NWN Makes a New Start With Debut Lineup of Solutions
IT service provider launches revamped as-a-service portfolio
Managed IT service provider NWN launched a new portfolio of cloud-scale solutions that fall under the umbrella of a new management platform that drives communication and analytics, all part of a larger effort to rebrand the company at a time when customers are transforming their businesses for the cloud era.
The Lowdown: The revamping of NWN is being done under the auspices of Jim Sullivan, who in May was named president and CEO to help drive revenue growth at the company, which launched in 2000.
The Details: The revamped NWN comes with not only new solutions but also a new brand identity and a new tagline – “Innovation Delivered” – according to company officials. The new IT services are aimed at providing users with a more unified experience in such areas as Unified Communications-as-a-Service (UCaaS), security, contact centers, and Device-as-a-Service (DaaS), as well as advanced technologies such as analytics.
The new Experience Management Platform (EMP) is designed to give enterprises and other organizations a unified view of their IT environment, from their core data centers out to their cloud environments. It offers interactive communication, business intelligence, and analytics capabilities, including reporting and dashboard features that run the gamut from service desks and detecting and remediating cybersecurity threats to managing and monitoring IT infrastructure and ensuring service-level agreements (SLAs).
Background: NWN comes into this next phase of its existence with almost two decades behind it, about 1,300 customers in the United States, and more than 350 employees.
The Buzz: “The new NWN is built on a strong foundation of great customers, the most innovative partners, our own proprietary technology, and hundreds of dedicated employees, working together to create a consistently excellent experience,” Sullivan said. “In the few months since we began to sharpen our focus and redefine our mission, we have seen strong acceleration of our growth and validation from our customers. The pace of innovation is providing today’s organizations with unprecedented opportunities to grow and bring new and improved services to their customers and constituents by transforming their digital experiences. It also brings tremendous challenges that are straining many organizations. Customers need integrated platforms to maximize the impact of all this innovation, and NWN has never been more prepared than we are today to provide the technologies, the integration, and managed and professional services to make our customers — and their customers — successful.”
“Our technology mission is really about enhancing the lives of the people in our community, from public works to utilities to finance and beyond,” said Nicole Raimundo, CIO of the town of Cary, North Carolina, an NWN customer. “We had to change the skill sets of the whole organization while balancing the day-to-day operations. NWN has been the best partner because it really is a partnership. They are supporting our deployments, networking environment, voice environment, and equipment, which has resulted in better services to our citizens and an improved customer experience across the board. We think about this in terms of small-impact changes; the technology is actually seamless and you don’t see it at all. They are an extension of our team.”
“We pride ourselves on 99.9% network uptime,” said Colleen Medeiros, CIO and senior vice president for BankNewport, an NWN customer. “My team doesn’t spend a lot of time on our network environment because it runs so well. NWN brought experts to the table from the beginning, people who were knowledgeable, who understood our networking environment, as well as what we do and how we do it. Even when our team was fully on board, NWN didn’t disappear. Each month an NWN expert reviews the network report with us to make sure we’re not missing anything and to make proactive suggestions for our environment. Overall, I have peace of mind knowing we have the talent to back us up.”
“Organizational survival today depends on how rapidly and effectively you can consume and deploy technology that improves your customers’ lives,” said Steve Duplessie, founder and senior analyst at the Enterprise Strategy Group. “Everyone is struggling with this reality because the stakes are so high and it requires different skills and a lot more agility. NWN is a new breed of SaaS company — a solution-as-a-service provider that can help accelerate everything.”
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