The North Carolina non-profit discovers a new answer to better support their mission of helping deaf and hard of hearing children: Google Apps for Business.

BEGINNINGS for Parents of Children Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, Inc., has provided emotional support and access to information as a central resource for families with deaf or hard of hearing children since 1987. The team of 15 professionals within the non-profit organization offers an impartial approach to meeting the diverse needs of these families and the professionals who serve them. However, their good work came to a sudden halt one day when their internal server unexpectedly crashed and left the entire organization in technological limbo.

CHALLENGE

The organization’s mission needed to remain focused on the needs of their clients and stakeholders and not on maintaining servers and software. When their internal server went down, they didn’t have the IT resources to fix it. This challenge presented an opportunity to move in another direction and to optimize their business infrastructure with fiscal prudence.

SOLUTION

BEGINNINGS entered into an agreement to begin using Google Apps for Business the same day their internal server crashed. They contacted Accent Plus who performed the migration as well as provided training and support. During the process, they also opted to shut
down their complicated VPN and remove the old server and related equipment. Now, the entire organization is using an enterprise-class, cloud computing solution.

RESULTS

Business operations have experienced zero interruption since shifting to Google Apps. In addition to email, the organization is enjoying the use of all the various tools available through the platform such as Docs, Calendar, Chat, and more to communicate and collaborate from multiple locations. The ease of use and reduction of costs coupled with the peace of mind of keeping information safe, secure, and running efficiently in the cloud has the company back on track and more focused than ever on the important work they do in the community.

At a glance

What did they need?

• Reliable back-office operations and support
• An affordable and easier way to approach business continuity
• More time to focus on their mission instead of IT

What did they do?

• Removed internal servers and migrated to Google Apps for Business with NeoNova
• Shut down their complicated VPN and use of related equipment
• Redefined the rules of collaboration with 15 professionals in two offices

What happened?

• Cut overall IT operational costs
• Increased focus on productivity through their overarching mission
• Promoted enterprise-wide collaboration on one secure and reliable platform

Download the case study: AccentPlusCaseStudies-Beginnings

On April 16, a violent storm system ravaged 20 North Carolina counties, destroying homes, knocking over power lines, and causing North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue to declare a state of emergency in several areas.  While it pales in comparison to the loss of life and property suffered by some families, many businesses suffered severe setbacks and a severe loss of productivity due to technical issues created by the storm.

Power outages were one of the more significant effects from the onslaught of tornadoes. Electricity was lost in the city of Raleigh, home to the North Carolina state capitol as well as many major banks and firms. As servers and data centers shut down, many businesses saw their operations slow to a halt.

One Raleigh-based marketing firm, Three Ships Media, was able to overcome these potentially crippling effects with the power of cloud computing. While their office was spared from damage, their electricity was disabled with no timeline for when it might be restored. With more questions than answers, founder and CEO Zach Clayton was stretched to formulate a plan to continue work under the conditions.

After some time, a solution was reached; the entire company would temporarily relocate to a nearby university library to work remotely. Armed with cell phones and laptops, employees marched into the library amidst college students and professors to continue business as usual.  Since the company uses the Google Apps cloud for the much of their content production and file-sharing, little besides hardware was needed from the office. Employees downloaded work and documents and were able to maintain a typical operating day in an entirely foreign environment.

Electricity was restored that afternoon, and the team moved back into their home office, yet clients would have never known they were gone. Work had continued in the morning from a remote location without a hitch.  As Monty Cook, Vice President of Audience Development, noted, “If we had been bound by a traditional server setup we would not have been nearly as effective, efficient and responsive to client needs. Our agility and nimbleness was on display, in part, because of cloud computing solutions like Google Docs, Central Desktop and Salesforce.com … plus a good wireless connection”.

Through the agility and flexibility of cloud computing, Three Ships Media was able to rapidly adjust their work environment and plans, communicate this change with their employees, and meet at a remote location to continue work without suffering any downtime or loss in productivity.

While we are proud to share a success story of how cloud computing helped a business overcome a difficult situation, our thoughts and prayers are with those who experienced loss and are still suffering.

GIE SA es una Compañía Independiente de Servicios de Ingeniería resultado de un exitoso proceso de incubación iniciado por profesionales de la Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata y la Fundación Tecnológica.

Gie chose Accent Plus, Inc. for their Google Apps Premier Edition migration and deployment.  Based in Argentina, Gie needed an enterprise-class e-mail system to replace their unreliable legacy systems and a partner to ensure that business impact was minimized during the deployment.

Accent Plus, Inc. remotely migrated mailboxes off-hours to ensure a seamless transition.  Training materials were provided (Spanish) and Gie is now taking advantage of Google Apps Premier Edition services.

Please contact us to learn how Accent Plus, Inc. can help your business seamlessly deploy Google Apps.

Imagine Health^® identifies the best specialists and hospitals in an employer’s geographic area to create an employer-sponsored performance network called a Smart Employer Network^© (Smart E Network^©). An employer-sponsored network is designed to include healthcare providers dedicated to improving clinical care and reducing the cost of care. Smart E Networks^© are created expressly for significant employer sponsors with a large concentration of employees in a geographical area or areas. Smart E Networks^© often compliment employer-sponsored primary care centers.

Accent Plus, Inc. provided Imagine Health^® Google Apps Premier Edition licenses, full deployment and migration services.

Contact us for Google Apps deployment and migration services.

Good’s Furniture is America’s Furniture Showplace. People travel from all over the Midwest to shop at Good’s in Kewanee, Illinois for the biggest selection of brand name furniture and great prices.

Accent Plus, Inc. provided full setup and deployment services for Good’s Furniture to ensure a seamless transition from a legacy e-mail system.

Please contact us to learn how we can assist with your Google Apps deployment.

Three Ships Media helps innovative clients navigate the emerging media by creating customized interactive media platforms that generate leads, engage customers, and build brands.  Three Ships Media chose Accent Plus, Inc. as their Google Apps Authorized Reseller to fully manage their Google Apps Premier Edition migration and deployment.

Armed with a suite of reliable, powerful and secure cloud-based applications; Three Ships Media can focus on their business, not running e-mail and file and web servers.  Three Ships Media now uses Google Apps Premier Edition to manage e-mail and contacts, share calendars, share documents and create sites.

To learn more about how Accent Plus, Inc. can help your business move to Google Apps, please contact us.

Hunter Automated Machinery, world leader in matchplate molding and sand technology goes Google.  Headquartered in Illinois with offices in Brazil, China and Italy, Hunter Automated Machinery needed a secure, internet-based platform to replace their Microsoft Exchange Servers.  Google Apps Premier Edition was chosen due to 25GB mailbox storage, less spam, and a 99.9% uptime SLA, and enhanced email security.

Accent Plus, Inc. was a key partner to Hunter Automated Machinery during their deployment to Google Apps Premier Edition.  Providing full service migration from Microsoft Exchange Server, Accent Plus, Inc. successfully migrated all end-user mailboxes to Google Apps including mail, contacts and calendar items.

Using Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook, Hunter Automated Machinery users can access their email, contacts and calendars in full sync without worrying about Microsoft Exchange mailbox quotas, reliability or maintenance.

If your business has multiple locations with a complex LAN/WAN design, switch to Google Apps and eliminate support costs related to network support.  Contact us for more information.

Common Sense, LLC is an experienced services company specializing in powerful, easy to use and measurable software, websites and technology integrations.

Accent Plus, Inc. provided direct license sales and support as a Google Apps Authorized Reseller for Common Sense, LLC.

From license sales for Google Apps Premier Edition, to full service enterprise deployments; Accent Plus, Inc. can assist your company make the move to the cloud.  Contact us to discuss your requirements.

Based in Texas, EULA ISD replaced their existing Microsoft Exchange Server with a new Google Apps EDU Edition deployment.  Accent Plus, Inc. provided deployment planning and training for EULA ISD’s Information Technology department.

Utilizing a dual delivery migration allowed for a gradual migration of their large user base.  Accent Plus, Inc helped guide EULA ISD into the deployment, configured the dual delivery for Microsoft Exchange and trained IT staff for migration and installation using Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook.

For more information regarding the planning and deployment of your Microsoft Exchange to Google Apps migration, please contact us.