. Even in Washington, D.C., where they have a local consultant that they use, they need to always communicate with ISO before anything is done.”

With one company maintaining and tracking its IT investments, Gallatin has the advantage of seeing how those computers are performing and have more predictable costs. With this approach, Gallatin can proactively plan and budget for all of its IT investments. Weisenburger recaps, “It’s an insurance policy that you don’t think about or appreciate until you have to use it.”

Weisenburger comments on how isoutsource.com® integrates their IT decisions with other vendors as well. “Mike [Macri] and ISO have always been very supportive in helping us work with outside vendors that fall outside of their arena,” she said. “For example, if we want to build an intranet site or helping us work with phone companies and the relationship between our servers and our phone systems. We had a crisis in Boise and Mike was there to support that. He will come to a meeting and be the translator.”

Gallatin looks at isoutsource.com® as a key partner for all things related to IT, from strategic technology decisions to daily IT support. Through a combination of proactive service, cost effective products and Mike and his team’s expertise, isoutsource.com® ensures that Gallatin’s business stays up and running.