Eaton CSE Earns Straight A s from Clarke College Keller Computer Center

Transcription

1 Eaton CSE Earns Straight A s from Clarke College Keller Computer Center

2 Andy is very conscientious and has a great work ethic, he reports. If I had an inhouse opening, he is the type of person I would offer a job to.

3 High marks awarded for work ethic, responsiveness CSEs such as James Hunn are highly trained to deal with battery maintenance, replacement and disposal Industry: Higher education Application: Network infrastructure, servers, PBX system UPS: Powerware 9330 Service Coverage: PowerTrust Service Plan Eaton CSE: Andrew Boche and James Hunn When it comes to having service performed on its sensitive electronic equipment, Clarke College Keller Computer Center extends no learning curve, expecting its providers to start and remain at the head of the class. We re pretty picky about who does our preventive maintenance and any of our service work, acknowledges Carl Ness, assistant director of information technology for the four-year, liberal arts Catholic college. Right from the beginning, we ve had topquality service from Eaton. Since 2002, Eaton s Powerware 9330 uninterruptible power system (UPS) has been safeguarding the 45 servers, PBX phone system and entire network infrastructure of the Dubuque, Iowa facility, which provides computing and telecommunication support to approximately 1,400 college students, as well as to faculty and staff members. We are central IT, so the Powerware UPS is our single battery backup for our entire data center, explains Ness. It s absolutely critical. Overseeing the continuous health of the unit is Eaton customer service engineer (CSE) Andrew Boche, who consistently earns high marks from Ness. Andy is very conscientious and has a great work ethic, he reports. If I had an inhouse opening, he is the type of person I would offer a job to. Whether delivering routine preventive maintenance (PM) as part of the college s service contract, or solving the minor issues that have arisen over the years, Boche passes the test for professional service expertise every time. He is very thorough and well trained, Ness says. He doesn t need to call someone for more information or constantly stop and look things up. He knows what he s doing. Even more, Ness points out, when Boche is performing preventive maintenance duties, He s not

4 trying to get out the door as fast as he can. We are very happy with the quality of service we receive from him. Not only is Boche adept at looking out for potential issues that could signal problems in the future, he accommodates the college whenever he services the UPS. We have a small maintenance window, Ness explains. He really works with our schedule. Furthermore, Ness praises the CSE s level of responsiveness, noting that if he ever has a question about a temperature alarm or other simple issue, he is able to quickly reach Boche on his cell phone. His business card is taped to the unit, he adds, not just some 800 number. have pretty high standards, especially for being a fairly small customer. Since its installation in 2002, the college has maximized the efficiency and uptime of its 9330 by protecting it with Eaton s ProActive Service Plan, which includes annual preventive maintenance service calls. Last year, Clarke College chose to upgrade its service agreement to a PowerTrust plan, which delivers supplemental benefits, including site audits, service priority status, and discounts on spare part kits and upgrades. When it comes to service, Ness admits he has a strong preference to contract with the manufacturer, noting that he doesn t always feel confident in the capabilities of third-party providers. I always wonder in the back of my mind, does this person know what he s doing? Ness acknowledges. I don t sleep well with that type of service. With Eaton, the IT professional can rest assured that the technicians have received extensive and up-to-date product training, and are intimately familiar with the Powerware UPS line. Eaton CSEs are continually trained on Powerware UPS products Other providers are generally not as well-trained and not as familiar with a specific UPS product, Ness says. We

5 One of the key factors in Clarke College s decision to bolster its coverage was the inclusion of Eaton enotify Remote Monitoring service, which provides 7x24 realtime, enterprise monitoring of more than 100 UPS and battery alarms with monthly status reports. The service offers immediate notification of significant power quality events via phone, or pager and, in the event of a problem, supplies remote troubleshooting and, when necessary, dispatch of a Powerware UPS service technician. With technical experts that respond immediately to any potential trouble, many issues can be quickly resolved remotely. For Clarke College, this additional level of confidence means Ness can sleep better at night. We re a small institution with a small staff, and we re not a 24-hour facility, he explains. It s nice to know we have someone else keeping an eye on things, and if we don t catch something, that remote eye will. It was Boche who first educated Ness about the remote monitoring capabilities, then took the time to walk the IT director through the process once the card was installed. That s something you don t normally see, says Ness. In this figure-it-out-yourself world, it was really nice to have someone sit down and actually show you how something works. In addition to its enhanced service plan, Ness also appreciates the fact that Eaton recently brought its battery preventive maintenance in-house, rather than using outside contractors. This proved particularly beneficial when an individual battery pack within the Powerware 9330 failed last winter. James Hunn, the Eaton CSE who handles the college s battery PMs, worked closely with Boche to resolve the problem and ensure Keller Computer Center remained online. They worked together to find a solution to get the battery replaced in a timely manner, Ness recalls, noting that Hunn drove six hours each way to St. Louis and back over a weekend to pick up the required battery pack. He really went out of his way, and he was in constant contact with Andy, says Ness. We were really glad to be able to get such great resources out of the same company.

6 To read more customer testimonials about our network of CSEs, please visit AK HI WA OR NV CA ID UT AZ MT WY CO NM ND SD NE KS TX OK MN IA MO AR WI LA IL MS AL GA FL VT ME NH MI NY MA CT RI PA NJ IN OH DE WV MD & DC VA KY NC TN SC Eaton Electrical Group 8609 Six Forks Road Raleigh, NC Publication No. SER01CSE Toll free: Eaton, Powerware and PowerTrust are trade names, trademarks, and/or service marks of Eaton Corporation or its subsidiaries and affiliates.