Customer Case Studies
Azteck Engineering: "Welding IT together:
In March 2004, Bruce Hollow and Nathan Brown started up Aztech Engineering and began life with the goal of ‘Welding Wellington’, and for the past seven years that (plus a whole lot of other engineering jobs) is exactly what they’ve done.
“Basically, we can do everything!” says Ms Gladys Campbell, Accounts Administrator and Office Manager. “Fabrication, welding, manufacturing, general engineering – even design, we do it all.”
Based in Lower Hutt, Aztech Engineering has a mix of young and experienced tradesmen with design and construction capabilities across all classes of machine shop work, heavy steel fabrication and rolling, profile cutting and sheet metal work. Sophisticated mobile engineering equipment means Aztech isn’t tied to their base and are able to carry out sitework throughout all of New Zealand.
One important piece of sophisticated equipment missing from the technology in the Aztech office was the all-important IT solution.
“We had a computer that I think Noah had on the “Ark,” says Gladys. “It was breaking down and it really belonged in a museum. We needed a new system and eventually NEOS was called in to help us out.”
The Neos solution provided a huge step-up from Aztech’s previous IT system. Their new NeoServer allows easy sharing of information and files between staff and, as the heart of the business, Gladys was provided with a brand new PC. Having the latest in laptop and mobile technology, all connected to their NeoServer also means the management team are no longer chained to their desks.
“NEOS had no problem incorporating our unique in-house software into the system and everything runs great. It’s like having an IT guy right on staff, we really needed someone with specialist knowledge and NEOS have really delivered.”
“Any time I do have a problem, I just quickly phone them and they are here on the spot. Since we open at 7am I tell them to get here in their jammies!”
Although no NEOS team member will admit to showing up in their PJ’s, a couple of showers have definitely been missed to help Aztech out as quickly as possible.
“NEOS are like the boys in the family who are the nerds, and everybody needs a computer nerd on staff.”
Sharing the love: freeing advisors from the office
To get the best results in any endeavour, first and foremost you need knowledge.
As New Zealand’s leading network of independently owned financial advisory companies, SHARE has the knowledge and experience to give the best advice to individuals, families and businesses. “We have over 75 advisers located all around the country, ranging from large organisations with lots of advisers, to sole adviser practices, and everything in-between,” explains Bronwyn Shanks, General Manager of SHARE.
With headquarters in Wellington, SHARE provides support to its advisers, giving them the resources and structure of a nationwide organisation and ensuring they don’t feel isolated while running their businesses.
As part of SHARE’s commitment to providing excellent support, it maintains a nationwide IT solution allowing advisers from all around the country to easily exchange information and collaborate.
“It used to be that there was a big void where our central IT support should have been,” says Bronwyn. “Consequently, all the advisers were doing their own thing, which meant a lot of different IT, email and software setups, creating quite a few headaches for us.”
Luckily for SHARE, the solution to all their IT problems was closer than they thought. One of their advisers told them about the fantastic IT support people they used, called NEOS, so Bronwyn decided to get them around for a chat.
“During the meeting with NEOS it became apparent that they could streamline all of our nationwide IT systems, take away all the stress and basically become the ‘go-to’ people for our whole organisation,” says Bronwyn.
NEOS now manages all of SHARE’s IT systems, which have been streamlined with a standardised email client and include high-level security and regular data backups. However, the solution that’s helped SHARE’s advisers the most is Managed Outlook.
Managed Outlook lets SHARE’s advisers, well, share their Outlook with each other. Depending on permission levels, advisers can manage another colleague’s calendar, update contacts, assign tasks and much more.
“Managed Outlook has been really great!” says Lower Hutt Independent SHARE Adviser Russell Good. “An appointment can be put into my phone or computer and every 10 minutes they automatically sync with each other. Sometimes I used to forget to download appointments, which would lead to double-bookings, and I’d have to call up and cancel. I’ve found this system very professional and efficient.”
SHARE Administrator Sandy Stewart has also enjoyed the benefits of Managed Outlook. “It’s been, in a word – excellent,” says Sandy. “I use it for my emails, syncing my calendar and all manner of things. So far it’s been very straightforward and NEOS has been very quick in dealing with any problems I’ve encountered.”
“NEOS has been great, everything has been working beautifully, and everyone is really happy,” says Bronwyn. “I can only see our relationship with NEOS going from strength to strength as we both grow.”
Even the really sporty types need a good IT manager
Founded by the Jones family back in 1908, Jones Bros Limited has been distributing superior brands for over a century through their two divisions, Snow Sports and LA Fitness, and their passion for quality products and excellent service endures to this day.
When it came to Jones Bros’ IT system, however, things weren’t quite working at the premium levels the company is renowned for. They were using old computers and had their website and hosting spread around several ISPs – and it wasn’t really working for them.
"We were looking for a one-stop-shop to support our IT requirements and wanted to upgrade everything quickly, within our limited budget," explains Sean Drinkwater, General Manager. "I also wanted to use a company that could monitor our systems, pre-empt any issues we might have, service our machines and renew equipment when needed."
Which is how NEOS came to the rescue.
"After completing an audit of their IT systems, it soon became apparent that Jones Bros needed a new server to bring them up to date with industry best practice," says Anthony Lummis, Director at NEOS. "We began by migrating their data, which went relatively smoothly - until Murphy’s Law came into effect."
"There were issues with the compatibility of the new server operating system we installed and some of the software and printers," explains Anthony. "Working with the providers, we developed a software solution that made the older programs compatible with Microsoft’s latest server operating system and installed backwards-compatible devices on all the printers to get them working correctly. All at no extra cost."
"NEOS kept hitting snags and at one point overnight our computers went down," says Sean. "But the NEOS team was here at 7am the next morning and within an hour we were back up and running. They ended up staying here for the rest of the day figuring out what the problem was and fixing it, which was well above the call of duty."
After a lot of extra hours and some creative thinking, Jones Bros’ new computer system was up and running smoothly, and Sean is more than happy with the result.
"I’m glad we went with NEOS and although it hasn’t been plain sailing, they worked through it, responded quickly to any problems we’ve had and were always willing to get in here and sort it out," says Sean. "So far, it’s all worked out really well."
Keeping Macaulay Metals ready for a scrap
Macaulay Metals has been working with scrap metal since before any of the NEOS staff were even born!
Bill Macaulay established the business back in 1959 with a staff of two, initially trading solely in machinery. It wasn’t long before he recognised an opportunity in the trade of scrap metal, which saw the business expand to six by the 1980s.
In 1993, Bill sold the business to the current Managing Director, Jeff Harris, a metals enthusiast, who has built it up to what it is today, with a staff of 100 across five ‘yards’ throughout the country. Their main Support Office is based in Lower Hutt and services yards in Palmerston North, Rotorua, Whakatane and Kawerau.
It’s hard to imagine that a business that deals in scrap metal depends heavily on IT to run their business, but it’s actually integral to their business needs.
“You can’t buy scrap metal efficiently nowadays without a robust IT system,” says Phil Springford, Commercial Manager and CFO at Macaulay Metals. “Without it, our operations would be seriously impeded.”
Phil has been working with NEOS (and its predecessors, Network Now and Neomesh Micro) for around three years and reckons they’d be at a loss without NEOS.
A self-confessed ‘geek’, Keeping Macaulay Metals ready for a scrap Phil was encouraged to install terminal services in their Lower Hutt Support Office so each yard around the country could dial in and operate from one data source. He believes this puts them a gigantic step ahead of their competitors.
“Each yard has an electronic buying system installed on their server which calculates the weight of the scrap metal, photographs it, scans the driver’s ID and calculates the payment,” says Phil. “Two of our busiest yards even have their own automatic teller machines (ATMs) installed which pay out notes and coins directly to the supplier. You just can’t get an easier system than that.”
According to Phil, there are only two of these types of ATM systems in New Zealand and Macaulay Metals has both of them. The software is provided by a Canadian company, with hardware and support from NEOS.
But it’s not all just about clever ATM systems for Macaulay Metals.
“We set up their infrastructure from scratch, have installed and connected 39 PCs across the five yards, and host their website and also their emails,” says Anthony Lummis, one of the three directors at NEOS. “We also provide a helpdesk for each yard to call in with any problems, not that there are many.”
Anthony and Nick have recently been working through the weekend to install two new servers at Macaulay Metals’ Support Office and they’re pleased to say that by business opening hours on the following Monday, 35 out of the 39 PCs were up and running, closely followed by the other four the next day.
“Macaulay Metals is a great client to have on board,” says Anthony. “They are very accommodating to our needs and the feeling is mutual. They expect a lot from us but always pay on time.”
“We’re a dynamic business that is still growing at a rate of knots,” says Phil. “So the challenge to NEOS is to keep up! And going on current experience, we’re surethey’ll do just that.”