We listen to our clients...and our clients speak well of us.
The words "consultant" and "contractor" imply a semi-anonymous, arm's-length relationship. But we're not outsiders for very long.
We work hard to exceed clients' expectations, in the process becoming long-term, valued, indispensible team members. And as you'll see from this small sampling of letters of reference, and excerpts from informal email messages, that we've received over the years, we have been very successful.
This letter is in reference to Jeff Vandervoort and JRVsystems, who worked for SpawMaxwell as a consultant for the past twelve years. We didn't think of him as a consultant, but as a part of our company.
He began working with us when we were a small company in a single location, with 4 servers and under 40 computers. During his tenure, we grew to 6 branch offices in Houston, Dallas and Austin, with 35 servers, 180 office workstations, and 50 field workstations, all sharing networked data, resources and management. Just one person—Jeff—was responsible for design and implementation of our system
during those years. He pushed us to leverage technology for which there was clear return on investment, and stayed abreast of evolving best practices. Workstations seldom required attention from deployment to obsolescence. In twelve years, downtime was limited to scheduled/planned times. Not many companies can say that in twelve years, they did not suffer a substantial outage or loss of data.
during those years. He pushed us to leverage technology for which there was clear return on investment, and stayed abreast of evolving best practices. Workstations seldom required attention from deployment to obsolescence. In twelve years, downtime was limited to scheduled/planned times. Not many companies can say that in twelve years, they did not suffer a substantial outage or loss of data.
The dedication Jeff demonstrated can only be described as exemplary. He put in many days and nights to research technology and implement changes to keep us functioning. The user's experience always took precedence. An example of his dedication was relocating to Austin for over a month after Hurricane Ike to keep our system running, when we temporarily moved our data center there due to damages at our Houston office.
I would like to be very clear about why JRVsystems is no longer serving our company. SpawMaxwell was acquired by Balfour Beatty last year, and they and their IT staff will be taking over the management of our systems. Jeff would say this was the longest consulting "gig" in his career. I would say we are losing a valued member of our family.
In closing, I have no hesitation in recommending Jeff and JRVsystems. I feel confident that he will be an asset to you and your organization.
Allen Lindsey
SVP of Preconstruction and IT, SpawMaxwell Company, Houston, Texas
SVP of Preconstruction and IT, SpawMaxwell Company, Houston, Texas
We had never had a managed system before JRVsystems started working with us 5 years ago. Then, our system was inefficient and unreliable. Now, it is stable and productive. We don’t think about our computers any more…they just work. That is how a business computer system should be.
JRVsystems monitors and does much of their system work from off-site, and “locks down” our systems to prevent employees from running unauthorized software and otherwise tampering with their machines. The result has been low cost of ownership, and high uptime. This is very important to us; we are in a lean, competitive business, and have to keep overhead down. We can’t afford system failures because we have bid deadlines every day. Just as important, we have found JRVsystems very responsive when we need help.
We recommend JRVsystems to companies that need a cost-effective, competent, responsive computer consultant.
Larry Frattalone
Partner, Drake Interiors, Houston, Texas
Partner, Drake Interiors, Houston, Texas
Jeff, This is huge. Congratulations, this will save time and make the whole operation more efficient. I have worked in an environment that was not managed correctly. SpawMaxwell's is managed correctly and the contrast is too big to measure.
Thanks for your help always.
Paul Reily
Project Superintendent, SpawMaxwell Company, Dallas, Texas
Project Superintendent, SpawMaxwell Company, Dallas, Texas
Rock on O' Great Protector of THE SYSTEM!
No, really, I want to tell you what a great job you do keeping us on the cutting edge (or somewhere thereabouts!)
I always hear how other companies have so much difficulty with their systems going down and I do not think everyone here realizes how good we have it.
Thanks.
Patrick Stanley
Project Director, SpawMaxwell Company, Houston, Texas
Project Director, SpawMaxwell Company, Houston, Texas
Mr. Vandervoort has been the vision behind our growth from a non-automated company with only 3 standalone PCs to our current network comprising close to 100 stations and 10 servers. His understanding of the purchasing aspect of this growth in itself has represented a great savings for our company.
He has developed custom software for our company that has greatly improved our efficiency and the quality of our work product and our system has grown in an orderly and well-planned fashion.
I heartily recommend Mr. Vandervoort for any company eager to expand its information systems.
John Kirksey
President, Kirksey | Architecture, Houston, Texas
President, Kirksey | Architecture, Houston, Texas
I would like to take a minute to express my appreciation for the work you performed on our Dallas office computer network. We have been operational for a week and everything works just as you said it would.
Thanks to your efficiency and expertise we had a flawless installation of the Dallas network last Thursday. Because of your preparation, when Allen and I set up the computers we were able to simply plug everything in and it worked without any trouble. Our computers are online and we have access to email, internet and all of the files stored in Houston (through Remote Desktop).
Lynne and I are thankful for the resources that we will have to use in our new office. One of the great things is that the network is expandable and will be able to accommodate future growth. The imminent roll-out of the VPN will offer even more flexibility.
I am especially grateful that you were able to meet our goal date despite all of the other priorities and demands associated with your day-to-day responsibilities in Houston.
Thank you for all of your work and support.
Chris Larsen
Project Director, SpawMaxwell Company, Dallas, Texas
Project Director, SpawMaxwell Company, Dallas, Texas
Just want to give some feedback. The systems seems to be running very smooth and speed has improved from our previous setup.
Hershel Sandifer
Project Director, SpawMaxwell Company, Austin, Texas
Project Director, SpawMaxwell Company, Austin, Texas
I take for granted how easily things work here at the office, especially when I compare to how much I struggle with my home computer. Thanks for everything you do to make everything work so well around here!
Tracy Daimler
Coordinator, SpawMaxwell Company, Houston, Texas
Coordinator, SpawMaxwell Company, Houston, Texas
It has been really nice working with you, Jeff. I will miss you. I'll always remember the many times you saved the day, and how you have educated me on new technology, and your *kindness*.
Carolyn Clancy
Administrative Assistant, SpawMaxwell Company, Austin, Texas
Administrative Assistant, SpawMaxwell Company, Austin, Texas