Charleston County, SC provides local services to a population of about 358,000 residents, including public works, business licensing, courts, and registration of property deeds. It’s information-intensive work that requires almost every employee to have access to a computer, without driving up local taxes. And since 2001, NCS has helped the county keep its PC fleet up-to-date with a predictable, reliable refresh program.
Public Sector
Specialist
Business Situation
Charleston County is well connected. “We have about
2200 employees and about the same number of desktop computers,” said Donald Giacomo, Director of Technology Services. In virtually every department of the county government, these PCs and notebooks allow employees to conduct the county’s business more efficiently and with greater accuracy, helping to ensure the satisfaction of residents and others who do business with the local government.
That many PCs poses a technical challenge for Donald and his limited IT staff. Machines grow old and outdated, and new technologies provide needed benefits such as lower energy costs, easier sharing of information, and greater performance on existing and new government applications.
So Charleston County was facing a quandary; how could they keep their desktop computers up-to-date at a reasonable, predictable cost, and without causing severe spikes in the county’s IT budget?
The Solution
Since 2001, Charleston County has worked with NCS to upgrade its computers according to a managed, phased schedule. As an HP Agent Partner, NCS offers them direct purchasing and competitive pricing from HP, backed by a talented staff with years of experience.
NCS’ South Carolina Account Executive, Rick Young, supports the county personally. “Rick is great,” said
Donald. “I have a responsibility to the county and the taxpayers, so I make sure to do my due diligence and shop around. I’ve looked at competing products and vendors, but nobody comes close to NCS’ pricing. And their service is bar none the best that I’ve encountered.”
NCS worked with Donald to set up a hardware refresh schedule that upgrades a portion of the county’s desktop fleet. Through this budget-friendly program, about one fourth of the fleet is replaced each year, so almost no personal computer in the county is older than four years.
Phone: 704.523.2515
Fax: 704.248.0454
www.ncsinc.net

The Results
Today, Charleston County leases its desktopclass computers from NCS. This relationship gives the county a local contact for access to the products, services, and resources of HP, the world’s largest technology company. And
NCS knows how to get fast response and quick turnaround from the IT giant.
“NCS can get things here on time,” Donald observed. “We’ve never had an issue with them, but from time to time we run into the typical delays with shipments from the manufacturer, and they are always on it. They push it forward.
We can count on them to get us what we need, usually pretty quickly.”
Donald works with NCS throughout the year to select replacement equipment based on user needs and new product introduction by HP.
“NCS can always get us test models before we commit to an upgrade, so we can make sure we want it before we buy it,” Donald reported. This allows the county to build a business case for each upgrade, based on hard data regarding performance improvements and costs savings attributable to the new machines.
Once satisfied with their selections, Donald signs the order, and the New Century team goes to work. “They order the machines, receive them, and check them out,” Donald said. “If a monitor or a CPU turns up defective, they take care of sending it back and getting a replacement. NCS then works with my IT team to go around the county, deploying the new machines, copying each user’s files over to their new desktop, and removing the old hardware.”
- Donald Giacomo
Director of Technology Services, Charleston County, SC
The Partnership
Charleston County’s relationship with NCS goes far beyond yearly PC upgrades.
Rick and his team are always available to resolve any issues.
“We work with Rick throughout the year, purchasing computers in ones and twos whenever we need them,” Donald said. “For example, we may get a brand new employee who needs a computer immediately, and I can always count on him to get us whatever we need. And where some of our vendors fall silent, Rick frequently stops by and checks in to see if there’s anything he can do to help us.”
It’s a relationship that Donald expects to continue for the foreseeable future. “People have called in for references about NCS,” Donald said, “and I tell them we’re very satisfied. I sleep well at night because I know NCS is on the job and they are taking care of getting these machines ordered and to the users. NCS is always here when we need them. That’s hard to find in the IT world today.”
Founded in 1993 by current president, Frederick (Rick) Denton, NCS has built a strong track record of enhancing clients’ business performance through innovative uses of technology. Based in Charlotte, NC, NCS provides IT solutions throughout the southeastern United States in vertical markets including government agencies, education, financial institutions and more.
NCS’ successful partnerships with technology leaders including HP, VMware, and several others, as well as our years of service expertise, provide the most up-to-date products and services to our customers. Whether you need to equip your sales force with laptops, set-up your office with thin blade technology or install advanced servers and storage to keep your operations running seamlessly, we can provide the right solution for you. Call to learn more:
704.523.2515 www.ncsinc.net