BCCK – A Fresh Approach to IT

BCCK turns to NetAscendant for strategic technology upgrades and ongoing management and support to keep its offices running smoothly.

BCCK is a single-source provider of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services, including concept, engineering, design, fabrication, manufacturing and complete construction. Founded in 1980, the company has its headquarters and a secondary location in Midland, Texas and an office in the Houston metro area. BCCK holds numerous technology patents and is a leader in nitrogen rejection units for the natural gas industry.

The company’s IT infrastructure was outdated and no longer meeting its needs, and the person who took care of its in-house IT was ready to retire. Executive Vice President Greg Hall began looking for a third-party IT provider who could handle strategic upgrades and ongoing management and support. That led him to NetAscendant.

“Back in 2017, NetAscendant was just getting started so I was a little hesitant to hire them. But when we went through the process of evaluating our options, it became clear to everyone else that NetAscendant was our best bet,” Hall said. “They were right. It’s been a wonderful experience.”

NetAscendant’s capabilities were soon tested. Shortly after the two companies began working together, one of BCCK’s Microsoft Exchange servers failed on a Friday afternoon. There wasn’t another server available, and with BCCK’s antiquated backup system, it was difficult to recover data.

“Our engineers use high-end computers, and we had a surplus one of these. NetAscendant was able to use it to get our Exchange server back up and running by Monday morning,” said Hall. “Now our problems are few and far between. But at that time NetAscendant did what they had to do to ensure we didn’t have downtime.”

Improving Communication

Since then, NetAscendant has upgraded BCCK’s entire IT infrastructure. The NetAscendant team consolidated multiple server domains into a single domain and upgraded the core network at the main office in Midland. They also upgraded switches and firewalls and installed Cisco Meraki security appliances and a new Cisco wireless network in all locations. Secure connectivity between all sites helps ensure remote access to applications and data.

“We needed to access the server seamlessly from all locations,” Hall said. “NetAscendant worked with the Internet service providers to make sure that was all set up right. They manage all of our Internet connections.”

A new phone system also facilitates communication among BCCK’s offices. NetAscendant implemented the Cisco phone system with 100 phones in the Midland and Houston locations.

“I joined the company in 1999, and when NetAscendant became involved, we still had the same phone system. It was originally installed in the early 1990s,” said Hall. “With the new phone system, users can access their voice mails through email, and change the settings on their phones to forward calls to their cell or their home. So, when COVID happened they could still get their calls.”

NetAscendant also designed a one-touch, bring-your-own-device video conferencing system for use in BCCK’s conference rooms. This enables collaboration among people in the various offices and working from home.

“I didn’t want something that an IT guy would have to show me how to use,” Hall said. “The system NetAscendant installed is great. It’s very simple, and people love it.”

Security and Backup

The NetAscendant team migrated BCCK’s email to Microsoft 365, eliminating the need for multiple, on-premises Exchange servers. They also implemented security features such as multifactor authentication to protect the email system. This resolved problems BCCK was having with business email compromise threats, in which hackers impersonate a company executive or vendor to trick people into sending payments to bogus accounts.

“Hackers were getting into email through vendors and customers, trying to get us to redirect payment to them,” said Hall. “NetAscendant put in two-factor authentication so our email accounts couldn’t be compromised. There was some resistance at first, but once the NetAscendant team explained it and got it in place, everyone saw how easy it was and understood its importance.

“NetAscendant has been able to improve our security significantly. We get a lot of questions from our insurance provider, and the NetAscendant team has been proactive in keeping ahead of those questions and looking for vulnerabilities. And, of course, as a business we are concerned about cyber threats. There are still things we want to do but we’re definitely in a better position now.”

Another key concern was backup. BCCK stores a lot of critical business information and intellectual property in computer-aided design (CAD) files. The company’s outdated backup system put the business at risk.

“Our most important data is in those files,” Hall said. “We build gas plants, and if we lose all the drawings, data sheets and any other files related to those projects, we’re in trouble. Before, our backups were stored offsite on tape. Thanks to NetAscendant, we have a backup system in the cloud. We can recover files in minutes, not days, whether someone accidentally deletes a file or there’s some kind of disaster.”

One-Stop Shop

NetAscendant continues to keep BCCK’s technology up to date, establishing a quick-turnaround process for provisioning and deploying computers and ensuring that the proper role-specific software is installed. This has been especially beneficial when project employees are added during high-growth periods, but it also helps ensure peak levels of productivity.

“I told them I don’t want people doing workarounds, having to reboot several times a day or something like that,” said Hall. “If computer problems consume an hour a day, that’s almost a week’s worth of time a month. A new computer pays for that pretty quickly. NetAscendant stays on top of that for us and has an efficient system for rolling machines in and out.

Perhaps most importantly, NetAscendant monitors and manages BCCK’s IT environment and performs proactive maintenance to maximize security and performance. That brings Hall peace of mind.

“A lot of times, they know about problems before we do. They’re constantly monitoring everything,” Hall said. “It’s much better than having one in-house person. That person could get sick or go on vacation. NetAscendant is always available, and it’s very cost-effective.

“We never really have any availability problems. We don’t see them a lot, which means they’re doing their jobs. They take of everything for us so we don’t have to. They’re definitely a one-stop shop.”