These case studies were prepared in early 2001 for Integrated Tech Services, an East Coast computer services supplier.

If you eat, you can't easily escape Boston Concessions

When you're at a concert and need a soda or a fast snack, you hit the concession stand. But, where do all those fast snacks, sandwiches, and drinks come from?

If you're in any of 26 states, they could be from Boston Concessions Group of Massachusetts. The company delivers ready-to-serve treats offered at venues like Suffolk Downs and the Tsongas Arena in Massachusetts and they run a wholesale open-to-the-public operation in Wilmington, Massachusetts, offering candy, popcorn, and other concession items to cash 'n carry clients. Folks looking for a more traditional dining experience also hire Boston Concessions to host everything from top-tier formal wedding dinners to hamburger-and-hot dog outings at Water Country, Sugarloaf, and other New England venues as well as at convention centers across the country.

If you eat, you can't easily escape Boston Concessions.

Account management for all clients is handled at Boston Concessions' office in Massachusetts, where an IBM AS400 and a Microsoft Windows NT server were installed four years ago. Integrated Tech Services under Jon Snyderman handles all tech support for the system.

"Boston Concessions has a presence in 26 states with a large percentage of clients in the northeast," says Mike DeMarco, Boston Concessions' director of MIS. "We do accounting and everything related to client accounts in our Massachusetts office using 30 IBM-compatible PCs. Our five workstations located at our cash-and-carry operation are linked by T1 so they can access our voice and data systems in our main office. Integrated Tech Services put it all together and maintains it all. That gives you an idea of the scope of the work Integrated Tech Services and Jon Snyderman do for us."

Watch, Learn -- and Improve Productivity

The application set includes payroll, accounts receivable, a full-blown accounting system with inventory control at the warehouse, Microsoft Office, and Lotus apps.

According to Mike, "Jon did the entire install and it went perfectly. There have been no major bumps since, and when we need small tune-ups, a rep from Integrated Tech Services either comes by to take care of them or coaches me on what to do. With Jon, I watch and I learn," Mike explains. "He and his people like to get clients familiar with their systems so they don't feel completely dependent, which is different from how a lot of technicians work. That's fine by me. I'd rather not call them if it's not necessary but when it is, they respond pronto and I have total faith in their recommendations. They have never steered me wrong."

The AS400 installation is delivering all the benefits Boston Concession expected, and then some. "With all our applications in both locations fully integrated, our productivity gains have been impressive. Anyone in either location can access what they need instantly, no waiting," Mike says. "In one instance, a check sorting process that used to monopolize our old IBM System 36 for a half-hour is now completed on a single PC in 2 seconds thanks to the power of the AS400 and the new applications."

Overall productivity gains have been equally impressive, Mike says. "Most of the functions that were time-consuming before are being done in 25% of the time with our new network from Integrated Tech Services. One function, sorting a huge check pile, used to take a half hour and now it's down to two seconds. That function used to bring our whole system to its knees. The person who executed it actually couldn't use her machine for a half hour. Now…two seconds."

Next: VPN

Mike says that Boston Concessions' next step will be to provide offsite staff access to the AS400 through both a second T1 line and a digital VPN (virtual private network, or encrypted network access via the Internet), so they can complete tasks on their own which now require help from the main office staff -- Mike in particular. "We're awaiting delivery of another T1 line so we can bring all our account supervisors, the folks who manage our client relations, into the network. Integrated Tech Services will enable them to dial in securely and tap into data to generate reports," Mike explains. "And when these managers visit one of our 120 accounts and need detail on sales activity or expenses, they can relate that back to us for use here as well. It will speed up a lot of account reporting and free my time up. Right now, I'm the one who provides this data to the account managers. And of course, we'll all have Internet access from here as well. I can hardly wait for Jon to hook up that T1," says the relieved MIS director.

But while there is a rush to get the third-party-vendor-supplied T1 in place, there's never any rush discussing the details of system integration with the Integrated Tech team. Mike says frankly, "They're all easy to talk to because they never make you feel like you're asking a stupid question. If I call and I just want to run something by them or get an idea, we all talk like old friends. It's very, very comfortable talking to them, you never feel rushed."

And even when there's a question outside of Jon's personal area of expertise, the answer still isn't far away. Says Mike, "He and his staff have quite a few resources at their beck and call, and can put you in touch with the right contact fast. We had a situation with Microsoft Exchange and Integrated Tech recommended a consultant who came in and solved it. I love working with them."

* * *

A Lilly in Marblehead, Massachusetts

Mariposa is the name of both an attractive lily and a Marblehead, Massachusetts specialty wholesaler that helps create beautiful environs for end-users of its products.

Mariposa imports and distributes at wholesale "household table articles" including glassware, dishware, and a very popular sand-cast aluminum serveware called Brilliante.

With highly visible high-end chain-store clients like Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, and Jacobson's, Mariposa felt it needed help managing its blossoming information needs, so it installed an IBM AS400 in 1997. The company had Jon Snyderman of Integrated Tech Services integrate the server with Daley Walcott application software and Mariposa's existing network of IBM-compatible PCs. Jon also connected Mariposa's headquarters with its Gloucester, Massachusetts distribution center via a VPN (Virtual Private Network), which gave the staff fast, direct access to inventory control and order management functionality.

Robert White, the general manager of the 25-person firm, also serves as IT manager for Mariposa – and he also is responsible for human resources, accounting, and other areas. "I needed someone with a level of knowledge equivalent to mine, and the seasoning to get the new network up and running. Jon was the man."

Moving Into the World of AS400

Prior to its AS400 install, Mariposa was backing away from a PC-based accounting package it had outgrown. "It was also not Y2K compliant," Robert notes, "but the real problem was that the PC-based package couldn't keep up to our needs."

Jon spoke at length with Mariposa about where the business was today and where they pictured it tomorrow, and built a vision of the computing infrastructure Mariposa would need to get where it wanted to go.

"The network Jon's company configured for us gives our Marblehead staff point-and-click access to a full suite of applications. I didn't want any ‘green-screen' applications. Integrated Tech took our objectives and developed a system under which everyone feels comfortable," Robert explains. "Our Gloucester distribution staff uses the VPN to tap into the AS400 to print pick tickets, do inventory adjustments, and amend orders on-site, just as though they were right here in Marblehead. Jon puts a lot of himself into his company. He and his staff make sure things run the way we need them to, and they pitched in to help us with anything related to the network, even if they didn't install it."

Delivering Service Consistently Above Mariposa's Expectations

Early in his relationship with Mariposa, Jon was asked to tackle an AS400 connectivity issue that had stymied several other service providers. "That opened our eyes," Robert says. "Jon fixed the problem quickly , almost in a blink compared to the time the others had put in with no success."

That wasn't all. Robert continues, "There was that ‘interior catastrophe' that occurred during the install of a version update for the AS400. Jon stayed all night and through the next morning until the system was up and running. He also made sure no productivity was lost," Robert emphasizes. "It was a hardware problem and the vendor was working it, so Jon had no vested interest in seeing it through. But that's exactly what he did. It speaks volumes about Jon's character, he totally has it in aces."

Later, when IBM engineers came to upgrade an old AS150 to an AS170, the system kept crashing on the day of the install. "They took it down to the frame," Robert details. "Jon didn't need to be there then either, but he chose to stay and participate until 2 a.m. When it tested okay he left but he was back first thing in the morning to make sure the employees could access their applications. This is not a single instance, he and all of his people are always like this. I've never seen any company this thorough."

Robert has been working with Integrated Tech Services ever since. "That kind of loyalty deserves loyalty in return. I have all the faith in the world in Jon and his people, I've never been let down. The relationship will continue as long as I'm in this chair."

* * *

‘Doing What's Right'

A Franklin, Massachusetts-based logistics services provider specializing in handling sensitive electronics equipment and trade show exhibits, 35 year-old W. J. Donovan has been a Mayflower affiliate since the mid 1980s. As part of a major computer information systems upgrade, Donovan received an IBM AS400 system from Mayflower late in 1999.

"We were updating some very old dumb terminals," explains Tony Gallo, general manager of W. J. Donovan since 1997, "when a contractor recommended Integrated Tech Services to integrate our information systems components. I talked to that company's owner, Jon Synderman, about buying a second AS400, but after we discussed our objectives, he told us we didn't need it. That cost him a fat commission, but he's obviously more interested in doing what's right by us. That says a lot about him and his company."

For a fraction of W. J. Donovan's budgeted $30,000 outlay, the company got the network it needed plus several key capabilities -- printing, file sharing, multithreading, and desktop applications. Jon Snyderman also linked this AS400 system to the Mayflower corporate offices in Fenton, Missouri and also to Millennium Logistics, which like W. J. Donovan is owned by the Wildon Group. The two firms share data through their linked AS400 systems. Next on Donovan's shopping list: connecting to the Internet and adding e-mail, a firewall, and virus protection onto their PC network.

Laser-Like Focus on Customers

"I was really impressed with Jon's approach," Tony says. "He's not the kind of guy who gets all excited about new technologies and tries to install them at every customer site. He's more deliberate than that. He wants to be sure the solution is tailored to the problem, and he's not one to try new technologies just for the sake of being on the cutting edge. He has to be sure his solution will work before he recommends it and when he can, he makes suggestions that save clients money."

Setup was uneventful and "training, to the extent that we needed it, was first-class," Tony notes.

There have been no crises with the new system, and Jon and his staff have provided prompt attention when little quirks appeared. "Nine times out of ten, Jon or one of his associates talks me through a fix over the phone. It's quick and accurate, and there's no need for a service call," Tony reports. When an on-site visit is required, an Integrated Technologies representative is dispatched quickly and works through the problem until it is totally fixed.

"Jon is very straightforward and willing to go above and beyond for his clients," Tony says. "Those are two reasons I trust him and rely on his experience. He makes recommendations based on what he feels will meet my needs reliably. He lets me know his preferences, but he also offers me options so I can make the choice."

Tony cites a recent example concerning DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) service. "We recently tried to install DSL even though Jon felt it wouldn't perform as we needed it to. He helped us work through the installation, but in the end it didn't deliver what we really wanted – it was deficient in just in the ways he had predicted. After four unsuccessful attempts to tweak it to do what we wanted, we switched – to Jon's original advice in favor of a frame relay solution."

W. J. Donovan uses Integrated Tech Services for all its computer hardware, software, and networking technology – and for 24-hour product and technical support.

"Jon is easy to work with," Tony says, "and he really knows his stuff. He believes in doing what's right for his customers. I'd hire him again in a second."

LEGAL: Copyright, 2001, JMB Communications. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form, in whole or in part, without the express written permission of the copyright holder.