Over a decade, Third Octet has deployed Citrix for hundreds of organizations, tens of thousands of users and with the assistance of hundreds of IT experts.  Over this time, we’ve learned immensely from our clients, IT experts, client executives, partners, vendors and, importantly, from users.  Generally, we learn just as much from our clients as they do from us – different mindsets, alternate approaches, distinct working methodologies.  We also learn to interact with different systems – from project management to ticketing to change control to release management – and hone our own internal skill sets, processes, and procedures each time.

We also solicit feedback from clients and take that feedback very seriously – so much so that we’re working internally to develop a customer advisory board, inclusive of clients from all different verticals, backgrounds and sizes that have experience working with us.  Different perspectives and constructive feedback are important for growth, and the expertise gained will benefit each and every subsequent client or project.

Just last year, a client requested more involvement from Third Octet in project management, rather than having the engineering team oversee the engagement.  It was a great idea, and as a result we developed a project management office internally, hired staff, and extensively developed new procedures for technical engagement from project kick-off to project closure, which included thorough documentation (i.e. status plan, risks, scope creep) and continued project cadence.  Not only did this investment in human capital provide immense benefit to clients and the ongoing success of projects, but it also benefited internally as it exposed our team to a whole different mindset when approaching matters, whether positive or negative.  We also hired great people, as we always do – professional, presentable, and personable.

Additionally, we’ve realized that everyone has their own unique skillsets, abilities and areas of expertise, but are on occasion hesitant to share their knowledge for one or more reasons (perhaps fear of job security).  Whatever the case may be, we developed a unique approach to continued engagement with businesses to ensure their own success without alienation.  Our Collaborative Services is a unique offering where, unlike traditional managed services, we look to augment your skillsets and expertise with our own, in both proactive and reactive approaches that are heavily tailored to your specific needs and technology platforms, without limit or exclusion.

Collaborative Services provides immense predictability for IT and the dependent technology platforms, but also for business as we want to remain proactive and an ultimate factor contributing to the success of business which we support.  We look for mutually beneficial wins and expose our entire team – from preliminary tier service desk analysts to our CEO – to your organization for expertise, knowledge transfer, technical and business support, guidance, and assistance to become mutually successful.  To boot, the great relationships we’ve built with our partner community – whether with vendors such as Citrix, Microsoft and Cisco; our distributions partners, such as Ingram Micro; to our community-based partners, such as those within Ingram Micro’s TrustX Alliance – become great relationships that you, too, can leverage.

Operational excellence is not just about being good at one thing, it’s about being great at many things and leveraging expertise wherever and whenever it makes sense.  And not only is it about design and implementing in accordance with best practice and business requirements, it’s also about managing teams, communications and timelines; identifying sponsorship, risks, and controlling scope; planning for proper handover and identifying gaps in operationalization (i.e. monitoring, protection, testing); documentation and training; and lifecycle management.

Whether we’re deploying Citrix or not, operational excellence is an area we’re continuously improving on, as exhibited through our constant evolution of Collaborative Services.  After all, work-life balance is our foundation, and leveraging our team and solutions as an expansion of yours contributes immensely to your own balance.