"With ConnectSouth we get more bandwidth for less money. The pricing was very attractive, but what really persuaded us was that they spoke with confidence about what they could do and we knew from their excellent references that they could do it."

Barfield, Murphy, Shank and Smith, P.C., is the second largest privately owned accounting firm in the Birmingham area. Founded in 1991, the full-service firm is one of the fastest growing accounting firms in Alabama with more than 50 employees, two dozen CPAs and seven partners. The firm is a member of the BDO Seidman Alliance, a nationwide association of local and regional accounting firms. This relationship gives Barfield access to the extensive resources of one of the world's largest accounting organizations.

The growing firm was using three separate service providers: ADSL service for Web browsing, ISDN lines from a worldwide provider for e-mail connection and a local provider for Web site hosting. Despite some connection downtime, overall service was satisfactory but problems occurred when e-mail service was interrupted or the Web site was unavailable. With these current providers, it was never immediately apparent that service was down and the Barfield staff was often confused regarding whom to call for customer service. When Barfield could reach a provider, the company couldn't offer fast solutions. ConnectSouth approached Barfield with a proposal to combine all services from a single provider, increase bandwidth and reduce service costs. ConnectSouth provided the firm with all the information they needed to make an informed decision. As accountants, this group quickly recognized a good offer.

ConnectSouth installed a 2 mg SDSL circuit in September 2000, just two weeks after initially approaching Barfield for their business. This new installation elevated the firm's capabilities from 1.5 mg, gave them one point of contact for easier, more convenient customer service and lowered their monthly Internet expenses. There has not been a single downtime experience since the installation and when Barfield requested additional IP addresses, ConnectSouth's customer service department responded immediately.

Not only is Barfield's new Internet access broader, cheaper, more reliable and provided by a single source, it also allows the firm to navigate the Web faster. An added bonus of the installation was the discovery that the 2 mg SDSL line gives the firm a larger window over the Internet by providing greater access to a professional software product called Citrix Metaframe. Barfield can have more users online at one time and users can run the program from anywhere in the world as if they were sitting in their Birmingham office. The firm is so pleased with ConnectSouth that they are now giving referrals to their clients.