Bryles Research Improves Employee Productivity With Strategic Assistance from Ntiva

THE CHALLENGE

Outdated Processes Hindered Remote Employee Productivity

Bryles Research is in the data business, but it had a data problem. The company specializes in qualitative market research, product testing and large-scale taste testing for global food and beverage brands. Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Mokena, IL, the firm has about one hundred employees in three offices across the U.S.

The challenge that Bryles Research faced was in accessing and sharing files. Employees were accessing their files and data by connecting to an on-premises Remote Desktop Server located in Illinois.

This was an inadequate solution because it prevented real-time collaboration - only one user could access a file at a time, clearly a major hindrance to productivity.

There were also problems when employees were travelling. Not only did employees have a difficult time accessing files on the Remote Desktop Server from remote locations, but not all files were accessible from some of the mobile devices that staff used (laptops, tablets, phones).

Finally, Bryles Research had a data control challenge because staff were downloading files from the Remote Desktop Server and saving them on local machines – without ever backing them up.

Multiple versions of the same file were being saved in multiple places, creating data sprawl and limiting the organization’s capabilities in the event of a data loss.

THE SOLUTION

Strategic Sessions Help Uncover Next Steps for Bryles

Ntiva sat down with Bryles Research during one of their regularly scheduled strategy sessions to fully understand the challenge and strategize on an appropriate solution. It was recommended the company move from their on-premises Remote Desktop Server to a more modern file storage and sharing solution utilizing Microsoft 365 applications.

The Ntiva Professional Services team conducted an analysis to determine the exact needs, mapped their current file structure framework, and reviewed current users, security groups and access permissions.

The next step was to migrate the company data that was located on the Remote Desktop Server to SharePoint Online.

This involved building out and configuring the SharePoint Online Framework, including all necessary site collections, document libraries, security groups and user access permissions for designated users, while also configuring OneDrive on employee devices. In total more than 1 million files were migrated over.

Ntiva also trained the company’s administrators, teaching them how to maintain their new file structure in SharePoint, and how to help their end users access, save, organize, and share files in ways that meet company policies and best practices for data privacy and security.

THE IMPACT

Exponential Increases In Productivity And Efficiency

Bryles Research employees can now access any file at any time on any device from anywhere in the world. As a result, employee productivity and efficiency have increased exponentially. Collaboration has increased, too, and all files are now backed up automatically to the cloud.

The company couldn’t be happier to have partnered with Ntiva to deploy this solution.

“Bryles Research has been working with Ntiva for more than 11 years,” says Scott Bryles, CEO. “They’ve been proactive. Anytime I’ve had any kind of issue, they’ve been very good about addressing it. We are very happy with Ntiva's ability to provide strategic advice beyond the tactical "break-fix" service that many other MSPs provide.”