SUMMARY

Local businesses can choose to have peace of mind that their networks are being safely monitored and maintained by BE Connected, a local managed service provider (and NETGEAR premium partner). The company’s focus on solid customer relationships and superior, cost-effective products is complemented by its remote-managed service. Using the NETGEAR Insight cloud portal, BE Connected can monitor, maintain, update, and even troubleshoot networks, regardless of where its team or customers are located.

BACKGROUND

Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Chad Brush has been around the technology industry for over a quarter-century and knows what companies need. So, when he realized that many local small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) needed help with their technology, he set up BE Connected as a managed service provider. It covers everything from internet access to networks, computers, and more, with a strong focus on building great customer relationships. Since starting in 2017, the 4-strong team company has grown steadily through word-of-mouth.

Says Chad, “Our sales pitch is straightforward: How can we help? It’s that simple. We spend time truly understanding what SMBs need to get what they need and nothing less. Most customers are not IT experts nor have an IT person on staff, so they need to partner with a company they feel comfortable with and trust.”

BE Connected takes a long-term view to build customer relationships. That often involves developing a roadmap for customers, showing them how to evolve their technology investments to be more effective and cost-efficient. Chad explains, “We help them work within their budgets to achieve what they want. Often, we can find dollars unnecessarily spent monthly and then assist customers in reallocating those dollars. For instance, traditional phone systems can be replaced with hosted IP voice services.”

WORKING WITH NETGEAR

Another fundamental part of BE Connected’s business strategy is its partnership with NETGEAR. “Most of our customers do not have big IT budgets, but with NETGEAR, we can come in with great products at a price point that works. In addition, we love that NETGEAR has multiple solutions that give our customers and us lots of choices.”

BE Connected highly rates NETGEAR’s support and partnership too. “Our close relationship with NETGEAR means that when we need assistance, I feel 100 percent confident that when I pick up the phone and speak to their team, I will get a solution. There is an excellent group of people at NETGEAR who are willing to help. We feel very involved with NETGEAR: they ask us what equipment and features our customers want. In addition, we participate in beta testing, and NETGEAR genuinely incorporates our feedback into improvements.”

REMOTE NETWORK MANAGEMENT

Another bonus is NETGEAR’s Insight cloud portal, which enables BE Connected to deliver remote managed services. Insight benefits customers by helping BE Connected scale up its business and look after more companies’ IT and network requirements without recruiting a large support team. “With Insight, we can assist our customers from installation to ongoing hardware management service across switches, access points, and more.

Chad encourages the adoption of the managed hardware service, not just because it generates recurring revenue without needing site visits for BE Connected but because it also benefits customers. “Insight is very competitively priced, can save customers’ dollars, and we can make changes fast. For example, if a customer needs a new SSID, we can spin that up in just a few keystrokes.”

Insight also contributes to keeping customers’ networks up to date. “If you buy a car, you will get it serviced regularly, and the same should happen with your technology equipment. Like a vehicle mechanic has a checklist, so do we, and with Insight, we can install the updates for our customers remotely.”

WORK ANYWHERE

Insight can also address remote troubleshooting. For instance, Nashville experiences many thunderstorms that can lead to power outages, and even with battery back-ups, sometimes a network will be impacted. BE Connected can give the customer a heads-up that there is an issue and then visit the site to remedy it or provide that service for them.

“We can get all of the Insight alerts on our phones to monitor and manage networks regardless of where we are or when. That is part of how we have built the company, choosing to partner with vendors who help us and our customers work from anywhere. In addition, we are focused on ways for our customers to keep operating and communicating efficiently with their customers, even when traditional workplaces are closed. For instance, we have recently helped a senior financial services executive work from home with a firewall on a VPN, so that he can collaborate securely with his office on the West Coast.”

This flexible, location-independent foundation enables BE Connected to support customers irrespective of time and place. Together with its continued focus on service excellence and delivering the right products within budget, the company certainly seems set to continue the strong growth it has experienced during its early years.

As the future of the workplace continues to evolve, Hummingbird Networks is in a solid position to continue giving local businesses what they want: a tailored, fast service combined with high-performing, affordable products that enable them to carry on whatever the circumstances.