Context & Continuity

Press Release: CenterBeam Awarded SAS 70 Type II Certification

CenterBeam’s Quality Initiative Passes Rigorous Audit

SAN JOSÉ, CALIF., July 5, 2005 – After an extensive audit, CenterBeam has been awarded SAS 70 Type II certification. The SAS (Statement on Auditing Standards) 70 certification is an internationally-recognized standard developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. The Type II certification means an independent auditor examines CenterBeam’s day-to-day procedures to determine if they continue to perform as documented and issues a report on their findings every six months.

“Winning SAS 70 Type II certification is another important step on CenterBeam’s quest for quality,” said Kevin Francis, CenterBeam’s president and chief executive officer. “The certification means our procedures are well-documented, support the delivery of our services and can withstand the scrutiny of an independent auditor not just one time but every day. SAS 70 certification supports one of CenterBeam’s most important values: Integrity. It documents that we do what we say we do.”

Press Release: Bonita Lee Appointed CenterBeam Manager For Support and Technical Operations

IT Veteran Helps Manage CenterBeam’s Rapid Growth

SAN JOSÉ, CALIF., June 21, 2005 – CenterBeam today announced it has promoted IT veteran Bonita Lee to a new management role that leverages her extensive experience and capabilities. In her new role, Ms. Lee will manage Express Access customer support and the technical operations teams based in Saint John, New Brunswick. Ms. Lee’s experience spans operations accountability in North America and Asia.

“CenterBeam’s rapid expansion is fueling our demand for exceptional staff,” said Anthony Hardt, vice president of CenterBeam’s North American Solution Center. “During her time at CenterBeam, Bonita proved she has the experience, talent, skills and values CenterBeam needs to serve our current clients and build a platform to support our new clients. She’s a proven leader.”

“CenterBeam is engaged in a quest for quality, and Bonita is a key coach on the team,” said Neil Morrison, director of technical operations. “Bonita is a Lean Six Sigma green belt and trained in using ITIL, the IT Infrastructure Library that is used to aid in the implementation of the framework for IT Service Management (ITSM).

Infoworld, 6/7/2005: Money Talks

Understanding any IT operation begins with a hard look at where the money is going

by Chad Dickerson

InfoWorld is a small company, but that hasn’t kept me from continuing to allocate serious cash to outsourcing. I’ve written many times about my decision more than three years ago to outsource our desktop PC and file/print infrastructure to CenterBeam. In fact, the remotely managed services provided by companies such as CenterBeam and Everdream (CenterBeam’s main competitor) make it seem foolhardy to run your own in-house support services.

I’ve run the numbers many times and one of the great mysteries in IT management for me is why every company isn’t a customer of one of these two companies. Their services aren’t perfect, of course, but most IT departments are far less perfect due to limited service hours and lack of expertise in some areas. Small IT departments can’t be good at everything, and they can’t be everywhere at once.

My advice to CTOs and CIOs who spend significant time on mundane desktop-support issues: The sooner you let that function go, the better. The depth, breadth, and quality of service from companies such as CenterBeam and Everdream scream “game over” for the desktop-support professional as soon as more companies wake up to a value proposition that is already there -- right now.

[Complete Story Here]

HP World, 6/1/2005: HP Partner Antes Up

Solution Provider Embraces Blade Servers to Support Business Growth

by Joe Panettieri

To the survivors go the spoils. More than three years after the dot-com implosion, one of Hewlett-Packard’s customers continues to thrive as a managed service provider (MSP).

Indeed, hundreds of midsize customers across 16 countries and four continents rely on CenterBeam Inc. for IT outsourcing and managed services. Unlike many MSPs, CenterBeam survived the Internet implosion because the company focused on specific customer pain points rather than hyping hosted applications.

For instance, CenterBeam’s desktop management service automatically updates customers’ PCs with the latest anti-virus definitions. The service also tests and deploys critical operating system and software patches without disrupting customers’ day-to-day business operations. And if disaster strikes, customers need not worry: All customer PCs are backed up daily—making individual file or complete system restores possible.

“Many businesses simply don’t have the time to run around tracking and installing the latest software patches,” noted Ed Golod, president of Revenue Accelerators, a sales consulting firm that serves integrators and technology firms in New York. “CenterBeam addresses those issues and lets you focus on your core business.”

Sourcing Magazine, 6/1/2005: Outsourcing IT at the Same Time You Move Your Company

It’s hard enough to move IT operations to a service provider. But imagine planning to outsource at the same time you’re moving the company to a different state. Is this a project management nightmare or a bold stroke of genius? This case study, which features healthcare services provider ChartOne and IT operations vendor CenterBeam, exposes a little of both. Plus, you’ll be able to read through collateral material, including a cost assessment spreadsheet that is a great starting point for sorting through your IT expenses and a sample of an IT Support Case Analysis supplied by the vendor to the client on a real-time basis.