Organization
Based in Dallas, TX, Skiles Group provides general contracting and construction management services. It has worked on a wide variety of award-winning projects but has specialized in constructing healthcare facilities since 1972.
Challenge
Skiles Group prizes collaboration and relationship-building with both its clients and its employees, and part of its mission is to use technology to create better construction experiences – which means it needs robust IT solutions.
Its IT challenges were three-fold: processes, people, and equipment all needed improvement. Its outsourced IT provider wasn’t providing what Skiles Group needed, and an audit revealed that its security was lacking, and back-ups weren’t working. Even their general workflows were impaired, which caused day-to-day difficulties, wasted time, and required extra effort.
“We needed a reliable solution that allowed us to feel confident in our technology both internally and externally,” says Clay Harrison, CEO of Skiles Group.
“We needed a reliable solution that allowed us to feel confident in our technology both internally and externally”
Solution
Business Network Consulting took time to get to know Skiles Group, so it could provide a solution that attacked its IT challenges and build a technology system that bolstered Skiles Group’s capabilities. “Our IT went from a hindrance to a benefit,” says Clay Harrison.
Business Network Consulting started by making existing systems operational and reliable. Its experts upgraded Skiles Group’s servers, moved data and programs to cloud storage, eliminated bugs, and got everything working properly.
To improve security, BNC Systems moved Skiles Group’s data from local storage and Dropbox locations to Egnyte, a cloud supplier of secure Enterprise File Sharing. BNC also protected Skiles Group’s email with Mimecast, a cloud-based email management system with top-grade security defense. Beyond that, BNC deployed a Malwarebytes enterprise cybersecurity system to make sure Skiles Group’s entire system is impregnable.
BNC also installed new estimating software packages and deployed wireless on a six-story vertical expansion at Methodist Richardson Medical Center.
Results
“One big result was relief,” says Clay Harrison. “Our data and email are now secure, and our new estimating software allows us to be more efficient. Instead of worrying about the state of our IT, we know our state-of-the-art systems can be an advantage we have over others in our industry.”
BNC took a system that was functional but flawed, and made it into a streamlined, secure environment.
“Our IT went from a hindrance to a benefit.”
The most valuable benefit? For Skiles Group, it’s knowing they can concentrate on their business without worrying about the state of their underlying IT systems.
