The Situation
Sunstar Insurance Group knew they needed expert IT support. Their IT processes and training setup could no longer handle higher-level support calls, nor efficiently manage their account licenses. In short, they had outgrown their current managed service provider and uncovered gaps in their staff’s physical bandwidth that were negatively impacting employees, clients, and their standard of service.
“We needed a true partner, not just a vendor,” recounts Michelle Price, a Sunstar IT Manager. “We needed someone who could help our in-house team increase efficiency and provide support for issues beyond our staff’s capacity to solve at that time.”
Sunstar’s requirements for a new partner were threefold: they desired a partner that had the knowledge and capabilities of higher-level IT support, could teach their team members, and also improve internal structures.
The Challenge
“Because we were in a growth phase, it was overwhelming to try to tackle training, capacity, license organization, and knowledge issues all at once,” says Price.Sunstar IT employees found themselves in situations without enough manpower, knowledge about specific issues, or hours in the day to address their growing clientele’s requests. On top of that, because of their double-digit growth, Sunstar was paying for extra Microsoft 365 licenses and not fully utilizing their suite of services.
“Anders fit our needs in every way,” says Price. “We wanted someone who could not only answer technical questions above our knowledge, but also educate us and provide genuine value rather than basing interactions purely for their own profit.”
The Solution
Anders worked closely with Sunstar to determine their pain points and a clear path for how they could best support the Anders team. Applying their tech expertise, Anders stepped in: helping with higher-level support tickets when needed, providing crucial after-hours aid for issues such as a server going down, and identifying and communicating issues before they became larger problems.
“We feel we found a true, trusted partner in Anders. They created solutions for us that aligned with who we are as a company and our business goals,” says Price. “Their approachable, knowledgeable staff acted as advisors that invited collaboration and discussion. They really are an extension of our team.”
Anders additionally provided cleanup of disorganized licenses as well as training on license management to continue cutting down on unnecessary costs. The thoroughness, professionalism, and comfort Anders instilled in every touchpoint helped Sunstar’s team feel more confident and supported than previous providers.
The Results
“Having someone you can trust to set up systems or answer questions might sound basic but it provides invaluable peace of mind and time,” says Price.“Just knowing that we have someone in our corner who’s there for us, no matter if it’s a rare emergency or simply to provide advice to make our internal infrastructure stronger, this partnership is a blessing.”
The future looks even brighter for Sunstar. With new acquisitions leading to clients spreading across the world, migration to cloud-based servers, and increased organization, their partnership with Anders primed them for success!
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