Engineering


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		IT Services for Engineering The Context In the late 1980s and 1990s, information technology (IT) dramatically changed the work lives of civil and structural engineers. One by one, they abandoned their drafting boards and manual tools for workstations and software tools such as AutoCAD. Then, with a growing reliance on computing, came a growing reliance on IT networks to transmit virtually everything from electronic files of engineering drawings to emails. The reasons were obvious: the benefits of convenience, time-savings, and increased productivity were just too good to pass up. Along with this solution, however, came new IT challenges. How did engineering companies, especially small ones with limited resources, manage increasingly complex, rapidly evolving networks with maximum effectiveness? How could they make the networks work for them instead of—as was often the case—against them? The Client A small engineering firm experienced this evolution first hand. The firm, which provides dozens of consulting engineering services for developers, realtors, lending institutions, property management companies, architects, and general contractors, quickly adopted workstation and networking technology. Instead of hiring an internal IT resource, the company chose to rely on outside technical assistance. Over the years, this meant a succession of different people—one available only at odd hours, some hard to contact when a crisis arose, all working alone—who mainly responded to calls for help. The Problem Perhaps the biggest problem of all, was that the firm did not fully understand how large a role IT could play in their business success. “Looking back, it’s clear that the people we were counting on didn’t have the understanding of the technology ‘big picture’ that we needed,” she says. “Many of the actions were little more than reactions, and many of the solutions were just patch work.” The Choice The turning point came in 2003 when we contacted the firm. After years of living with an unpredictable network that required more of her attention than she wanted to give and a series of one-person break-fix IT service providers, PairM offered a different approach: true support, comprehensive, knowledgeable, and strategic. PairM is brought onboard After considering there new option, we were brought aboard to perform a technical review. One of the first findings was the lack of a reliable backup system. We proposed an offsite backup solution that would run unmonitored and ideal for this client. Since then, PairM has made regular improvements to the network. One major change was the installation of a firewall for greater security. Before then, the network had been extremely vulnerable to everything from viruses to spam. Another important improvement was standardizing the computers and workstations around Microsoft Office XP Professional. In addition, PairM delivers a support agreement, a suite of regularly scheduled services from virus protection to long-range network planning that assures network security and stability, and addresses potential problems before they become real ones. It also included regular IT support both onsite and remotely. Staying Focused on the Core Business In a recent study, National Small Business United reported that: 46 percent of small business owners surveyed agreed that managing changes and upgrades to their IT systems is a major business challenge 40 percent expressed a desire for support and guidance in anticipating and planning for business technology investments With IT systems growing in complexity and the need for small businesses such as our client to concentrate on what they do best, it’s no wonder that a strategic IT service provider such as PairM is a natural solution. More Clients: Architects Construction Emergency Services Financial Services Legal Firms

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