Why the Fort Walton Beach Chamber Chooses Bit-Wizards to Keep its Community Connected

The Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce is a nonprofit community development organization that advocates for businesses throughout Okaloosa County. Founded in 1946, the Chamber unites local companies, nonprofits, government leaders, and cultural figures to strengthen the local community. From hosting networking events to offering promotion opportunities for local businesses, the organization’s efforts entirely rely on technology.

“In the world we now live in, IT is it—everything goes through technology,” says Ted Corcoran, President and CEO of the Fort Walton Beach Chamber. “Communicating with our members is a key part of our mission, and it all happens through emails, our website, and other channels that depend on IT to work.”

In 2015, the team at the Chamber began to recognize that its technological capabilities were far from optimal. At the same time, Bit-Wizards co-founders Vince Mayfield and Louis Erickson became more involved with the Chamber and other community initiatives. The two met with Ted to share their interest in supporting the member association’s IT needs, and their collaboration took off from there.

“We initially partnered with Bit-Wizards due to a set of perfect circumstances: we weren’t really receiving what we needed from our previous IT provider, and we were ready to make some improvements,” recalls Seth Luttrell, Director of Operations at the Chamber. “We had a perfect intersection with Bit-Wizards, and it ended up being an ideal fit because their goals were perfectly aligned with ours.”

Ten years later, the Fort Walton Beach Chamber remains a steadfast Managed IT Services (MITS) client, demonstrating the benefits of dependable IT support for chambers of commerce. Bit-Wizards has consistently supported the Chamber’s team over the past decade by enhancing its IT resilience, delivering custom solutions built around its workflows, and providing top-notch support backed by a team of experts.

The Challenge

Business associations and other membership organizations are expected to run consistently, and interruptions can come from a wide range of sources. From large-scale outages caused by a hurricane or cyber threat to day-to-day interruptions resulting from intermittent issues, the Chamber was concerned about potential outages and data loss.

“It was difficult to deliver our services without a solid, reliable infrastructure, and our biggest concern was whether we’d experience a hurricane or other emergency that could lead to the loss of any of our data or infrastructure components,” Seth says. “So many of the products and opportunities we provide are digital, so any technical delay or interruption on our end directly affects our ability to support local businesses.”

Additionally, the team at the Chamber wasn’t given a way to store its data in a way that simultaneously prioritized security and enabled remote access. While the existing cookie-cutter infrastructure from their managed service provider (MSP) supported their operations, it didn’t open doors to new opportunities or improve their current workflows.

“A lot of managed IT providers want to put you in a box and deliver what they think is best for you,” Seth shares. “Unfortunately, they often do so without evaluating your team’s work habits and making sure the fit is ideal for your organization before implementing what they want you to use.”

While Seth was able to keep things afloat at the Chamber using his own experience in the IT field, it wasn’t enough to make up for the gap created by the previous provider’s reactive approach to solving problems. Whenever they waited long periods without resolution, Seth was left to focus on technology issues instead of helping Chamber members.

“As someone who’s always been the in-house IT resource that bridged the gap between higher-level IT resources and everyday office operations, having someone with a limited skill set handling big issues isn’t a very efficient operation,” Seth says. “I can provide a lot more value to our members if I’m being hands-on with them instead of working on IT issues in the background.”

The Solution

As a neighbor of the Fort Walton Beach Chamber, Bit-Wizards immediately understood and related to the team’s concerns about their IT resilience. They assessed the Chamber’s IT to conduct a complete infrastructure optimization that prioritized both efficiency and business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR).

“Incorporating SharePoint and other Office 365 tools into the Chamber’s IT allows them to securely access and share files wherever they are, whether their team is working at an offsite meeting or needs to evacuate for an incoming hurricane,” says Brian Schlechter, Director of IT at Bit-Wizards. “We also provide backups for their devices, Office 365 accounts, emails, and SharePoint environment. Should something get deleted, destroyed, or compromised in some way, we can restore their information and minimize disruptions.”

By introducing cloud infrastructure elements and implementing backups, Bit-Wizards enabled the Chamber to operate more securely in any conditions. These added components created a more comprehensive IT infrastructure and peace of mind for Seth and his coworkers, which especially came in handy in 2020.

“We were fortunate that we worked with Bit-Wizards to make changes to our technology prior to Covid—we opened up the ability to work remotely, and it positioned us perfectly to continue delivering member services through the pandemic,” Seth reflects. “Having that solid infrastructure combined with remote capabilities gave us the option to deliver nearly the same in-person products and experiences online, and it was really cool to be able to meet that challenge with help from the Wizards.”

Becoming a MITS client also meant the Fort Walton Beach Chamber could shed its one-size-fits-all technology solutions. With Bit-Wizards, the Chamber team shared information about their operations and received custom solutions that adjusted as their needs and goals evolved over the years.

“Every IT tool exists in unison to support an organization, so we have to tailor the services we provide to ensure technology contributes to their business instead of hindering it,” says Michael Chance, Technical Service Team Manager at Bit-Wizards. “We work alongside your business to design and build an IT infrastructure that best suits your unique situation. From the types of servers and firewalls you have to the Microsoft services you utilize, everything is tailored to meet your needs.”

The differences in service and attention to detail were immediately noticeable to Seth and the team. Whether it was expanding their remote work capabilities or removing some of their on-premises hardware needs with the cloud, the Wizards ensured every effort meaningfully contributed to the Chamber’s mission.

“We really loved the fact that Bit-Wizards came in, got a thorough understanding of what we lacked from our computing environment, didn’t try to sell us anything we wouldn’t use, and tailored their solutions to support our organization’s goals exactly the way we needed them to,” Seth shares. “Knowing our information is backed up, our systems are secure, and potential weaknesses are closed has given us peace of mind about our members and their information.”

Whenever someone at the Chamber needs assistance with an IT issue, help from a whole team of real-life Wizards is just a quick call or email away. Instead of working with an in-house resource and an unhelpful external company, the Chamber can access a wide range of skill sets and focus its time on supporting members, not troubleshooting issues.

“By becoming a MITS client, small- and medium-sized businesses like the Chamber gain a full team of experts for the cost it would take to hire one or two full-time personnel,” Brian says. “Even if you have an expert IT employee, they could be busy and take more time to respond than you can manage. Having a larger team means you get a wide breadth of knowledge, since each person knows a bit about everything while holding their own specialization.”

In working with Bit-Wizards, the Chamber received more than a team of IT experts—it gained a group of people who care about the organization’s success and each individual who works there. While the hardware and software components are critical parts of each solution and project, each Wizard prioritizes the human element of each interaction.

“If you were to ask any of my engineers what their job is, they’re going to tell you their job is customer service, not to fix computers,” Michael explains. “That distinction is important because, if your job is to fix computers, the technology is what you focus on and care about. If your job is customer service, the customer is the most essential aspect. We provide customer service by managing our clients’ IT infrastructures, but our focus is on the individual instead of the equipment they use.”

With a night-and-day difference in approach between Bit-Wizards and other MSPs, the team at the Chamber instantly felt more heard and understood whenever they reached out about IT issues. Seth and his coworkers especially appreciated the technical resolutions fueled by empathy.

“My favorite thing about Bit-Wizards is the way I feel coming away from every interaction,” Seth says. “You can tell everybody there enjoys being there, which really changes the temperature that you experience with any organization’s customer service. I always have complete confidence and feel like it was a pleasant interaction, which is so uncommon in today’s world. Every Wizard is positive and outgoing, and you walk away from every experience feeling good about what you accomplished.”

The Result

Bit-Wizards has supported the Fort Walton Beach Chamber for 10 years, and the partnership continues to flourish on the technology front. The team at the Chamber has the resources required to fully focus on its members through whatever obstacles they may face, ensuring that local businesses and organizations receive the support they need. The connection between the two organizations is especially strengthened by their shared mission of giving back to the community.

“When choosing between a company that will take care of your IT needs and another that will reinvest in your community, you can choose Bit-Wizards and get a company that does both,” Ted states. “In the last 10 years, after we hired Bit-Wizards and they got more involved in the community, their presence and efforts have transformed Okaloosa County, without a doubt. They take care of your IT needs while improving the community’s quality of life and making it a better place. What else could you ask for?”

Both Brian and Michael believe the Chamber continues to work with Bit-Wizards after 10 years because they recognize and appreciate the value that Bit-Wizards adds to the organization itself and the local community. Becoming a MITS client is a significant investment, but it pays dividends in so many vital aspects beyond technology.

“Our community involvement is a big part of the culture at Bit-Wizards, and it’s important to us because it helps us show our values and find partners that align with them,” Brian says. “We’re not the cheapest option that you’re going to find in the IT partnership market, but we’re going to give you services with the best value while adding value to the culture within your own company.”

Get in touch to learn more about how a partnership with Bit-Wizards delivers anything but average IT solutions.