Photo by Retha Ferguson
At the center of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., Long Island, NY-based TechRunner IT has helped senior care facility staff and residents stay connected when it matters most.
If you talked with a random selection of business owners about IT infrastructure six months ago, many may have admitted it wasn’t the top thing on their mind. Fast-forward to today and obviously things have changed. With widespread restrictions designed to limit the spread of COVID-19 requiring many employees to work remotely and businesses to radically adapt overnight, IT infrastructure has played a pivotal role in keeping many operations afloat.
Whether businesses were lucky enough to have the right infrastructure in place before the pandemic can largely depend on whether they had someone like Dan Komis advocating for it.
Komis is founder and CEO of TechRunner IT, a managed services provider based out of Long Island, NY. The company’s clients include a wide variety of essential businesses all across Long Island and New York City, an area that, of course, has been at the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S.
The role TechRunner has played in keeping these businesses operating through the crisis is a major source of pride for Komis, and that’s especially true for a senior living care center that suddenly found themselves forced to restrict any outside visitors to protect their vulnerable populations.
Like many other healthcare facilities, senior care facilities are now far more technology-dependent than they were in the past. Modern facilities are outfitted with a huge array of sensors, security cameras, alarms, and other devices necessary for advanced care of at-risk seniors. All of these devices require a robust infrastructure in place, and now that doctor and family visits must be conducted via video conferencing, having strong and consistent WiFi isn’t an option but a critical necessity.
“We put in a lot of time, effort, and energy to make sure they have incomparable uptime,” said Komis. “In a situation like this, where we’re not allowed to go there, if there was a failure on the network, we wouldn’t be able to go and fix it. The fact that we have proven we have an incredibly solid and reliable infrastructure upon which they can provide care to their residents is what makes me feel best about what we’re doing for them right now.”
As a result, one of the most high-risk populations in one of the most heavily impacted areas of the country has been able to maintain connections with their loved ones without putting themselves at risk.
Hear Dan Komis describe the unforgettable thank-you call he got from a senior care facility director:
Delivering Reliable, Proactive Service During a Pandemic
For many of TechRunner’s other clients, a top priority early in the crisis was quickly ensuring employees were equipped with the right remote work capabilities.
Komis and his team were able to leverage NinjaOne’s secure remote access options, including end-user sharing, to make sure client employees could virtually access their on-premises workstations while working from anywhere. As a result, those businesses didn’t skip a beat.
“Everyone who needed to work from home, we transitioned them almost instantly,” said Komis. “We had some tools in place already, and some people already using them, but the vast majority were not. They have since done so and we were able to deploy that quickly because of Ninja.”
Not everything during the crisis has been easy. Without the ability to go onsite to evaluate a problem, and with more employees relying on home networks, new obstacles, like figuring out why the WiFi is down or why the printer won’t connect become more complex. Is there an issue with the router? Is there cross-channel interference? These new remote work challenges make it more difficult to deliver rapid solutions to every question, says Komis, but they’re challenges he and his team are rising to meet head-on.
“Everyone who needed to work from home, we transitioned them almost instantly.”
At the heart of their approach is simply going out of their way to be there for his clients and show empathy. Komis believes it’s important to remember that many clients have never worked from home before, so having a hand on their shoulder (figuratively, of course) to assure them that they will have access to 100% of their daily tools has been met with an abundance of appreciation.
“A lot of external forces are putting pressure on people. The least we can do is make it easy to do their work,” remarked Komis.
Staying on the Same Team: Advice for MSPs
TechRunner IT’s motto is “Same Team.” That ethos has never been more true than right now when people across the world are grappling with a threat that impacts us all.
Komis believes the challenges we’re all experiencing reveal great lessons for MSPs. For starters, the crisis is highlighting the need to be patient. Patience, says Komis, is one of the greatest tools MSPs can utilize right now. There are countless plans that have needed to be altered and big projects put on pause, but delivering essential services to clients during their time of need is showcasing just how necessary the right IT support is, and that is paving the way to long-term success.
As Komis sees it, “this is a great time for everyone to see the value of what we’re providing to people, and for us to remember that our successes are tied to theirs. The more we can do to help our clients, the more satisfying it will be for us both.”
NinjaOne is committed to supporting MSPs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our team is constantly developing new resources and guides to help you succeed during this time. Visit our COVID-19 Resources page and tune in to our next MSP Live Chat for lively discussions on growing your business.
