TAMPA, Fla. -- Nov. 9, 2004 -- After launching in 2001, the founders of eLogic Learning quickly realized that outsourcing the company's considerable Web hosting needs was the best way to maximize resources.
"I'm not a hosting provider. I'm a software provider, and I want to focus on our core competencies," says Bill Snowdon, eLogic's co-founder and chief technology officer.
eLogic offers a platform and services to corporations and universities to provide customized online training. The company's Learning Content Management System allows program administrators to author content, track and assess learning objectives, access learning resources for career development, and monitor certification and compliance requirements. Each client also receives a live e-learning Web site.
A significant investment of time and resources would have been required to create the infrastructure to support the application, and to handle hosting and management of the learning sites for such major clients as USA Fund (Sallie Mae), Paramount Parks, American Accent Training, PODS and Allied Waste Industries. Rather than dedicate internal resources to a non-core competency, eLogic decided to outsource. Among the company's main concerns were:
-- Security, to protect the confidential content clients provided for their training sites
-- Ability to manage the complex hosting situation created by the large number of live sites
-- Guaranteed up-time, to meet the needs of clients who access their e-learning sites at all hours of the day
Cost of services, proximity of the data center, and the professionalism of the outsourcing partner were other considerations in the search, which ultimately resulted in the selection of Tampa-based E Solutions.
"eLogic requires a robust, highly available, highly secure infrastructure," says Michael Morizio, E Solutions president. "Our mission was to provide more than they could have built or hired, to help grow their business and to exceed their expectations."
E Solutions' state-of-the-art, Tier One data center weighed heavily in the decision, Snowdon says. The data center is protected by waterless fire suppression, 24-hour security cameras with digital video storage, redundant environmental systems with temperature and humidity controls, controlled access, redundant connection to two major power grids and UPS power conditioning with an on-site diesel generator to protect against loss of commercial power. Experienced technical engineers staff the data center 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"Other data centers can provide rack space, bandwidth and some measure of security, but they can't provide the people we can," says Morizio. "Our technical engineers are available at any time, day or night, in our Network Operations Center. If a server needs to be adjusted or patched, we can handle it immediately. It's very rare to have a full IT complement of development staff and support staff all in one place."
Partnering with E Solutions has helped eLogic achieve a significant return on its IT investment. At this point, the company needs only desktop support, eliminating the need to hire additional IT staff and ultimately reducing costs by 30 percent.
That savings has allowed eLogic to focus on keeping its product on the leading edge by freeing up money for critical resources like programmers, who contribute directly to building the business.
"Working with E Solutions allows us the freedom to focus on what we do best, without having to worry about all the ancillary issues that might occur with running a hosting facility," says Snowdon. "Our relationship has enabled us to build our business beyond our expectations, and provides a solid backbone for continued growth."
