How Eric Leathers of AgriThority Partnered With Tim Conard And His Team At TS Conard To Up Their Technology Game And Streamline Their Cybersecurity Protocols
When you run a business dedicated to bridging the gap between agricultural research and market commercialization, you don’t have the time or patience to wait hours, days, or even weeks for solutions to your tech problems—you need them solved quickly, with little to no downtime. Unfortunately, long response times and half-completed tickets were the norm for Eric Leathers and his team at AgriThority® when working with their last IT provider. But since hooking up with Tim Conard and his crew at TS Conard, not only is their partnership flourishing but Eric’s team can work confidently, knowing they have a premier IT provider behind them and allowing them to get back to what they do best—providing businesses with the agricultural expertise they need to develop, test, and bring new, innovative products to market.
A FRUSTRATING PREVIOUS PARTNERSHIP
Eric first joined AgriThority back in 2015. “They needed someone who could do a bit of everything, like accounting, bookkeeping, office management, operations, etc., and since I’d been working in small businesses my entire life, I was a really good fit,” Eric begins. “At the time I was hired, we had been working with an IT company, and things were good, but soon, they were bought by a larger corporation, and the service started to go downhill.” He continues, “It was tough because we have employees, contractors, and vendors spread out worldwide, meaning we rely heavily on our technology for communication and organization. But with this IT company, it got to the point where my employees didn’t even want to call because they knew they would either be waiting days for a response, only get half their problems solved, or would have to repeat themselves endlessly.” Eric knew there had to be a better way.
“Funny enough, as the whole team was getting more and more fed up with the previous provider, I kept getting these promo mailers from TS Conard,” Eric explains. “Finally, I was like, ‘Alright, I’m going to call them and see what they’re all about,’ and it was the best decision I’ve ever made.” Not only did Tim have no problem catering to AgriThority’s worldwide associates but the firm’s responsiveness, attention to detail, and forward-thinking abilities were evident from the start. “We had a list of things we needed help with, and Tim and his team came armed with a strong proposal that covered everything—including some things we hadn’t even thought of,” says Eric. “And once we did make the switch in 2020, everyone was very impressed with the service, shocked even, that issues would get resolved properly and almost immediately.”
THE NEW TECHNOLOGY TRAIL
But it’s not just the day-to-day tech troubles that TS Conard is helping AgriThority with; it’s also implementing proactive strategies to protect and secure the business. “One thing that’s become a major priority in recent years is cybersecurity, especially when we’re dealing with all of these companies across the world,” notes Eric. “Some of these countries don’t have very good cybersecurity procedures, and a lot of malicious stuff can come out of those regions. So TS Conard installed software on our computers to monitor and authenticate anything that gets downloaded to ensure it’s safe. This prevents accidental exposure to viruses, malware, or other harmful content that could be hidden in email attachments or online downloads.” In addition, TS Conard puts out new training videos each year along with micro training sessions that help keep the AgriThority staff up to date on best cybersecurity practices.
It’s clear that TS Conard is not only dedicated to managing AgriThority’s technology requirements but is also more than willing to distribute the information they need to make informed technology decisions.
For example, one thing that will be a point of emphasis in the coming year is moving some of AgriThority’s historical data and larger files to a physical server. “Something that was becoming an issue was always having to buy more data for our SharePoint,” Eric says. “Nowadays, there’s a lot more drone and satellite imagery, which are huge files, so moving to a physical server should free up some cloud space.” However, Eric, who considers himself fairly techliterate, had questions about the transition. “To be honest, I’m not very familiar with things like building out a server,” Eric admits. “I did have quite a few questions, but Tim and his team were able to break it down for me further so that I could understand it, which I really appreciated.”
Regarding his overall experience and what he would tell other decision makers who know they need to up their IT game but maybe don’t know where to turn, Eric says, “Once you find an IT provider like TS Conard that you have confidence in, you’ll never go back. You know they’re going to understand the problem and fix it correctly the first time, and you’re not going to have to go back multiple times over the same issue.” He adds, “They even have an after-hours line, which we’ve had to use on occasion, which once again demonstrates their responsiveness, professionalism, and commitment to putting their clients first.”
Ultimately, over the past four years, TS Conard has become an integral part of how AgriThority runs their business. But they’re more than just a vendor, they’re a trusted partner who’s equally dedicated to the success of the business. From promptly resolving tech issues to streamlining AgriThority’s cybersecurity protocols and always going the extra mile to ensure things are running properly, Tim and his crew at TS Conard have freed the AgriThority team from the technology burden they were previously facing, allowing them to focus all their efforts on providing cost-effective agricultural research and development solutions for businesses worldwide.
