|
Franciscan University of Steubenville
Steubenville, OH
Dear Sirs,
In March 2005, Franciscan University of Steubenville was
evaluating whether to renew our lease with our current telephone
system or implement a new telephone system using more recent
technology.
Representatives from the Business Office, Physical Plant and the
Office of Information Technology at Franciscan University were
given the permission to enlist the help of a consultant to
shepherd us through this project. We asked three consultants to
evaluate our current telephone system and present to us a design
and proposal that would provide the university a stable and
redundant telephone system that both students and administration
would benefit from.
While all three demonstrated a technical expertise in the area,
it was a unanimous decision to acquire Walczak Technology
Consultants, Inc as our consultant. Mr. Walczak’s proposal,
unlike the others was not a “boilerplate” proposal but rather
described in detail our current telephone system and provided us
a snapshot of how Franciscan University’s telephone system was
configured. His proposal presented the university alternative
solutions that allowed the administrators to make a decision
based on functionality, redundancy and cost. Based on the
proposal submitted by Walczak Technology Consultants, the
administration was confident that implementing a Voice over IP (VoIP)
solution was the best solution for the university.
Our next step in this process was to select a vendor that
provided a stable VoIP solution that integrated with our current
network infrastructure. Mr. Walczak began this process by
preparing a detailed RFP fully describing the site, equipment
locations, system requirements, etc. Essentially the core of the
project, his RFP became the basis for comparing vendors,
evaluating pricing, contracting the work, administering the
project, establishing successful completion and making payment.
His experience was evident in the way that the RFP was carefully
structured to meet the particular requirements of a college
telephone installation.
Mr. Walczak and Franciscan University agreed to entertain
proposals from five vendors. During this time, Mr. Walczak
remained unbiased in the evaluation process in relation to the
vendors. The university was responsible for making the ultimate
decision when selecting the vendor. Mr. Walczaks’s role in this
decision was to provide us information that may not have been
clearly explained by the vendors as well as provide us the
common pitfalls as well as the benefits to the vendor’s
solution. Mr. Walczak’s unbiased opinion of each vendor’s
solution was a testimony to his integrity by remaining vendor
neutral.
After evaluating all proposals, Mr. Walczak questioned specific
points in each vendors proposals using e-mail and copying his
questions and vendor responses to key administrators at the
university keeping us informed at all time. His expertise in the
area of reviewing proposals saved the university much time and
clarified many issues in the proposals that may have gone
unnoticed if the university was tasked with this responsibility.
After reviewing the proposals, Mr. Walczak presented the
university with a report that detailed the pro’s and con’s of
each vendor’s solution. After reviewing this report, Franciscan
University selected the vendor that best fit the universities
needs.
During the implementation of the VoIP system, the vendor was
forthcoming about a discrepancy in the proposal that would cost
the university additional money. Mr. Walczak took exception to
the university paying for this discrepancy and presented a
letter to the vendor outlining what he felt was the
responsibility of the vendor and that the university should not
be responsible for additional costs. The vendor complied with
Mr. Walczak’s suggestions without costing the university
additional money while still maintaining a good relationship
with the vendor.
Our cutover date was August 11, 2006. We are still working out
some of the issues that are inherent in a project such as this,
but the university is very satisfied with the VoIP solution.
Our relationship and experience with Mr. Walczak can not be
overstated. He has proven to be very forth coming with
information, unyielding when dealing with vendors when trying to
protect the university’s best interest but always maintaining a
professional relationship. Because we are a Catholic university,
I would be remiss if I did not mention the respect that he had
for our culture, clergy and the mission of the university.
If you care to further discuss our experience with Walczak
Technology Consultants, please call or e-mail me.
Sincerely,
Kevin G. Sebolt
Director, Office of Information Technology
Franciscan University of Steubenville
References Main Page
|
