Case Studies

Valor IT provides IT outsourcing and services that accelerate your business. This allows you to focus on your business, growing revenues, enjoying increased operational efficiency, and gaining the competitive advantage. We use information technology as the enabler. We are not product driven. We focus on solving business problems.
As your strategic partner, we will help you effectively use technology to solve business problems and keep your business running efficiently. Prompt, efficient service with a personal interest in your success and goals will be the foundation of our professional relationship.
Here are examples of some our our previous projects.

We can provide strategic planning to match technology to your company’s goals or hands-on installation to make your small to medium sized business more efficient and productive.We develop hardware and software solutions in a reusable modular approach, allowing rapid design and implementation at a reasonable cost to clients.

Connect Multiple Offices

Client:
Manufacturer of metal doors for commercial construction projects with 100 employees in five offices spread across multiple states.

Business Problem:
They were growing rapidly and adding more offices and individual remote users who required access to information in the main office. The problem was that their current procedures could not keep pace with their growth. They had been communicating by phone and fax, but this was quickly becoming insufficient to meet increased demand for information sharing. Their mission critical tool was a custom developed database system running in the main office.

Solution:
To solve the problem, we developed a three stage plan: 1) We would improve the efficiency of the database and internal network 2) We would implement a telecommunications system to connect remote offices and individual users to the main office and 3) We would devise a method to efficiently share the database with the remote locations.

The end result was increased functionality and stability, reduced costs and a happy client. We were able to finish this project ahead of schedule, in three months instead of the four months as estimated initially. In spite of slightly higher initial costs due to the purchase of additional server hardware and software, we were able to decrease the costs over the life of the project due to lower recurring telecommunications costs.

Streamline Business Flow

Client:
An Application Service Provider (ASP) with 60 employees and offices on both coasts who provides both hosted internet-based group collaboration software and turnkey solutions.

Business Problem:
The sales and invoicing process was not working. We were asked to evaluate the problem, modify, reengineer and document the process and use technology to streamline the new process. Upon investigation, we discovered that 1) there was no consistency: Every deal with a client was ad hoc. 2) The sale price and structure of billable items bore no relation to our cost structure. 3) Because each deal was ad hoc, the accounting department had to create a new billing structure for each client. 4) There was no mechanism in place for ensuring the timely and efficient delivery or the quality of service.

Solution:
We interviewed the domain experts, examined each component, determined a cost structure, converted this into standard packages and set prices that would appeal to customers. Next, we separated the quality assurance duties from the technical support department. We created policies, procedures and responsibilities for each department and communicated those clearly to everyone involved. We evaluated various technologies for automating the entire process and decided to write a web-based application that was accessible by anyone in the company from anywhere, but that restricted each user to access only their limited piece of functionality.The client would then maintain and enhance it internally. The client received an application in less time, for less money, and with greater functionality than if they had purchased an off-the-shelf product or had written one entirely in-house.

Increase Information Availability

Client:
An Application Service Provider (ASP) with 60 employees and offices on both coasts who provides both hosted internet-based group collaboration software and turnkey solutions.

Business Problem:
They were outgrowing their computing resources as their business expanded. It was taking longer to reconfigure services and get clients up and running. They also needed to increase reliability. They could potentially leave their clients without service for hours, but the clients required ÒThree NinesÓ in availability, or being up 99.999%.

Solution:
We designed, built and outfitted a $1M dedicated computer facility with battery backup and redundant power supplies, determined policies and procedures for its operating, and hired the staff to run a 24/7 Network Operating Center (NOC). We configured, installed, maintained and provided troubleshooting for a variety of platforms including Windows 2000, Macintosh and UNIX desktop and Server computers, in addition to networks running XINET’s K-AShare on SGI IRIX OS, AppleShare Servers running on Macintosh OS, NeXT Servers running NeXTStep and Macintosh OS X Servers running on XServes, XRAID storage solutions and MS Windows 2000 Server software. We directed the installation of SONET Ring DS3, T1, DSL and POTS communication lines in addition to the 100 MB/Sec twisted pair Ethernet, Fiber Optic and Out-of-Band Management networks. We installed SUN ETL 7/3500 Tape Drive units for network backup, EMC2 – Clariion units for network storage, F5 Big IP, Cisco PIX firewall, Cisco 7200, 3600 and 5000 routers and switches.

Virtual Conferencing

Client:
An Application Service Provider (ASP) with 60 employees and offices on both coasts who provides both hosted internet-based group collaboration software and turnkey solutions.

Business Problem:
They needed to conduct regular meetings between two offices on the East and West coasts which could be attended by two to twenty staff members on each side. The CEO asked us to devise a means of efficiently sharing and conveying information between the offices that was easy to configure and use.

Solution:
We designed and implemented a video teleconferencing system between the two offices. This utilized Polycom cameras and 32Ó televisions for video conferencing, Polycom speakerphones for teleconferencing and electronic whiteboards with projection video systems. The whiteboards were connected to a computer at each office that could capture (in color), store, print and manipulate the information written on the board with special colored markers and optionally mirror its content onto the whiteboard at the other office. The primary connection for this system was a VPN across the public internet running out of the main telecommunications center over a DS3 and into the West coast sales office over a T1. We used a dedicated DSL connection as a backup for redundancy in case of network congestion or other difficulty. The result was the capability of holding impromptu virtual meetings of any size and collaborating just as though everyone were in the same room. This greatly enhanced the speed of their product development and marketing while reducing costs due to airline travel and lost productivity.

Product Simulation

Client:
One of the world’s premier manufacturers of plastic injection-molding machines who is based in Germany. These machines take raw tablets of plastic and create finished items such as toy soldiers, Tupperware or pieces of your car.

Business Problem:
Because their equipment is so large, it is difficult to show its advantages to a potential customer. A salesperson cannot simply take a machine to a client. One of their advantages was ease of operation. This means that an unskilled worker requires less training to operate the machine properly. This translates into lower training and operating costs and less wasted material. These benefits can only be conveyed by demonstrating the machine’s controls to a potential client. Previously this required bringing clients into regional demonstration centers. Because they sell equipment all over the world, it was costly to setup these centers and therefore hindered sales.

Solution:
The solution was to create a software application that simulated the machine’s controls. A salesperson could then install this simulation on a laptop computer and take it directly to the customer.

As our staff is multi-lingual, most of this work was conducted in German, the native tongue for the client. This made it much easier to extract information from key domain experts, decreased the development time and increased the quality of the final product.

Mission Critical Application

Client:
A small law firm of about a dozen people. They specialized in creating official documents that expressed foreign education as an equivalent in the United Stated educational system. These were used by foreigners to secure employment or further their education in the United States.

Business Problem:
Their procedures for processing and tracking these requests were entirely manual and too labor intensive. They could not keep up with increasing demand for their services.

Solution:
We wrote an application that logged the details of a new request. The head examiner could then quickly review all incoming requests, assign them to the appropriate expert and track it’s progress to ensure a timely delivery. Because they charged for and guaranteed certain turn-around times for their various products, this tracking function was quite important. This program allowed them to immediately check the status of a request and also generated invoices and shipping labels automatically. The result of this project was that they reduced the amount of time spent on processing a request by 35% and could therefore handle many more requests without increasing their staff. We achieved these results through knowledge of the design, development and implementation of software and a thorough understanding of the user requirements.