Financial Services
RA Services specializes in finding buyers and sellers for large value corporations. Headquartered in San Diego, it is involved in transactions globally, with staff working around the world.
Challenges
Help Spin-Off Company Transition Overnight
RAS came to SpotLink® in 2005 when they were being spun off by another firm. SpotLink’s® first challenge was to catalog all the equipment that RAS was inheriting as part of the spin off and make sure that the core requirements of the business could be accommodated. They then had to develop a plan with the spinner firm’s IT staff on the conversion process.
Solution
Because RAS needed to close at end of business, then start at 8 a.m. the next day in the new location, the conversion was an all-night process. All the servers, switches, workstations, and Shoretel VOIP system had to be moved, reconfigured, and made operational in only 12 hours. Working through the night, SpotLink® had everything operating as expected and RAS’s IT systems were ready for use as planned.
Decrease Overall IT Costs
Managing the day-to-day IT needs of RAS over the next few years, SpotLink® learned that RAS’s IT infrastructure was larger than it needed to be. So in 2008, along with a comprehensive server upgrade, SpotLink® was able to reduce RAS’s server needs by almost 40%, decreasing not only their hardware expenses but also their overall IT support costs. SpotLink® also strengthened the company’s security by installing Cisco ASA security devices. Despite the reduction in servers and IT support, SpotLink® kept all RAS’s financial modeling and information systems such as Bloomberg Station and Capital IQ operating at the same high levels.
In 2010, SpotLink® further reduced RAS’s IT needs through virtualization and by outsourcing services. Eventually, SpotLink® worked with RAS to move most of their services to Cloud, almost completely eliminating both RAS’s on-premise server needs and onsite IT management needs.
results
Moving most of the infrastructure to the cloud, RAS has drastically reduced its day-to-day IT needs. However, SpotLink® continues to support RAS in its networking needs and technology planning.