Although Ball Team was growing, the idea of investing in all new servers and networking equipment felt like a family of four opting to buy a school bus over a minivan.
The first thing Grand Consulting did was sit down with Ball Team and ask: what is causing you the most pain at this very moment? Instead of selling them infrastructure for a company ten times their size, they focused on smaller improvements that could increase efficiency while still fitting within their budget.
Their slow, outdated computers were replaced with more reliable workstations. Their basic filing system was migrated over to Dropbox so everyone could access files from any computer. Their internet connection was upgraded.
With just these few minor updates, their office began to hum along more smoothly.
As Ball Team’s numbers grew, Dropbox began bursting at the seams. Grand Consulting expanded their storage by installing a network attached storage device—a great option for mid-sized companies who aren’t quite ready to invest in a full-fledged server.
When Ball Team moved into a larger office, Grand Consulting helped them transition seamlessly to their new space. They didn’t just install a few new workstations and upgrade their networking equipment, they took a closer look at the floor plan and identified ways to optimize the network within their new office layout.
For most companies, work happens in an office. But for construction companies, a lot happens on-site. As Ball Team managed more and more projects, remote connectivity became increasingly more important to their team.
Employees needed access to blueprints, budgets, and email from the front-seat of their pick-up trucks. New employees needed quick access to project information so they could be onboarded in days, not weeks.
After several years of incremental upgrades, it was clear Ball Team had reached the point where having their own server would be worth the investment. Their file storage, backups, email, calendars, and accounting software, would all be brought in-house where they would have complete control.
The server would not only consolidate their technology, but provide them with ultimate flexibility as they scaled in the future.
A perfect example of this occurred recently when Grand Consulting migrated Ball Team’s phone system away from a traditional telecom provider. The new phone system operates completely on their server so all calls are routed through the internet instead of conventional phone lines.
Not only did Ball Team gain more robust calling features, like call parking and custom hold music, their phone bill was nearly cut in half.
With demand in the construction industry continuing to rise, there’s a good chance Ball Team will keep growing in the future. Each stage of growth brings different problems with varying budgets, but Grand Consulting will always approach these situations with the same question: what is causing you the most pain at this very moment?
