Krista Sandt, Author at Civic ITC

Menlo, Inc. Certified as Healthy KC Company

by Krista Sandt | February 3, 2021 | Partnerships

Menlo, Inc., an innovator in managed information technology services, has been certified as a 2020-2021 Healthy KC Company by the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. This is the first time the company has received the certification.

“In the times of COVID-19, access to health and wellness programs for our employees has never been more important,” Brad Sandt, president and CEO of Menlo said. “It is our opportunity to provide a healthy environment for our employees so they can thrive both inside and outside of the office. Their well-being is key to our company’s growth and success.”

Healthy KC is an initiative launched by the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City. In order to qualify for certification, businesses must excel based on five pillars; healthy eating, active living, tobacco cessation, work-life integration, and design-built environment. In these fields, Menlo was able to achieve gold-level status.

“We are excited to achieve Gold-Level status this year,” Richard Bustamante, Director of Finance and Human Resources at Menlo said. “We will continue to find ways to improve policies to maintain and exceed the high certification standards for future years.”

Menlo is one of 35 businesses to be Gold-level certified, and of those, one of just two based in the technology industry.

Menlo, Inc. is the parent company of K12itc and Civic ITC. We provide genius technology services and solutions to schools and communities nationwide.

Mid-America Regional Council and Civic ITC Launch Partnership

by Krista Sandt | September 22, 2020 | Partnerships

The civic-focused technology company and MARC establish cooperative purchasing agreement for managed IT services available to communities in the MARC Region.

Last month, Civic ITC – a Kansas City based technology company for community organizations – and the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) launched a cooperative purchasing agreement for technology infrastructure and managed services.

The new cooperative purchasing agreement is available to all communities in the MARC region. It will provide the region’s municipalities advanced technology infrastructure and outsourced IT services at a discounted rate.

“The structure of our model will change the game for local government in Missouri and Kansas,” said Brad Sandt, President of Civic ITC. “We have a built a technology model for community organizations that can bundle IT infrastructure, connectivity, and support into one efficient package.”

This is MARC’s first cooperative purchasing agreement focused on outsourced technology.

“We are excited to launch our partnership with Civic ITC, “said David Warm, executive director at MARC. “Our members have repeatedly expressed hardships keeping up with ever-changing technology needs and IT staff turnover. This partnership with Civic ITC will encourage sharing services and best practices across jurisdictional boundaries to reduce costs and enhance network security for our members.”

Today, Civic ITC provides managed services to several community organizations throughout the metro, including the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce.

5 Telltale Signs Your City Needs Managed IT Services

by Krista Sandt | June 9, 2020 | Technology Tips

Hundreds (if not thousands) of municipalities across the country have started to take advantage of managed technology services. This popular shift allows local governments to focus on their community, not on fixing miscellaneous technology issues that arise throughout the workday. But why have so many municipalities decided to outsource their technology?

We have identified 5 telltale signs that will help you determine if your city is in need of a managed technology service. Take a look at them below:

1. There is lack of technology strategy and vision.

If you had to explain your technology strategy and vision today, could you do it? For many, the answer is no. Whether the IT team owns the strategy and vision, or the responsibility is that of the city administrator, everyone must share a common vision and strategy in order for technology to evolve and improve the community. When there is no clear strategy, it is difficult to advance technology.

2. IT can have high department turnover.

It’s no surprise that technology is a booming job market. Everyone is looking for talented technology resources. That means that your community isn’t just competing with other local governments for tech talent. You’re competing with large and small businesses (both of which can typically pay a higher salary).

Once qualified technology staff are found, they often leave for a higher paying job within a matter of a few years. The best way to ensure that you won’t run into technology staffing issues and turnover is by outsourcing its technology.

3. Your hardware can’t be trusted.

Do you have unreliable IT infrastructure? Messy closets? Do you experience regular interruptions to IT service? Are there long-standing problems within your network? If so, it may be time to consider a managed solution. Our Sam solution combines both hardware and service into one effective package. This ensures that your municipality not only has the service that it needs, but it also has sustainable hardware that doesn’t go underutilized.

4. There are lengthy wait times for IT support.

Technology is imperative to an entire community. In fact, most city employees rely on technology every day to effectively do their job. Therefore, when technology support is needed, staff require immediate support to get back on track. Simply put, your organization cannot afford to wait days upon days for IT support.

5. Technology stats and reporting aren’t accessible or insightful.

Is your municipality tracking technology work orders? Do you track customer satisfaction? City leaders need visibility to the technology statistics and reports that inform them as to whether their technology is working for them or against them. It’s important that communities have Help Desk performance statistics as well as frequent updates about problem areas, advancements and future tech plans.

If your municipality is experiencing any of the issues above, it is time to look into a managed technology solution. Our Sam platform, for instance, simplifies and combines the way technology is delivered to communities. Sam and its strategic technology management empowers communities to take a big leap forward and is worth looking into if your city struggles with any of the telltale signs above.

Top 10 Reasons to Outsource Local Government Technology

by Krista Sandt | May 20, 2020 | Technology Tips

Managing technology at your local government can be challenging and expensive. That’s why many have opted to outsource their local government technology. Take a look at our top 10 reasons to outsource local government technology:

1. Save money

If your local government is looking to use its dollars more wisely, a great solution for cutting costs is by outsourcing the technology. When outsourcing with a solution like Sam, communities and municipalities can experience up to 15% cost savings in their technology budget. Hiring internally, on the other hand, forces governments to maintain increasing salaries and benefits overtime. Outsourcing eliminates these costs.

2. Create more efficiencies

Speaking of saving money, outsourcing technology can also create tech efficiencies for your local government. Civic ITC, for example, bundles hardware needs with service. This allows for local governments to pay for technology over time, rather than upfront.

3. Ensure you have the right level of expertise

When you partner with a managed services provider like Civic, you are positioning yourself to work with industry experts. When you hire your own technology manager, it can be difficult to grasp their knowledge and expertise during the hiring process. Guarantee expertise by outsourcing to a company like Civic—there isn’t a problem we haven’t seen before!

4. Maintain tech talent

In today’s tech-focused world, qualified engineers are in high demand. And that means that local governments can experience high turnover in their technology departments. This, in turn, leads to a challenge in maintaining tech talent. Outsourcing government technology puts you at a lesser risk of being left high and dry.

5. Get extended support

A managed technology solution like Sam functions with extended remote support. A remote, cloud-based support solution allows technology problems in your community to be solved quickly and efficiently. With a local government IT outsourcing partner like Civic, you receive 24/7 technical support and do not have to pay overtime fees.

6. Operate with service level agreements

Sam, our managed service solution for local government, operates on a Service Level Agreement (SLA), which guarantees the highest level of support. When an SLA is in place, local governments receive a high level of technology service, which cannot always be guaranteed by a smaller, in-house technology team.

7. Rest easy knowing you have a secured network

Security is always a concern, especially for local government. The only way to be sure that your network is completely safe is by having a team of experts handle it. When you work with a tech company that specializes in the government landscape like Civic, you ensure that your network is secure from external threats.

8. There will be far less for you to worry about!

When you’re running an entire community, you shouldn’t have to worry about fixing technology challenges as they arise. That’s where a company like Civic can come in. Having a team behind your technology that can proactively troubleshoot possible problems allows your leaders to focus on community issues, not on small technology breaks.

9. Take advantage of the numbers

When you outsource your technology, you automatically have multiple experts managing your government’s technology hardware. This gives your community—no matter how big or small—the highest level of technology support with various engineers troubleshooting problems and providing input on best practices, trends and proactive projects.

10. Other local communities are doing it–and are rising to the top!

Many local government organizations throughout the nation—both large and small—are outsourcing their technology. Managed technology solutions can be built for large or small budgets and are completely customized.

If you’re ready to outsource your government’s technology, Civic’s Sam solution can help. To find out more about Sam, visit our managed services page or contact Civic today.

K12ITC LEADERSHIP EXPANDS FOCUS, POSITIONS FOR GROWTH

by Krista Sandt | September 19, 2018 | Partnerships

KANSAS CITY, MO. (Sept. 19, 2018) – An innovator in managed information technology services in the education sector is expanding its offering to serve communities, including municipal governments, chambers of commerce and other civic-related entities, while also establishing a parent company for its IT verticals.

Brad Sandt, founder and president of K12itc, announced the establishment of Menlo, Inc., an overarching holding company that will allow for future growth for the rapidly expanding company.

The creation of Menlo, Inc. opens the door for the launch of Civic ITC, which will provide IT infrastructure management, connectivity and maintenance for local communities, organizations, cities and counties – a sector that has long struggled to keep pace in the rapidly changing IT world.

“Our technology and our managed services will disrupt the status quo for civic-minded institutions,” Sandt said. “There’s a real need, and we’re primed to fill it. We have the vision, the technology and the formula, and now its time introduce it into a new space.”

K12itc focuses solely on schools, while Civic ITC will have the same laser focus for community-based organizations. The same technology and full-service offering that K12itc has offered schools through its product, Albert, will now be available to communities in the form of a new product, Sam. This product was exclusively designed to solve the unique challenges that can arise in the civic IT space.

“Just as Albert has done for schools and school districts, Sam will be a game changer,” Sandt said. “Eight years ago, we identified a void in IT services in the education space, and we continue to change the landscape. The next horizon is Civic. We have done our due diligence, and we’re ready for a new challenge.”

With the addition of Civic and Sam to the portfolio, Menlo, Inc. will serve as the anchor of these two separate, yet inter-linked operations.

“We are a family owned small business that is on a rapid trajectory,” Sandt said. “It’s time for us to create an organizational structure to reflect our growing family of companies.”

Sandt will serve as President of Menlo, Inc., as well as both Civic and K12itc. The name Menlo is a nod to the famous Menlo Park, which served as an inspiration to Thomas Edison’s research, and shares the same name as Albert Einstein’s famed jacket style.

Menlo Inc. is the genius parent company of K12itc and Civic ITC. Its purpose is to create better technologies to solve problems for clients in school districts and communities, nationwide. Because when organizations spend less time on technology, they can spend more time doing the things they do best and achieving their goals.