The Ascend Difference

Why should you choose Ascend IT Solutions as your full-service, managed IT services provider? The answer is simple. We are uniquely positioned to offer you the best in vCIO consulting services and IT support. Our Strategic Technology Roadmap™ sets you on the path to business success. And last but not least, our understanding of what drives quality service ensures the best end result for your business.

vCIO

These days, choosing technology for your small business is more complicated than ever. There are many competing options: cloud, mobility, security, and virtualization to name a few. We provide technology consulting to help you determine which of many strategic solutions will bring you the best return on investment (ROI). Our virtual chief information officer (vCIO) services are a world apart from those of other companies. Our competitors know technology. We know technology and its effect on your business. With our understanding of finance, marketing and operations, we assess the financial impact of various technology choices, as well as their influence on other areas of your business. We go beyond simply developing a technology budget. Your technology investments should provide your company with a strategic competitive advantage. We work with you to develop a Strategic Technology Roadmap™ that establishes three-year goals and a technology plan for getting there. In short, we're business advisors who know how to utilize information technology to increase shareholder value.

Application Integration

The need for application integration arises from the simple fact that within any organization there are multiple sources of information. Each functional part of a business—accounting, sales, marketing, customer service, etc.—has one or more pools of information. Usually, especially within the SMB, information moves from one pool to another through some manual process, which is inefficient and error-prone. Application integration solves this problem by using specialized software to efficiently—and usually autonomously—connect people, computer systems and organizations. We write custom software that seamlessly integrates with your existing systems.

Strategic Technology Roadmap™

While our peers are struggling to decipher their own financial statements, we understand the technology levers that best improve your financials. We know the difference between a strategic marketing plan and a tactical marketing plan. We can sit at the table with your other business advisors and help drive the conversation. Some IT consulting companies look to the immediate future, but we take a longer-term, three-year strategic view. To define these goals, we develop a Strategic Technology Roadmap™ that supports a specific strategic business plan.

Service Quality

Anyone can claim to offer great service, but it's another thing entirely to make good on that. If a firm aims to provide quality service to its customers, then there must be an imperative to understand what actually comprises quality service.

According to researchers, Zeithaml, Berry and Parasauraman (How To Hire a Marketing Director and Make It Work), there are actually five dimensions to service quality. The first is reliability: dependable and accurate service that is consistently delivered as promised. Second is responsiveness: how quickly does a company resolve issues. Third, assurance: building trust and providing sound advice. The fourth dimension is empathy: providing customers with individualized care. And finally, tangibles: the visible, physical aspects of the service provider, including computer equipment, written communications, and more.

This is the gold standard and it's the service model that we live by. When you choose Ascend, you're choosing the best in service quality, and now you know how we define it.