“Having that ongoing monitoring for such a reasonable price is what moved us to sign up for the Computer Care Advantage program. Now our server has become something that I don't really think about that much.”
— Marti Chamberlain, Business Manager, Strategic Partners, Inc.

Founded: 2001
Owner: Sam J. Kennedy
Gold-Level Computer Care Advantage Client Since February 2007

Strategic Partners, Inc., based in Canton, Michigan, provides consultation services for not-for-profit organizations, helping them raise capital and develop and implement strategic plans.

Marti Chamberlain is the business manager for Strategic Partners. All Strategic Partners staff work remotely and rely heavily on email and file sharing using laptops and smart phones. For years, the company struggled with trying to get different models of phones to talk to the server.

In regard to their server, Marti adds, “I have some systems background, but I wasn’t instilling much confidence in our staff’s perception of our server because I didn’t understand it fully myself. When things would happen, I couldn’t give an adequate explanation of what was going on.”

Prior to meeting with TAZ Networks, Marti says their network support “had been a mishmash of me, a friend of mine with some systems background, and another organization. But none of that seemed to be working for us.”

A Need for Expertise… And Trust

Marti explains, “Sometimes I felt like I was only one step behind our support person. Half the time I ended up figuring out the problem myself. I wanted more expertise than what I have because I knew I didn’t have enough related to the server.”

Besides more expertise, Marti had a strong need for a technology partner she could trust. “When we were using this other organization, I wasn’t confident that they weren’t doing things… that they shouldn’t do. I didn’t know enough to know whether I was getting taken advantage of. I had this weird feeling that something was going on that was costing us a lot of money. We would just have these problems that made me think twice. I didn’t know enough to know if the problems were real or not.”

True Gold-Level Service

Marti was first introduced to TAZ Networks through another TAZ Networks client. Marti quickly realized the value of the remote monitoring and monthly onsite maintenance visit included in the gold-level TAZ Networks Computer Care Advantage plan. Strategic Partners has been on the program since February 2007. How is it working for them?

“When our system has a problem, I hear about it from TAZ Networks almost as soon as the problem occurs because their techs are monitoring it. Having that ongoing monitoring for such a reasonable price is what moved us to sign up for the Computer Care Advantage program.

“Now our server has become something that I don’t really think about that much. I used to worry about it because I didn’t know what was going on well enough, and I didn’t have a good relationship with somebody to feel confident that if something bad happened, it would get resolved.”

Marti still enjoys the challenge of solving network problems herself, but appreciates having the TAZ Networks expertise to draw on. “Any time, I can just bounce stuff off of them if I’ve reached my limit of trying to figure something out. TAZ Networks often has a very quick fix that’s pretty seamless. I appreciate the confidence that I’ve got a partner to help me with the inner operations part of our business.”

And how are those trust issues, Marti? “Over the length of our relationship, I have developed total confidence that what’s being recommended by TAZ Networks is what I need. I don’t feel like I’m being oversold, and I definitely don’t feel like anybody would ever do something to sabotage the server. Whenever we have an issue, the techs do a great job explaining to me what’s going on, what’s wrong, why we might need to do one thing or another. I really have total trust in their business ethics.”

Can TAZ Networks Promise Zero Downtime and Big New Clients?

“It’s not like you’re Superman, or anything like that,” laughs Marti. “But, other than a local power issue or a necessary restart, we haven’t had any downtime since you guys have taken over. I’m definitely getting more than I expected.”

What about big new clients? “Our company owner, Sam, travels a lot, and being able to have dependable access to his email and contacts and calendar is really important to him. We had struggled for years with different phones, getting them to communicate with the server. This past August, we bit the bullet and moved Sam to an iPhone. I had some trouble getting it set up because there were some communications issues with the server, and TAZ Networks did one or two things in a matter of 10 minutes, and we had the situation resolved. The thing has worked seamlessly since then.

“We recently got a very large client, and Sam actually picked the phone up and said, ‘I’ve got this phone to thank for that, because I was able to communicate.’ The client had wanted another copy of the proposal, and Sam was able to send it over while he was on his way to a plane, without having to wait until he got home or having to try to contact somebody to have them send it. So the new phone has just really streamlined everything for him. While I don’t give TAZ Networks all the credit for that, they helped resolve an issue that got the phone up and running right away, gave Sam more confidence that he finally had a phone that was doing what he needed it to do, and he just ran with it from there. A lot of the problems that he had because he was traveling so much just disappeared.”

Marti concludes, “I’m definitely getting more than I expected.”

Non-profit organizations needing professional assistance with fundraising or strategic planning can contact Strategic Partners, Inc. at (734) 277-6227.

Contact TAZ Networks, Inc. at (810) 355-2280 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .