Keyser Marston Associates
Business Challenge
Keyser Marston Associates, Inc. (KMA), now in its 30th year, is one of the west’s premier real estate advisory firms with offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego, providing integrated services from project concept to opening. KMA relies heavily on technology to deliver quality client services. KMA’s IT administrator of many years was leaving the firm and virtually all IT operations and management knowledge resided with this one individual. KMA realized it needed to manage this business support risk, resolve outstanding IT issues, improve service quality and lower the cost of IT support over time.
KMA objectives:
• Resolve outstanding technical issues and stabilize IT operations support
• Operate systems and networks in all 3 offices from San Francisco
• Effectively staff an IT Help Desk function for the required hours each day
• Provide 24×7 IT support in case of emergencies
X2 Solution
X2 went to work solving desktop user support, server and network issues, resolving root causes permanently so that KMA had a stable IT infrastructure that could be supported effectively and remotely. X2 then performed a structured, detailed assessment of KMA’s ongoing IT operations, Help Desk and Emergency support needs and validated those with management. X2 proposed to satisfy these requirements with one X2 staff member, four hours per day, five days per week plus emergency support as needed. In addition X2 proposed projects to:
• Improve KMA’s data network to allow for failover and recovery
• Install a Virtual Private Network for KMA and X2 staff to work remotely
• Outsource email services and reduce telecom vendor monthly costs
Benefits
As a result of X2’s efforts KMA has realized business benefits consisting of:
• Increased user productivity from consistent, quality IT Help Desk support
• Reduced business operations risk from highly reliable IT performance
• Reduced capital investment from increased useful life of installed equipment
• 25% reduction in systems operating costs from technology simplification
• 37% reduction in annual telecom costs from network and billing optimization
KMA is a current X2 client and serves as a typical example of X2’s commitment and capabilities to deliver 100% client satisfaction.
