ViB Community Case Study
Network Supervisor for School District Efficiently Sources New Technology in ViB Community
- 4 vendor connections made through ViB
- 100% success with recent purchase
- $3-4K monthly savings with new VOIP
Gary Mulhern finds an ideal technology solution in the ViB Community, helping keep his school district’s complex IT operation running in an optimal state.
Overview
Gary Mulhern has been Network Supervisor at the South Bay Union School District since 2010. He’s responsible for a wide range of technology operations, including the network, virtual information, and cloud services.
The district, located in Imperial Beach, California, is primarily a K-6 system. It has 5,000 students, 1,000 employees, and 11 campuses, including two charter schools. Its diverse educational offerings include a gifted and talented education program, a global leadership and empowerment academy, and a visual and performing arts program.
“I discovered the ViB Community in 2021 from an email invitation to a webinar. It’s been an excellent resource ever since. I followed up on four solutions over the years — without spending a lot of time spent on research. I’ve made one purchase so far. This has helped me keep our small K-6 school district’s enterprise-level IT estate running efficiently and cost-effectively.
“There are a few services like ViB available, but I’ve found that the ViB Community is among the best. They’ve exposed me to a wide range of companies that offer more and better options than I could find on my own.”
Challenges faced
In his position as Network Supervisor, the biggest challenge Mulhern faces is running the school district’s complex technology enterprise on a small budget and with a small team. He says that access to the ViB Community’s wide range of technology providers gives him quality insight on how to conquer his leading challenges, including:
- Keeping an enterprise-level technology estate running smoothly and consistently with a four-person team
- Keeping the technology current and robust on a small public school district budget
- Finding the right new vendors to provide the exact services the school district needs to replace existing technologies or add new capabilities
“Although we’re a small school district, we have an enterprise-level IT operation with 7,000-plus devices, including servers, networking equipment, and access points. And we are always upgrading devices and adding new equipment. But we have a small staff and budget. So services like ViB help keep me efficient.”
Challenges faced
In his position as Network Supervisor, the biggest challenge Mulhern faces is running the school district’s complex technology enterprise on a small budget and with a small team. He says that access to the ViB Community’s wide range of technology providers gives him quality insight on how to conquer his leading challenges, including:
- Keeping an enterprise-level technology estate running smoothly and consistently with a four-person team
- Keeping the technology current and robust on a small public school district budget
- Finding the right new vendors to provide the exact services the school district needs to replace existing technologies or add new capabilities
“Although we’re a small school district, we have an enterprise-level IT operation with 7,000-plus devices, including servers, networking equipment, and access points. And we are always upgrading devices and adding new equipment. But we have a small staff and budget. So services like ViB help keep me efficient.”
How the ViB Community helped
Compared to the traditional process of contacting vendors, Mulhern says that ViB not only exposes him to more vendors but saves him considerable time when searching for vendors. “I can streamline the process, because I get more useful information about each vendor from ViB, so I have a better idea if they are a good fit for us or not.”
“Being connected with responsive sales contacts through ViB, and rapidly moving into a proof of concept phase is much more efficient than attempting to identify and make contact with these companies on my own.”
The best parts of the ViB Community, according to Mulhern, are these benefits:
- Direct access to an extensive database of technology providers in multiple solution categories
- Access to not only more vendors, but also better-quality vendors than he could find on his own
- Opportunity to learn more about vendors regarding whether they’ll be a good fit for the school district’s technology needs
- Meet vendors now who have technology solutions he might need in the future
“The ViB Community has been very beneficial and helpful for me. I really appreciate its primary service of connecting people like me with so many potential IT business partners. Thanks to the community, I’m exposed to more vendors and a better selection of vendors than I could find on my own.
“I’ve participated in four of ViB’s campaigns. Although I’ve only made one purchase, I enjoyed the opportunity to meet vendors who I might not need today but could need in the future.”
Solutions discovered through the ViB Community
Since joining the ViB Community in 2021, Mulhern has met with four vendors to discuss their solutions. He made his first purchase in late 2023 — a VOIP solution from GoTo Connect, a market-leading cloud-based phone system and customer engagement software.
His search for a new VOIP solution began when his existing provider raised the price without adding new features. In fact, that solution already had fewer features than the staff was used to. ViB happened to have a VOIP campaign running at the time when he was looking for a new provider. “The timing was perfect,” said Mulhern.
He set a meeting with GoTo Connect, liked what he saw, and purchased its VOIP product in November of 2023. “The process was very smooth,” he said. “We got a proof of concept and did our due diligence very efficiently. We found the company to be honest and it offered us the best feature set and a price that is saving us $3,000 to $4,000 a month over our previous service.”
Other solutions that Mulhern has researched in the ViB Community include:
- A storage provider
- A firewall company
- A company providing switches
“The vendor we found in the ViB Community is a 100% improvement over the vendor we had before. GoTo Connect is responsive and supportive. And we now have all the VOIP features we need, plus we are saving thousands of dollars a month.”
Benefits gained by joining the ViB Community
Mulhern said that, by connecting him to valuable technology sources, the ViB Community is helping him achieve his business goal. He and his team aim to provide the highest quality, most robust technology solutions to meet the IT needs of the school district’s staff, who are all in service to the students’ educational needs, and making the most with the tax dollars allotted to his department.
“The ViB Community adds much-needed efficiency to my vendor search and selection process,” he added.
Among the benefits Mulhern has gained from his membership in the ViB Community are:
- Helping meet his business goal of supporting the education of 5,000 students in 11 locations
- Gaining a greater opportunity to find vendors with the robust solutions the school district needs
- Gaining the opportunity to find better vendors with more cost-effective solutions
“ViB is one of just two or three services that provide access to a vendor community. While I look at all of them, ViB is my primary go-to. They offer the greatest selection of vendors in the widest range of business sectors. I feel confident that the vendors are very high quality. I’m impressed that ViB puts so much effort into creating a valuable and robust service. I really appreciate it.”
About the ViB Community
The ViB Community is an active professional network comprised of millions of technology decision-makers and influencers from a wide range of industries, including software, cybersecurity, cloud computing, and more. ViB curates programs based on community member preferences and each member is matched with solution providers that fit their interests and needs. If you play a role in evaluating technology and services for your organization, and find it tough to stay up to date with emerging technologies, join the ViB Community today at: https://vib.community/.
