If you still think organizations are transitioning to the cloud, ITsavvy thinks you’ve got it all wrong. Most organizations have already embraced the cloud, either in total or in part. Today, it is the cloud providers who are in transition, or at least they should be. To be competitive, cloud providers need to offer their clients more options, better support and improved control. Unfortunately, as their users have discovered, the big cloud providers are really good at offering computing and storage space, but they may neglect to deliver on the customization, service, and support behind the solutions that cloud users require. Some further fall short in the post-sales relationship that users desire and often demand. For ITsavvy, that presents a tremendous opportunity. “When others drop the ball, ITsavvy excels,” says Mike Theriault, President and CEO of ITsavvy.
Theriault co-founded ITsavvy with Chris Kurpeikis, the company’s Executive Vice President. Headquartered in Addison, Illinois, ITsavvy has offices in downtown Chicago, New York, New Jersey, Florida, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio and California. ITsavvy manages cloud infrastructure technology in Tier 3 data centers in Illinois and New Jersey, and has access to 1,000,000 plus IT products in 46 distribution centers around the US. ITsavvy’s success comes from a unique ability to combine an elite level of knowledge with state-of-the-art delivery of IT products and Advanced Solutions that include Cloud Solutions, Security Solutions, Managed Services, Engineered Solutions and Unified Communications. “We keep an ear to the ground to recognize subtle changes before they become industry trends. It helps us stay ahead of the pack,” Theriault says.
Clients demand service and selection
When ITsavvy initiated their Cloud Solutions practice, they immediately understood what the market wanted: selection, security and service. “Clients want customizable solutions. They want the opportunity to select the cloud solution that is best suited for their operation and their business objectives,” says Theriault. To meet the full spectrum of needs, ITsavvy offers not only complete cloud solutions through Amazon, Microsoft and Google but also customizable public, private and hybrid clouds along with colocation and a managed cloud solution within ITsavvy’s own data centers.
ITsavvy then takes cloud to the next level with US-based 24x7x365 technical support, which is highly unique in the industry. And while some cloud providers are limited to a single technology expertise, ITsavvy is knowledgeable across the entire data center stack with certified on-staff expertise in design, architecture, data migration, storage, backup and disaster recovery as well as managed network and security. All clients receive a dedicated Client Executive they can contact with a single call. “The big cloud providers can’t do that,” says Theriault.
ITsavvy adds expert problem-solving
For some cloud engagements, it takes specialized knowledge to identify the ideal solution. “We had a client with 30 worldwide locations, all running separate backup processes, and a number of them were failing. The client wanted to consolidate everything into a new infrastructure, but it would take months,” Theriault explains. “We have a very creative engineer on our staff with advanced backup and disaster recovery expertise. Within a week he had deployed a cloud backup solution to automate and remotely manage the client’s backups while the onsite infrastructure was being built. It was a solution they hadn’t thought of, but it was exactly what they needed.”
In the end, however, most cloud clients just want to know their data will be there when they need it. That seems simple, but it’s actually quite complicated. ITsavvy helps clients understand what data they want to migrate, what applications they’ll be utilizing, how legacy and cloud systems will integrate, how fast they need data restored, whether they have compliance requirements and a host of other factors. “I consider governance of data to be the piece that is missing with most cloud providers, but it’s one of our strengths,” Theriault says. “We understand how processes integrate and how data flows in and out of the operation. Trying to do that on your own is extremely difficult, particularly in a customized or hybrid environment.”
The future of cloud is hybrid
Few organizations have committed their entire infrastructure to the cloud, so most environments become a hybrid of many technologies. Hybrid cloud may leverage public and private clouds, enabling the migration of data and workloads between cloud and onsite environments when needed. “I don’t think there is any more debate. The hybrid cloud model will be the approach of choice by most organizations. We are well-positioned to support this strategy,” Theriault says. ITsavvy can design and architect complex cloud environments, then monitor and manage them utilizing the support of ITsavvy’s in-house Network Operations Center (NOC) with 24x7x365 event remediation. Clients can add ITsavvy’s elite expertise in security event remediation, as well. It’s all part of the holistic approach that ITsavvy takes with each client.
For Theriault, the mantra of today’s cloud solutions should be flexibility. “We build scalability and cost-efficiency into our cloud solutions. Who knows what the future will bring? We want our clients to be able to take advantage of emerging opportunities and still get the most out of their IT investments.” For more information go to ITsavvy.com/Cloud
