"ConnectSouth is our link to the outside world. They guarantee that my communications lines and the lines for my customers are never down and they never have been. Equally impressive, they have the best overall customer service, especially when it comes to response time, than any other provider of network communications."

A Microsoft Certified Solutions Provider, Computer Access provides technology consulting and network administration services for small- to medium-sized companies throughout Texas and the South. Founded in Waco in 1992, the firm is locally owned and operated, and employs teams of technologists who work with clients to provide Internet access, develop Web sites, and establish network integration solutions.

Trust is important in business relationships, but nowhere is it more central to business decisions than in communities where people have lived a long time and know each other well. Your word and the quality of your work are your reputation. When Computer Access began offering network integration services to small and medium-sized businesses and institutions across Texas, it was tough to "walk the talk" and deliver as promised because the services of other network providers were unstable. Using these same service providers for their own business communications, as well as those of their customers, Computer Access found that network connections were often down.

Further aggravating the situation was the fact that it could take three to five days to get any assistance other than an automated voice mail response from the ISP's customer service department. Computer Access was slowed in its own productivity and sales efforts and, worse yet, was losing credibility with its customers.

ConnectSouth installed 2Mbps DSL service to provide an efficient two-way communications link for Computer Access. After switching to ConnectSouth, the quality of service was dramatically different overnight. Service has continued to be so impressive that ConnectSouth now provides a host of other services, including Web hosting and firewalls, for the network integrator and its customers. Communications are never down and customer service and tech support are available within minutes, both by e-mail memo and live voice. With this level of support, the customer service capabilities at ConnectSouth have become a huge selling point for Computer Access and gives Computer Access the type of business partner on which they can stake its reputation.

ConnectSouth has allowed the Computer Access staff to increase the trust level in their business relationships. Furthermore, the network integrator has reclaimed about10 man hours per week in time previously spent trying to solve network communications issues. Those hours are now used in more productive ways, such as confidently building their business with the knowledge that they and their customers are constantly connected to the outside world.