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Case Studies
State Saves Taxpayer Money Using Ntirety
Acacia Systems Consultants Inc., founded in 1998, is a database–consulting firm that specializes in the design, construction, implementation and administration of medium to very large complex database systems. It services state and international governmental agencies, and is an approved Information Technology (IT) vendor with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
In 1999, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts utilized Acacia Systems for a systems integration effort to streamline business processes and improve customer service statewide for the Massachusetts Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Environmental Law Enforcement (DFWELE).
DFWELE's three major departments – fisheries, boating and hunting – had been operating independently and the state wanted to cut costs by combining processes that were being duplicated across the three departments. To achieve their goal and to improve customer relations, DFWELE created an e–commerce system that would let their customers conduct the purchase and renewal of fishing licenses over the Internet.
Acacia Systems helped consolidate DFWELE's database, provided support for the system's data architecture and created enhancements to the project including software add–ons, reports and web interfacing. With Acacia's assistance, DFWELE created a very modern and sophisticated internet/intranet database system.
Shortly after the improvements were made, however, the economic downturn in Massachusetts mandated severe cuts in the state budget which precluded all but bare bones funding for DFWELE's IT budget. The state agency had a brand new system with no one to monitor it. With volume increasing on the new e–commerce site – from a handful of requests to over 100,000 a year – Acacia President Nowa Lubega recognized that the site would require 24x7 coverage.
The Need to Outsource
Lubega and Andy Petrie, MIS Chief Department of Law Enforcement recognized that hiring a database administrator for the weekends and late night shift would entail high costs – more than the budget could cover. They concluded that the optimal solution was to outsource the database administration function and Lubega recommended that the work be subcontracted to Ntirety Technologies.
Calling on the Experts
Lubega knew the president of Ntirety Technologies, Michael Corey, for almost 20 years and knew he was one of the premiere experts in database administration, having written books and lectured on the subject. Lubega called the Ntirety president to discuss DFWELE's needs.
Mike was able to tell me the exact "flavor" of assistance DFWELE needed," Lubega said. He proposed support that would save money, would be cost effective and would provide DFWELE with the 24X7 coverage they were looking for. We estimate that DFWELE's use of Ntirety's remote DBA monitoring service recognized savings that were ten–fold.
It also gave the state office "Peace of Mind."
Ntirety's remote monitoring gave DFWELE a cost–effective system that let them relax. They no longer had to worry about problems that could occur at two in the morning. They knew they were covered. This eliminated their need to hire a full–time person or contractor to cover their system.
Without their own database administrator, DFWELE put 100 percent reliance on the Ntirety team of experts. Ntirety Technologies took over the entire database administration function, including backing up the database, monitoring it and making sure it didn't run out of space.
Ntirety has not dropped the ball once, Petrie said. The relationship between DFWELE, Ntirety and Acacia has been excellent. Ntirety does everything and nothing has come up to suggest that this relationship will not continue to work very well.
Potential Crisis Averted
Knowing that database do not run without occasional mishaps, Lubega was confident the Ntirety team would be able to avert or handle any crisis that arose in the DFWELE office. He was proven right when a DFWELE developer corrupted a database.
All we did was make a phone call to the Ntirety team in charge of our site, told Them what happened and what we needed. Within minutes everything was back to normal.
Friendly Customers Relations Are Added Bonus
Unlike the stereotyped IT consultant who is good in technology but weak in human interface, Ntirety's teams of experts do not sacrifice effective and friendly communication. Lubega noted the effectiveness of Ntirety's team: "I know a lot of people who are very good technically, but are a disaster when it comes to people The Ntirety staff is not like that. They are nice people. They have a very good customer service aspect to their consulting, and that's very important whether it's on a day–to–day basis or in the midst of a crisis. The Ntirety team has never wavered from a professional, friendly attitude. That counts for a lot. I know that this aspect of the business is stressed by the Ntirety president because he supplies all of his customers with a score card to monitor the effectiveness of his team members."
Smart Business Planning
State Agencies with big IT needs but small IT budgets can recognize true value by outsourcing their database administration needs. Commenting from his own experience, Petrie said. My agency is a good example of the kind of enterprise that can benefit from outsourcing their DBA functions. Many times we cannot afford to hire our own DBA's or require our in–house personnel to cover nights and weekends. Ntirety allowed us to save money while providing our agency the service it needed at a price tag we could afford.