Testimonials

“We can all sleep easier. We’ve become more efficient and more confident because of all that Computer Business does.”

– Stina D’Uva, President & CEO, West Orange Chamber of Commerce

West Orange Chamber of Commerce Says Using Computer Business “Like Having Our Own Internal IT Group”

Situation
West Orange Chamber of Commerce builds partnerships, strong businesses, and commitment to the community by serving as the leading business advocate in Central Florida and facilitating opportunities to more than 1,100 member businesses.

With nearly 50 years of experience serving the community, the West Orange Chamber of Commerce has become a model for others. The organization received the prestigious State of Florida’s Chamber of the Year award, recognizing achievements including advocacy, marketing, programming, and financial stability, in 2009, 2012, and 2015.

West Orange had essentially won the award three times in a row because a chamber must wait three years after winning Chamber of the Year to re-submit.

Supporting businesses and the local community requires a rock-solid IT infrastructure, but too often, there were delays and outages. Stina D’Uva, President & CEO of the West Orange Chamber of Commerce, recalls, “[s]ecurity was also an issue. We were concerned about the ability to protect our data.” “It seemed like every day we had another problem,” says Krista Compton Carter, Vice President of West Orange Chamber of Commerce. “The network was unreliable; we had email issues, desktop issues, all of which impacted our productivity.”

Solution
Things immediately changed for the better when D’Uva and Carter turned to one of the Chamber’s members—Computer Business Consultants—to serve as its IT Managed Services Provider.

West Orange had tried many IT service providers before finding Computer Business five years ago, which helped the organization greatly appreciate the dependability and professionalism they now enjoy.

Supporting a Doubling of Office Space—With No Downtime
One of the first significant projects the Chamber asked Computer Business Consultants to help with—after it had swiftly resolved the organization’s networking and email issues—was providing IT support as the Chamber doubled its office space.

“We had tenants in the back of our building that moved out, and we needed the space, so we had to do the buildout, which doubled our floor space,” Carter says. “The catch was that we all needed to stay in the office while the expansion occurred—without incurring downtime. As the construction was underway, Computer Business came in to plan and install the new infrastructure, which they did faultlessly.” D’Uva appreciates Computer Business’s ability to work with other vendors. “We needed someone to handle the wiring inside the walls,” D’Uva says. “Computer Business recommended a wiring company that did a great job.”

As part of the buildout, Computer Business created a dedicated server closet to bring order to the haphazard collection of infrastructure built by previous vendors.

Deploying the New Server
Soon after completing the office buildup, the Chamber decided it was time to replace a 10-year-old server near the end of its life.

“The big concern in replacing a server is that you will lose data,” Carter says. “But because everything had gone so smoothly with our office buildout, with Computer Business moving our computers and relocating everything to the new design, we knew we could trust Computer Business to handle our move to a new server. They told us that all of our data was backed up to multiple points, and if anything went wrong, the data would be completely protected and available. Of course, their work with the new server went perfectly.”

Benefits
West Orange Chamber of Commerce enjoys several benefits from working with Computer Business, including rapid response times, dependability, a worry-free buildout, a new server closet, support for remote workers, and robust security.

Rapid Response Times: “It’s Like Having Our Own Internal IT Group”
West Orange Chamber of Commerce is impressed by the rapid response time Computer Business provides.

“We’re a small not-for-profit organization, so we can’t afford to have a full-time IT person on staff,” Carter says. “That’s why it’s important to have someone like Clinton [Pownall, President & CEO of Computer Business Consultants] and his team. They are my IT department. Working with them is definitely like having our own internal IT group because I can notify them of a problem, and within 15 to 30 minutes, I have a response with either a fix or with a plan for exactly what needs to be done.”

D’Uva also appreciates the rapid response to IT problems. “Just because we are a small organization doesn’t put us at the end of their list of people to take care of,” D’Uva says. “We get the same immediate response as if we were a big company. We really appreciate that.”

Dependability: “I Used to Worry Every Night if the Server Would be Running in the Morning”
The professionalism and dependability that Computer Business brings to its clients has been refreshing and greatly appreciated by the West Orange Chamber of Commerce.

“Their overall professionalism in all that they do is more cohesive than anything we had seen in earlier IT providers,” D’Uva says. “We have a new sense of security that our information is safe, and they have deep knowledge of all the software and systems that we have. They know how it all works together, so they can easily troubleshoot our questions. They are a great IT company.”

Computer Business has brought peace of mind to Carter, who carries responsibility for the Chamber’s IT resources.

“I used to worry every night that the server and workstations wouldn’t be running in the morning,” Carter says. “The server was in a corner of the room, and the first thing I did when I arrived was look to see if its green light was still on. I no longer wake up in the middle of the night thinking about that. I no longer rush into the office to see if the green light is on. I know that if that green light ever does go out, Clinton and his company will get everything up and running and that our data is always backed up and protected.”

Modeling its Message on High Tech
As part of its mission, the West Orange Chamber of Commerce strives to keep its members up to date with all things business-related—including technology.

“At the same time, we were urging members to stay up to date on their internal technology, we felt our own office wasn’t up to date with IT, and it certainly wasn’t top notch,” Carter recalls. “Now that I have Clinton and Computer Business Consultants, I feel that we are operating on a higher level, which helps us make sure that we can deliver to our members the best of the best.”

A Worry-Free Buildout
As part of West Orange Chamber of Commerce’s expansion into the second half of its building, Computer Business worked to keep the server, workstations, and other infrastructure seamlessly up and running. The work included accommodating new wire drops as desks were moved from one area to another, enabling building construction to continue without disturbing the Chamber’s operations.

“Computer Business created a plan for the new layout and where the infrastructure would be, and how things would be re-routed, in phase with building construction,” Carter says. “My concern was I would have employees that were not able to access the network and not be able to work, and therefore were not being productive. But Clinton told me many times not to worry, and he assured me that we would never have any downtime, and he fulfilled his promise.”

A New Server Closet: “They Did Beautiful Work, It Used to be a Spaghetti Mess”
For Carter, the favorite part of the buildout was the creation of a server closet. “Previously, we didn’t have an IT closet,” Carter says. “Everything was in a corner of a room. It was a spaghetti mess of cords wrapped around servers, and it was just a nightmare.” Computer Business turned the spaghetti mess into a showcase.

“Now we have an IT closet with a rack, and everything’s professionally done and labeled,” Carter says. “I can walk in there and know exactly what any cord goes to because it is all nice and labeled and neatly run. When I bring people on tours of our new building, I always end in the IT room, because it’s my favorite. It’s an organizer’s dream.”

Support for Remote Workers
As businesses shut down across the country for the COVID-19 pandemic, Computer Business assisted the West Orange Chamber of Commerce in enabling its employees to work securely from home.

“Computer Business created secure access for our employees, and they were able to do this by working with employees remotely so tight security could be implemented without having to meet with employees in their homes,” Carter says. “Everyone was able to access the files they needed. This relieved a lot of pressure for us. Our work continued uninterrupted.”

“They provided us with secure yet seamless access to our data,” D’Uva says. “I’ve been able to work from my home 10 miles from the office, as well as from my son’s home in Ohio, and it has all been seamless.”

Providing Robust Security
In a world where computer breaches have become all too familiar, the West Orange Chamber of Commerce is thankful for the robust security provided by Computer Business.

“Computer Business is constantly updating our systems to keep us current with security patches and everything else required to keep our systems safe,” Carter says. “We’ll read about something like the latest Microsoft security breach, and Computer Business will already be on top of it, securing our infrastructure.”

“In the past, we spent a lot of time going through junk email, and worrying about our system integrity,” D’Uva says. “Krista [Compton Carter] says she sleeps easier knowing that Computer Business is keeping us secure. I agree. We can all sleep easier. We’ve become more efficient and more confident because of all that Computer Business does.”