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Joseph S. Zuramski, PresidentBuilt on this school of thought, ReliaSource—a woman-owned small-sized company specializing in technology-centric business solutions— prides itself on being flexible, agile, and responsive. The ReliaSource IT Mission-Critical Services offering began back in 2002 and has been evolving to this day to include a network of over 800 technicians nationwide and a Field Deploy Model that leverages nearly two decades of deployment experience coupled with the power of a custom ServiceNOW delivery platform. ReliaSource has deployed, installed and configured over 3 million devices and currently supports over 140,000 users with individual ITSM and comprehensive Device as a Service (DaaS) solutions.
In an interview with CIO Applications, Joseph S. Zuramski, the President of ReliaSource, discusses at length about the latest trends and emerging challenges in the IT operations management consulting space and how ReliaSource is assisting clients with its innovative solutions.
What are some of the trends that you expect to have an impact in the IT Operations Management consulting space this year, and how is ReliaSource planning to leverage these trends and evolve?
One of the biggest trends impacting IT Operations Management is workflow automation; specifically, the utilization of the ServiceNow Platform. Workflow automation removes mundane, manual and time-consuming tasks and replaces them with automated processes, designed on business rules and engineered to deliver efficiencies. An added benefit is a real-time data visualization of the entire environment. ReliaSource is both an avid user of the platform as well as a ServiceNow Implementation Partner.
In the federal and commercial world, we are witnessing the shift from ownership of devices and applications to the ‘As-a-Service’ model. Keeping close tabs on these trends, ReliaSource has garnered nearly two decades of experience managing all aspects of IT Support Services. From large-scale nationwide deployments of tens of thousands of devices, onsite warranty support and helpdesk to an innovative IT Depot model delivering configured end-user devices across the globe—we can provide all aspects of IT support.
When you combine these capabilities in conjunction with the acquisition of hardware, you build a much more efficient system of support and delivery at a lower cost.
In the end, our success is defined by repeat customers
DaaS eases the growing pressure on IT as it hinges on outsourcing the hardware, software, and management of the equipment to external providers, like ReliaSource. Subscribing to a DaaS provider would allow an organization to update to newer hardware more frequently and quickly without much strain on the organization itself. We see this as the future and have positioned ourselves to support our customers when they make the transition to DaaS.
What are the challenges your clients face in the IT Operations Management space, and how is ReliaSource effectively addressing these issues?
A significant challenge lies in transitioning from the traditional way of doing things to a modern DaaS model. Our clients often express concerns about the role of IT staff once they shift to the new model. However, when they realize that their valuable resources can be tasked to deliver high-performance services to customers as well as focus on innovation that makes them more competitive; they begin looking to the ‘how’ and ‘who’ of migrating to DaaS.
This can be best explained with an example. Imagine if Yellow Taxi Co. would have moved to DaaS and in turn, utilized internal IT staff to develop an Uber-like app, or if Sears would have leveraged DaaS and had their IT shop build an Amazon-esque online presence just five short years ago. Obviously, the business of business is business, not technology support. The key to migration to an As-a-Service model is trust and visibility—trust in the provider and visibility into their performance and key metrics or SLAs. When the ServiceNow Platform is combined with DaaS, you have an efficient system that can provide all stakeholders, from C-level to IT managers, with the data they require in real-time through dashboards on a single pane of glass.
Please shed some light on the IT Operations Management consulting you provide based on its methodology, features and benefits involved.
Our processes have been refined over time and based on the lessons learned to value-engineer everything we do in a manner that guarantees success. As part of our DaaS model, we leverage the power of the ServiceNow platform, but what separates us from other players is our ability to make use of our Workflow Automation Modeling (“WAM”) toolset to rapidly design custom configured workflow systems based on the specific and unique needs of our customers.
What would you say truly differentiates your company in the IT Operations Management consulting space?
Experience, Technology, and the People. The value of our people cannot be overemphasized.
Even with all the best methodologies and leading-edge systems, we can’t be successful without talented, experienced, and committed staff. We select our staff based on a variety of skills and personality traits. Chief among those traits are individuals who are proactive by nature, take ownership, and have a can-do, positive attitude. While we zero in on individuals with deep project management and technical experience, we often find fresh talent, that is entering the IT field, with the right traits and a desire to be mentored. We nurture these individuals and train them on the “ReliaSource way.” I am pleased that the ReliaSource family continues to grow with talent that is simply the best.
Could you please cite a few case studies on how you have enabled clients to overcome hurdles and attain desired outcomes with your innovative array of solutions?
One of the many success stories includes the rapid development of a nationwide warranty support project for an 8000+ server network with recently expired warranties. The need was large, the budget was not. We had to develop a plan in one week and implement that it in 45 days. We quickly evaluated the physical and technical footprint, developed a helpdesk and onsite support system that integrated with our customers. In less than 45 days, ReliaSource was taking calls and completing onsite repairs, even those categorized as a severity 1 (“SEV1”) with four-hour return to service SLAs. We leveraged our manufacturer relationships to forecast demands and source parts.
"From large-scale nationwide deployments of tens of thousands of devices, onsite warranty support and helpdesk to an innovative IT Depot model delivering configured end-user devices across the globe—we can provide all aspects of IT support"
Another example, which we are especially proud of, is around our IT Depot model that has proven incredibly valuable to organizations during COVID-19. In two depots, we manage full life cycle asset management for over 140,000 devices. We ensure a fully configured laptop is on a user’s desk the day after they request, anywhere in the country. When users are working from home and unable to have access to the normal onsite tech support, the rapid delivery of a replacement device proves to be invaluable to keeping folks working.
What does the future hold for your organization? Any footprint expansion plans or platform enhancement strategies that you can shed light upon?
We are constantly expanding and have recently acquired a new, larger, state-of-the-art warehouse facility as the base for our IT Depot model. We also are deepening and strengthening our relationships with key industry leaders like ServiceNow, Dell, and Carahsoft. ReliaSource is continually improving and expanding our combined IT services in a comprehensive package that is customizable to provide broad and responsive IT Support Services and Device-as-a- Service to organizations at significant cost savings over current multi-vendor, segmented services models.
July 09, 2020
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