ViB Community Case Study
- 2nd purchase made through the ViB Community in 2024
- 100k saved with ViB vendor purchase
- Hundreds of hours saved on IT vendor research
As an active member of the ViB Community, Richard Calhoun found a trusted source to explore vendors and stay informed about new technologies.
Overview
Richard Calhoun has been the Senior Network Administrator at Girtz Industries since 2018. Girtz Industries designs and manufactures custom-engineered power modules and enclosures for multiple applications. It’s best known for delivering turnkey power packaging solutions to companies across the country from its manufacturing plant in Monticello, Indiana.
The Girtz factory runs on a lean manufacturing model, and so does the four-person IT department. As a senior member of the infrastructure team, Calhoun manages the company’s network and server infrastructure. His responsibilities include the day-to-day operation, including updates, patching, and managing virtual servers and the network.
“I’m always in the market for components for our network infrastructure because I’m always projecting into the future and assessing the lifespan of each of our infrastructure’s multiple components. This includes network hardware, switches, access points, firewalls, and more.
The ViB Community gives me an easy way to keep up with the marketplace and keep my eye out for purchases we’ll need to make this year or in a few years. I’m the decision maker on purchases under $5,000, and the company’s owner makes the final decision for larger purchases.”
Richard Calhoun
Active ViB Community member since 2021
Senior Network Administrator for Girtz Industries
Challenges faced
Calhoun says that at Girtz Industries, the IT team is not trying to stay on the bleeding edge of technology. They just want to make sure everything is always running so the business can keep running. “We’re not a technology company. We’re an engineering and manufacturing company,” he noted. “Our main goal in the IT department is ensuring that our systems always work.”
The IT department’s biggest challenge in the past year was the massive changes that took place when Broadcom purchased VMware. “I was a big fan of VMware. But suddenly everything changed, and we were too small of a customer for the company to keep supporting us. They would not renew our contract. I found myself in the position of having to look for a replacement fairly quickly.”
As luck would have it, a few months prior to the Broadcom announcement, Calhoun had received an email from the ViB Community about a company called Verge.io. The offer included the opportunity to meet Verge.io for an introductory meeting.
“I wanted to learn more about the virtualization company’s innovative platform, which I thought sounded interesting. But at that time, VMware had not yet made its announcement. So the timing of our meeting with Verge.io was not quite right. But just a few months later it turned out to be excellent timing. After discussing an installation, we made the decision to switch to Verge.io’s virtualization platform, called VergeOS.”
Benefits of transitioning to Verge.io:
- Replacement cost savings: “Most companies make you purchase their hardware, so the initial cost of adoption is very high. But VergeOS is hardware agnostic. So, we were able to keep our existing hardware. This was super compelling because it saved us $100,000.”
- Uninterrupted operations: “Because our VMware contract was ending, we needed a replacement that would deploy quickly. The Verge.io team was able to deploy its solution at record speed so we could make the switch and keep our operations running smoothly.”
- High-quality support: “Since we are a four-person IT operation, we rely on our vendors for support and reliability. Working with Verge.io was great. The sales, support, and deployment teams were all spot-on and easy to work with. They were super responsive whenever we needed them. That was a huge relief for us.”
Richard Calhoun
Active ViB Community member since 2021
Senior Network Administrator for Girtz Industries
How the ViB Community helped
When Girtz was faced with the loss of its virtualization platform, the ViB Community saved the day. The timing of the introduction was fortuitous, said Calhoun. “I never would have found this innovative new company, Verge.io, on my own. I’m grateful to the ViB Community for making the introduction. It’s one of the reasons I’m such an active user and proponent of the service.”
Other reasons that Calhoun is a fan of the ViB Community are:
- The easy matching and meeting process: Calhoun likes the ViB Community process for matching up vendors with potential customers and the initial meeting to see if there’s a mutual fit.
- The informational webinars: Calhoun said he appreciates the opportunity to attend the webinars hosted by the ViB Community that feature vendors and their products. “The webinars about new technologies are always informative and pertain to topics I’m interested in. My current area of interest is cybersecurity. Because it’s always changing, I like to keep up with the latest information on new products.”
- Time savings: “I estimate that the ViB Community vendor-customer match-up process saves me hundreds of hours that I would have spent searching for and meeting with vendors on my own,” noted Calhoun.
- The member benefits: “I’ll admit that the rewards are a nice perk,” said Calhoun. “It’s a great incentive to apply for a chance to meet a new vendor.”
Solutions discovered through the ViB Community
“The ViB Community process is great. It cuts down on a lot of the noise that can happen when you’re looking for sales information on new products. First, you can see if it’s a good match before you even have a sales call. Then the ViB-style introductory meetings take the pressure off, because I don’t have to sit through a hardcore sales pitch. Instead, it’s a chance just to see if the solutions are a good fit for us.”
Calhoun has had such great experiences with the ViB Community that he’s passed on recommendations to his peers. “Our senior system administrator uses the service already. I’ve passed on the recommendations to my former co-workers as well. I tell people, ‘Sign up. It makes finding vendors super easy. And you get rewarded for learning about topics you’re interested in. There’s no downside to joining the ViB Community’.”
Richard Calhoun
Active ViB Community member since 2021
Senior Network Administrator for Girtz Industries
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/.
