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Clinical research leader shifts to Rack-space Managed Services for security, reliability, and IT innovation freedom
As an IT consulting firm, Vinco would view the retail industry as a dynamic and rapidly evolving sector, full of both challenges and opportunities. Technological advancements, including e-commerce, mobile technology, AI, and IoT, are reshaping consumer expectations and behaviors. Retailers are required to innovate continually, to maintain customer engagement, loyalty, and market relevance.
Celerion, a leader in early clinical research delivers Applied Translational Medicine. Headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska, the company applies expertise to research discoveries, knowledge of drug effect, and clinical pharmacology.
Conceived over 50 years ago as a family business, Celerion maintains locations in Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Richmond, Virginia, as well as abroad in Belfast, Zurich, Vienna, Berlin, Paris and Montreal.
“Celerion helps clients bring drugs to market faster, at the best possible cost,” said Traci Chapek, Celerion Executive Director for Global IT. “We achieve this using state-of-the-art software applications that capture data quickly, correctly and enable realtime results for clients to review. If results aren’t as expected, clients can elect to halt testing and avoid further costs as soon as possible. With more than 600 global clinic beds.
Celerion conducts and analyzes a wide variety of clinical pharmacology studies. The company provides expertise in simulation, study design, medical writing (protocols and reports), clinical data sciences, biostatistics, and more.
After its divestiture in 2010, Celerion revamped many internal processes, including IT. Through this revitalization, the company was able to interview and evaluate providers.
“We are not an IT shop; we do clinical research,” said Chapek. “We wanted to reduce capital expenditure, and avoid the challenges of an in-house data center. Rackspace quickly floated to the top of our choices. We started with just a few servers hosted in a Rackspace environment.”
“We deal with medical records and personal information, so our ‘raw data’ is our lifeline,” said Matt Hermanson, Celerion Enterprise Infrastructure Manager. “From a security perspective, Rackspace has helped us by providing solid expertise and saying to us, “People in your space are doing ‘X,’ so here’s something that we would recommend.’ Or they’ll say, ‘Here are areas where you may be falling short; did you know there’s a deficiency?’ We’re a small staff, and it’s important to have additional sets of eyes and ears to help us.
Celerion has since added many more servers, and its core applications run out of the Rackspace environment.
“We’re doing a lot more with Rackspace Managed Services,” said Chapek. “Rackspace helped us set up portions of our client portal and helps support us in that environment.” Since Celerion has been working with Rackspace, its uptime is “nearly, if not, 100%” according to Chapek. “We just don’t hear those pains from the business anymore, and today we’re able to focus on better valueadded activities.”
One of the larger recent developments in the Celerion-Rackspace relationship has been the Celerion adoption of Managed SharePoint Server Hosting at Rackspace.
“We wanted SharePoint as the foundation for our client portal, and we quickly added Rackspace support,” said Chapek. “Our customers using the new portal now see their data in real time, and the support we receive has been phenomenal.”
With Rackspace integral to the process of building the portal, Celerion has gained from the flexibility, support, and expertise Rackspace provided in Managed SharePoint. The result is improved security and reduced expenses.
Chapek reports that Celerion IT staffers feel like Rackspace is an extension of staff. She cited instances in which Rackspace people have made referrals or recommended next actions that have led to successful outcomes, adding value while maintaining or even decreasing the IT bottom line.
“They’re truthful, and they’re spot-on, and that’s very encouraging to our executive team,” said Chapek. “It’s Rackspace Fanatical Support® in action, which to me means that we see people who are enthusiastic about their work, and excited to help. It’s authentic support, in an encouraging, friendly environment.”
Hermanson talked about the seamlessness and ‘competent calm’ within the relationship. “You forget that they’re Rackspace and not your staff mates, and you never get a sense that we’re anything other than a high priority,” Hermanson said. “The members of our Rackspace core team are relaxed and stress-free, and they help us get through issues in a very professional manner.”
The organization we worked with was in a critical situation. Faced with the need to significantly reduce capital expenditures, it was also grappling with the complexities of managing an in-house data center. These complexities included everything from the sheer logistical challenges of day-to-day operations to the recruitment and retention of skilled IT personnel.
The situation was further compounded by the high stakes of ensuring client security and uptime reliability. In an era where data breaches are both costly and damaging to a company's reputation, maintaining client security was not just a priority—it was a necessity. Additionally, in their line of business, downtime could result in significant loss of revenue and client trust.
Enter Vinco, a boutique IT consulting firm with a brand essence of creating repeatable, transparent, and ethical outcomes. We positioned ourselves as the trusted partner and thought leader the organization needed to navigate these challenges.
Our team understood that running an in-house data center isn't just about maintaining servers—it involves managing energy consumption, ensuring proper cooling, tackling hardware and software issues, staying ahead of rapid technological advancements, and so much more.
Furthermore, Vinco recognized the need for a proactive approach to client security. In today's cyber landscape, defending against potential threats requires constant vigilance and state-of-the-art security measures. At the same time, uptime reliability was non-negotiable. This meant implementing robust disaster recovery and backup plans to ensure that the organization's IT infrastructure could withstand unforeseen circumstances.
Drawing on our industry expertise and commitment to high-touch, personalized service, Vinco was ready to step in and help the organization achieve its goals. We set out to provide innovative, scalable solutions that would not only help the organization reduce its capital expenditures but also enhance its data center management capabilities, boost security, and improve uptime reliability.
The organization we worked with was in a critical situation. Faced with the need to significantly reduce capital expenditures, it was also grappling with the complexities of managing an in-house data center. These complexities included everything from the sheer logistical challenges of day-to-day operations to the recruitment and retention of skilled IT personnel.
The situation was further compounded by the high stakes of ensuring client security and uptime reliability. In an era where data breaches are both costly and damaging to a company's reputation, maintaining client security was not just a priority—it was a necessity. Additionally, in their line of business, downtime could result in significant loss of revenue and client trust.
Enter Vinco, a boutique IT consulting firm with a brand essence of creating repeatable, transparent, and ethical outcomes. We positioned ourselves as the trusted partner and thought leader the organization needed to navigate these challenges.
Our team understood that running an in-house data center isn't just about maintaining servers—it involves managing energy consumption, ensuring proper cooling, tackling hardware and software issues, staying ahead of rapid technological advancements, and so much more.
Furthermore, Vinco recognized the need for a proactive approach to client security. In today's cyber landscape, defending against potential threats requires constant vigilance and state-of-the-art security measures. At the same time, uptime reliability was non-negotiable. This meant implementing robust disaster recovery and backup plans to ensure that the organization's IT infrastructure could withstand unforeseen circumstances.
Drawing on our industry expertise and commitment to high-touch, personalized service, Vinco was ready to step in and help the organization achieve its goals. We set out to provide innovative, scalable solutions that would not only help the organization reduce its capital expenditures but also enhance its data center management capabilities, boost security, and improve uptime reliability.
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