Company Name:  Crane Construction

Name & Title: Nick Salmons, President & Co-Owner

Location:  Savannah, MO

Website: Crane-Construction.com

Industry: Retail General Contracting

When you’re in charge of overseeing 25 employees and ensuring each active project your team has is moving along as expected, you have enough on your plate without stressing about your IT. Rather than worry about upgrading your outdated servers, troubleshooting network issues, or updating your cybersecurity protocols, you need to be able to come into the office and get to work knowing that your technology needs are fully covered. And this is precisely what Nick Salmons of Crane Construction had until his previous IT professional was unexpectedly unable to continue his role with the company. Thankfully, Nick found Tim Conard and his team at TS Conard, who jumped in to help Crane Construction’s operations continue moving forward while also elevating their technology solutions to the next level.

IT Upheaval

Nick has been a part of the Crane Construction team for the past 15 years in a variety of positions. Today, he’s the President and Co-Owner, meaning he’s in charge of making decisions to keep the business running smoothly—including the IT services. “Our situation leading up to partnering with TS Conard was a little bit different than most,” Nick begins. “We [. . .] had an internal IT person for the past 12 years who had taken care of our technology solutions as our business continued to grow. This worked great for us because whenever we had a problem, we would go over to his office, and he would deal with it.”

Unfortunately, this associate was diagnosed with cancer and passed away suddenly in late summer 2022, leaving Crane Construction reeling from this tragedy and without anyone to look after their IT. At this point, Nick had a choice: hire someone else to fill this position or outsource his IT support to an MSP. “We needed to find somebody quick that could adequately take over,” explains Nick. “But just because we were in an SOS-type situation didn’t mean I wanted to settle with my IT.” He continues, “It became clear that having one associate hold all of the IT knowledge for the company wasn’t ideal, so my search for an MSP began.”

A New Normal

After looking online for local IT companies, Nick happened to come across TS Conard. “Everything I saw on their website was very positive, so I called to see if we could set up an appointment,” says Nick. “Tim and his team took the time to meet with us, created a proposal based on our needs, and explained how they could help advance our tech.” He adds, “Although it was hard because of the difficult situation we had been placed in, I was also relieved knowing that TS Conard would be able to step in and help us out.”

And Tim and his team wasted no time getting straight to work. Says Nick, “We were planning on upgrading our servers eventually anyway, but it was fantastic working with TS Conard on the project because they were able to put their input into what we needed to do going forward. They did a great job with presenting what they were going to do, giving me timelines, and then actually doing it as per those deadlines, all while keeping me updated throughout the process. They’ve always been excellent at communicating and not leaving us in the dark, which is something we’ve truly appreciated.”

And it’s not only Crane Construction’s servers they’ve helped update but also their cybersecurity protocols. “Due to the tragic nature in which our last IT associate left our organization, it was a little stressful to let a new company come in and critique the previous work. However, Tim and his team have been extremely sensitive and compassionate regarding the situation. For example, they’ll never question why things were done the way they were; rather, they’ll explain how it was being executed previously and suggest new ways to minimize vulnerabilities and maximize the effectiveness of the technology we use,” states Nick. “Although we’ve always had some level of cybersecurity, something that we didn’t really have before was specific training for our employees. Having this user training from TS Conard has been instrumental in keeping our business safe and secure while informing our associates on the best practices in the workplace.”

Forging Forward

Regarding what the overall relationship has been like, Nick says “[o]ur partnership over the past year or so has truly been amazing. Tim and his team are highly responsive to any issues we come across, are never pushy about their extra projects, and are always willing to explain things—and re-explain them—if needed. They’ve also helped us achieve a lot of progress as a company, whether it’s sourcing new pieces of technology or implementing things to help us run our business better.” He adds softly, “Although no one will be able to completely fill the void that our previous IT associate left, they’re doing a pretty good job.”

Ultimately, by TS Conard being able to step in at a moment’s notice and take the IT piece off Nick’s plate, he and his team have been able to get back to doing what they do best—providing premier retail contracting services to organizations throughout the United States.

And if you need a team of professional, dedicated, and compassionate IT experts, look no further than Tim Conard and his team at TS Conard.