Brainstorm Tutoring

BrainStorm Tutoring, LLC provides one-on-one, in-home tutoring and coaching in every school subject for every age, grades K-College. After five years of growth, Brainstorm turned to Compeffi for advice on their computing needs during expansion into their new Learning & Arts Center. By applying Compeffi's process of first identifying the specific computing needs and priorities, Compeffi prepared a clear plan and technological requirements document for Brainstorm. This gave Brainstorm a unique position when selecting and negotiating with IT contractors and resulted in a highly reliable computing platform without unnecessary bells and whistles. Compeffi served as Brainstorm's advocate throughout the technology procurement and implementation project.

Architectural Window

Architectural Window designs and manufactures custom windows for commercial buildings including everything from factories to Manhattan hotels. In a past contractor role Compeffi co-founder Nick was tasked with an IT systems overhaul. Even before Compeffi was formed computing efficiency has always been a core principle in our work. After carefully mapping out and analyzing the client’s computing needs and priorities Nick designed and directly implemented a solution meant to last.

Specifically a migration and deployment for Architectural Window of Windows Terminal Services was a key aspect determined to have both short term and long term payback. This achieved an effect similar to today's popular virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) technology. Another aspect of the approach was to utilize used IT equipment where it made sense in a high reliability and availability design so as to still reduce capitol expenditure vs. a single piece of new hardware. Years later is can be seen that this project saved AW tremendous money, greatly improved manageability and reliability, as well as benefited the environment through much greater equipment lifetime.

Specialty Electronic Instrumentation Manufacturer

This client designs and manufactures specialized instruments for use in heavy industry and often hazardous (explosive atmosphere) locations. Before Compeffi was formed Mark and Nick designed and implemented of a company wide migration to an in-house private cloud built on the VMWare ESXi hypervisor. This included all servers, shared virtual desktops for infrequently used high license cost software, part of the factory production floor computing, and a VoIP PBX all conveniently managed in a private cloud. This client was interested in pushing the envelope for a low total cost of ownership as well as low capitol expenditure and minimized ongoing burden to the in-house staff.

We had to be creative on this project, pushing performance for example with a virtualized guest implementation of Asterisk performing real-time computing for the phones. Security and system availability prioritization were also of concern for the production floor resulting in technology choices like VLANs, OpenBSD PF and OpenVPN, and hypervisor guest priorities. While many aspects of the project were done inexpensively, this placed greater importance on some components where spending increased. A common theme is that the Internet is underutilized and undervalued in business because it is a complex constantly evolving technology. With this client the extra monthly fee for a redundant Internet line was immediately paid for twice over by eliminating legacy T1 voice circuits. Now realizing that Internet access is highly reliable at the site many other options opened up for relying on Internet delivered cloud hosted services for daily business functions.

Energy Management Consulting Firm

One of NYC's premier energy consulting firms helps building owners and managers to realize better energy efficiency in terms of consumption streamlining through data visualization as well as contract rate discounts by implementing quick temporary load-shedding when requested by the utility. As this client grew they decided to transition the Internet historical meter database and front-end web-site site used daily by all customers away from a legacy provider as well as add new system features. A complex project, clearly in need of tight planning and organization.

Nick designed a new fully cloud based and high availability implementation of the database and web-site. Automated data collection units and sensor networks at each building being managed where seamlessly migrated to the new system with no interruption of customer service. The architecture utilized Amazon Web Services not only for reliability but also the tremendous cost savings realized by treating computing as a utility with 0 capitol expenditure or maintenance costs. Purpose built data center's such as those used by Amazon when properly utilized achieve an efficiency paradigm typically unattainable in general business environments.