CASE STUDY
Johnson Investment Counsel
Problem
The company needed a business continuity plan that enabled remote work and got it out of the server business. Johnson Investment Counsel (JIC) is one of the Midwest’s largest investment firms handling $13 billion in assets with 3,500 clients across 49 states. Four years ago, JIC deployed Evolve IP’s OneCloud™ platform for their phone system, workspaces/desktops as a service, disaster recovery, data center applications and network connectivity.
Ryan Easter, Director of IT and Principal at Johnson Investment Counsel, noted the goal was to get “out of the server business and focus on delivering value to our internal clients,” ultimately enabling their employees to work anywhere, securely and within the business’s compliance standards. In October 2019, the company conducted a pandemic practice test to ensure they could conduct business as usual with everyone working from home and half the staff incapacitated. They were totally unaware that the coronavirus pandemic would soon put the solution to test for real and for an extended period of time.
Solution
The Evolve ip onecloud™ delivered a seamless work experience in the office, at home or on the road. As COVID-19 forced businesses to close JIC quickly enacted their plan with incredible results.
“We haven’t missed a beat,” said Ryan. “The transition has been almost seamless to our folks, working from home full time. My team looks like heroes right now because of how seamless this has been for our organization. People are very appreciative that we’re in this position and everything is working. It has been wonderful.” From their home offices, JIC employees are speaking with nervous investors, making trades to secure investment opportunities, and collaborating with other employees, all the while knowing their systems are secure, compliant and reliable. And, when the current crisis is over, their Evolve IP Work Anywhere™ Offices will keep their associates productive, mobile, and safe—no matter what business situation is thrown at them.
“Yesterday was, perhaps, my busiest day of client interaction either by phone or email since I have been a PM, and I don’t think any of my clients knew I was working from home unless I told them. I was also able to do trades behind the scene and interact with my team. For me the technology has been working great. I am constantly dazzled by technology in general, but being able to do this stuff from home is amazing!”
JAMES C. HUNTER, CFA, CFP, AIF Senior Portfolio Manager Principal
Results
The transition has been almost seamless to our folks, working from home full time. my team looks like heroes right now.
Heightened Security
“[With Evolve,] I don’t have to worry about encrypting laptops or servers—it is all sitting on encrypted disk at the Evolve data center,” said Ryan. “We have policies around how data can get in and out of the data center. It is very important to client security. We have regulators regularly checking our data management and security policies. This solution has been wonderful.”
Reduced Overhead
“With our offices across the Midwest, we’re able to manage everything remotely, so there is less overhead in my department trying to maintain and support those offices,” said Ryan.
Coronavirus Response Spotlight
Johnson Investments cites Evolve IP’s Work Anywhere™ Offices as one of the greatest benefits of working with Evolve IP. This has never been truer than in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic reduced employees’ mobility and access to the company’s offices. Fortunately, Johnson Investment Counsel has been able to rely on Evolve IP’s Work Anywhere™ Offices. “If we had not partnered with Evolve IP, we would be in a world of [pain] right now,” said Ryan Easter, Director of IT and Principal at Johnson Investment Counsel.
