R&D Contracting takes advantage of value pricing

R&D Contracting, a maintenance and construction contractor specialising in the refurbishment of buildings according to customer specifications, has a distributed IT structure, with its head office and various supervisors on sites requiring 24/7 connectivity. The business relies heavily on email for communication purposes, and requires supervisors to have constant and fast cloud-based access to centralised information stored on the head office servers. R&D Contracting therefore requires a reliable network, stable connectivity and always-on IT services. As a Small to Medium Enterprise (SME) with anywhere between 30 and 40 people requiring access to the IT infrastructure, they also require personalised service and support. When their previous service provider failed to deliver the required service levels, they turned to SME IT specialists Green Apple IT to provide IT support.

“Without email, it is a real challenge for us to communicate, and could even result in lost business and revenue. We simply cannot run our business without IT, and need support to ensure that downtime is kept to a minimum. We felt that the pricing of our previous IT support provider was too high, and that their service levels were no longer justifying these high cost. After searching for a new service provider online, Green Apple IT came to our attention. We were impressed with their proposition and their pricing, and have taken up their services on an ad hoc basis as of October 2012,” explains Calvin Rooy, Asset and Procurement Manager at R&D Contracting.

Green Apple IT is providing R&D Contracting with a full range of hardware and software services and support, including the setup of new equipment and troubleshooting of hardware and software issues as and when necessary. R&D Contracting is also exploring the possibility of purchasing new equipment through Green Apple IT, which has established relationships with channel partners and is able to provide competitive pricing. Green Apple IT also assisted with the repair of a non-functional server fan free of charge as a value add for us as their new customer.

“We pay for any services on an hourly basis, which means that we receive all of the benefits of full IT support without being locked into a contract. This suits our purposes perfectly, as we experience intermittent IT problems and do not require constant support. The team at Green Apple IT offers hands-on involvement and they are both fast and efficient, so we are saving a lot of money on callout fees,” says Rooy.

“Green Apple IT is a small company that offers excellent, personalised service with a professional approach and efficient operations and service delivery. We have been very impressed with their assistance to date, and would have no hesitation in recommending their services,” he concludes.

R&D Contracting is currently exploring the possibility of implementing a Service Level Agreement (SLA) service with Green Apple IT.