MSP 501 Profile: Access Systems Makes Waves in Iowa

Company Name: Access Systems Inc.
Company MSP 501 Rank: 39
Vice President of IT: Mitch Henry
Headquartered: Waukee, IA
Primary Services:

Twitter: @accesssystems

Iowa-based Access Systems Inc. is making some serious ripples in those amber waves of grain. In 2012, the company shifted from a break-fix model to a managed IT one, propelling the company forward in ways vice president of IT Mitch Henry couldn’t have imagined.

Access Systems’ Mitch Henry

Henry sat down with us this week to talk about the company’s significant growth, its network operations center (NOC) – one of the only centers of its kind in Iowa – and the view that customers are a company’s foundation.

Channel Futures: What was the single biggest technology or business decision that drove your company’s growth in the last year? How did it do so?

Mitch Henry: The biggest technology decision that drove Access Systems’ growth was to invest in more than just technical resources. Having an IT support team has alleviated pressure upon our customer support processes.

With additional support, our IT professionals can focus on the customer’s experience. The IT support team consists of on-site technology consultant, security and compliance manager, inside support, and scheduling and dispatch, to name a few assets. These roles make sure customers get the right solution and support they need in a timely manner.

In addition to the IT support team, our Information Security Essentials program supplements the managed IT program, Total IT Care. Information Security Essentials is more than just enhanced cybersecurity tools, like breach detection — it is an entire team focused on information security. This team is dedicated to enhancing security measures and ensuring our Information Security Essentials customers are following cybersecurity proven practices.

2018 was a year of significant growth for Access Systems’ IT offerings. With the additional resources – of the expansion of the IT support team and addition of Information Security Essentials – we have added more tools to make cybersecurity processes more efficient and fortify our customers against a cyberattack. Both investments have improved not only our internal processes but enhanced our customer experiences.

CF: In an increasingly crowded provider space, how does your organization differentiate itself from other MSPs?

MH: At Access Systems, we are continuously working to improve our processes and offerings. Through self-evaluations and listening to our teams, we are able to identify gaps before they become major obstacles. This allows us
to problem-solve quickly and efficiently. It is important for leaders to continuously communicate with their team, which is the transparency and mutual respect we strive for at Access Systems.

For example, the network operations center in Waukee was designed with team collaboration in mind. The tiered rows allow NOC technicians to work together through difficult tickets and feel like a team, not a call center. With the help of a noise reduction system, there are also no doors between …

… managers and technicians, nor the NOC and the rest of the office, making a more collaborative and team environment. This kind of give-and-take is why Access has been named a Top Workplace by the Des Moines Register four years in a row.

Taking care of our employees is essential to good customer service. When employees are valued, they provide better service to our customers, going above and beyond to fix problems. Our teams want the customer experience to be the best possible, which is why we collaborate to [make] smooth processes and provide elite internal support. With technology constantly evolving, it is important that we do as well.

CF: Any splash-worthy tales regarding company growth?

MH: Throughout our 30 years of business, Access Systems has experienced tremendous change and growth. While IT has always been the focus, in 2012 we shifted from a break-fix model to managed IT. This has fueled our decisions moving forward, like building the network operations center (or NOC). This NOC is one of the only centers of its kind in Iowa. This only improves Access’ customer support and drives teamwork.

Customers are our foundation at Access Systems, which is why we strive to give them elite customer support. Our managed IT clients have unlimited remote support hours every month, because we know when computers and networks shut down, so does work. Our technicians work in teams, so clients don’t feel the burden when someone is on vacation or sick. Throughout our business, we eliminate the finger pointing by working with clients and other vendors directly, and managing lease renewals and other IT related contracts. These are just a few systems put in place to make sure our customers experience the best IT support.

Our managed IT service focuses on proactive support particularly in remote monitoring. Our experts have determined what is essential to monitor within our own network and our managed IT customers’. This has helped us identify mission critical problems that need automated tickets placed and minimize customer downtime. One of these important features we monitor is daily backups. An automatic ticket is made, when a failure occurs or pre-failure signs populate. This proactive system prevents failures and usually allows us to resolve the problem without customer interaction or acknowledgement.

Our processes and customer support are what makes Access Systems stand out as a managed services provider. From the way we have structured our NOC to our elite monitoring workflow, we make sure to support our customers and each other.