Peter Smolik doesn’t get into the kitchen as often as he would like to, but he does appreciate what goes into an enjoyable yet flexible menu. He remembers when he worked in a restaurant – cooking, serving and cleaning up – where he learned the secret of thorough service.
It’s experience that serves him well. As director of IT for CHIP Hospitality – a Vancouver-based hotel management firm with over 30 properties across Canada – Smolik is very attentive to the needs of CHIP’s many guests, including their privacy, both on-site and on-line. Representing and serving several hotel chains, CHIP needs to keep highly confidential procedures like payroll and reservations secure, but also share certain information such as conference bookings among competing properties. In addition, CHIP must maintain the identities and profitability of individual sites, while also leveraging volume cost-efficiencies.
For Smolik, it has become essential to have a reputable off-premise specialist manage his IT around the clock. His choice is Fusepoint Managed Services, to provide fast, reliable hosting that is fully managed, secure, scalable and regulated. They are ably supported by Rogers Business Solutions, the “invisible” provider of full-service network connectivity. Smolik appreciates Fusepoint’s strong regional presence, as well as the unmatched reliability of Rogers’ coast-to-coast communications network. Yet it’s their combined service that gets Smolik excited.
“They remind me of a favourite restaurant,” he explains. “They do a lot for me behind the scenes. They are attentive and will prepare things according to my special needs and interests. That is the secret to real service – making meaningful recommendations, even when they’re not on the menu.”
Smolik acknowledges it’s often difficult to measure the benefits of IT in small to medium businesses. “Yet CHIP has seen a 15% improvement in data processing, thanks to Rogers and Fusepoint,” he points out. Smolik attributes this efficiency to quick resolutions made by empowered staff who care about the service they provide. No wonder Smolik likens his out-sourced IT services to a good restaurant experience – especially when they can save him money.
