TL; DR: Aventis Systems delivers a mix of hardware, software, virtual server, and IT consulting services that support small businesses. The company has a background in hardware, and its datacenter infrastructure can accommodate almost any virtual or remote technology an SMB needs. Aventis Systems also offers a per-user pricing contract for small business ITaaS through their Cortavo solution which was rolled out in 2020. In 2021, they aim to streamline their e-commerce website with a complete redesign to optimize their user’s experience.
At the height of the 2008 financial crisis, people scrambled to make sense of the economic disaster. Businesses of all sizes sought computer hardware to prepare to weather the financial storm. Aventis Systems launched in that chaotic market by selling computer hardware to businesses through various online marketplaces, including Amazon, eBay, Walmart, and Newegg.
“Our CEO, Hesam, went to school in Georgia and started a business on eBay with his brother selling computer components at the height of the financial crisis,” said Samantha Benson, Marketing Coordinator for Aventis Systems. “Things grew from there into where we are today.”
For years, Aventis Systems operated as a small business serving other small businesses with a range of desktop- and server-grade hardware. The hardware-first focus eventually led to à la carte solutions that included hosted servers, Microsoft 365 license management, and on-site hardware support. In early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and made many businesses shift to remote work strategies.
That’s also when Aventis Systems launched its all-inclusive managed services solution Cortavo, which is targeted toward small businesses. The comprehensive product can help teams stay connected and productive no matter where they are.
Cortavo delivers a comprehensive managed services portfolio that integrates hardware, software, virtual servers, a VoIP telephony system, and a personal advisor who acts as a virtual CIO. It’s a fresh branding for what had been a more distributed collection of services.
“Over the years, our customers wanted more — they were asking for IT services or asking for cloud services. So, we’ve had managed services customers for the last four years,” said Peter Ricks, Marketing Specialist for Aventis Systems. “We launched Cortavo over the last year, but managed services is something we’ve been doing for the last four years.”
Managed Hardware and Software Without Added Charges
A typical MSP offers a base product offering with special requests or more complicated projects coming in at an additional cost. Most MSPs manage the hardware, software, and infrastructure directly, using similar platforms and policies so the company can scale cleanly with more customers. That’s why the deviation from a tiered structure often carries a heftier price tag.
“Everything that we do, we include in one monthly cost,” Samantha said. “So we charge per user, per endpoint for desktop systems that we launch. And we give clients all the services behind it, including the managed hosting, network monitoring, and cybersecurity elements. It doesn’t come with any added costs or charges.”
That one-cost, all-inclusive approach to managed services translates to predictable spending for SMBs with fixed IT budgets. Cortavo also includes access to a dedicated account representative to assist with project planning.
“Our IT team acts as a virtual CIO to our customers,” Samantha said. “So any project or planning process that they want to start accomplishing, they can reach out to us, and we will act as a resource to facilitate the process.”
Cortavo draws upon Aventis Systems’ long history of hardware management to offer packages, including the remote office in a box, which is ideal for a remote workforce that needs company-provisioned hardware. The bundle includes an HP laptop with a docking station, Microsoft 365 business software, remote monitoring, and 24/7 support. That can reduce costs and complexity significantly for small businesses still adjusting to outsourcing work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
All of the hardware that customers purchase through Aventis Systems comes with a comprehensive three-year warranty.
“We’re proud of our comprehensive warranty,” Peter said. “We’re a refurbished provider, but people get that peace of mind where if any components fail, including the CPU or hard drive, we’re here to be a partner and not just a seller.”
Aventis Systems also has relationships with many OEMs, so it deals with customers directly instead of sending them off to contact another company.
“It’s our team of folks sitting here in Atlanta who can get things done quickly and without giving our customers the hassle of bouncing around,” he added.
Comprehensive Hosted and Hardware Solutions Targeted to SMBs
Aventis Systems provides a full suite of hosted servers ideal for SMB clients. The company runs its own datacenter and cloud environment, and it doesn’t act as an intermediary for a public cloud provider. Aventis Systems manages everything on its own servers.
Many small businesses don’t need hosted servers, but, in Aventis Systems, those that do find a partner that understands their needs.
“We’re a small business ourselves, and we help other small businesses and have been doing it for close to a decade,” Samantha said. “We do have some bigger enterprise and medium-sized business customers, but helping those smaller folks out — those who are on a tight budget trying to get what they need with excellent service and support — is really our value.”
Aventis Systems offers a range of plug-and-play solutions, including file and backup servers, SQL servers, virtualization clusters, print servers, media servers, and gaming bundles. Virtual machine deployment includes VPSs on Aventis Systems’ private cloud or colocation with dedicated hosting on a lease-or-rent option. That flexibility supports SMBs that need a hosted solution versus companies in regulated industries that must own their hardware but prefer to let vendors manage it.
The company delivers managed Microsoft 365 services across several Microsoft SKUs, including Business Basic, Business Standard, Enterprise E1, Enterprise E3, and Business Premium. Each subscription includes standard Microsoft product offerings and migration support to Aventis Systems from a different provider. Peter said that the company has quite a few cloud-only customers.
“We do it all, from just simply buying a computer to provisioning it,” Samantha said. “And we can do all the services on top of it and around it. So there’s not much, when it comes to a small business environment, that we can’t accomplish.”
Aventis Systems: A Virtual CIO for All Aspects of a Growing Business
Aventis Systems started by helping businesses during the 2008 financial crisis and then deployed Cortavo — a major managed services initiative — just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The parallels between those two disruptive events have led to market opportunities for the company.
“It’s interesting to see the progression of customers finding us now, in the pandemic, and who were in a similar situation with the financial downturn,” Samantha said. “We set our customers up with everything they need to be successful. We still have that very strong hardware business, and we sell software on the assistance side, which allows us to facilitate this new managed services solution.”
Cortavo delivers hardware, software, virtual servers, and desktop monitoring for one standard per-user fee. Customers also enjoy personal one-on-one relationships with technology consultants who can serve as a virtual CIO for SMBs.
One important goal for Aventis Systems in 2021 involves a rebuild of its shopping cart.
“We’re going to revamp our entire ecommerce site early in the year,” Samantha said. “We’ll offer a robust ecommerce site that has more customization capabilities when it comes to building your own server online.”
That process includes migrating items available through marketplaces like Amazon directly into the company’s website.
The company has continued to grow and add services during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it has modified some of its standard terms to help SMBs deal with the complexities of the challenging times.
“We know everything is uncertain, especially since our target market is small businesses,” Samantha said. Accordingly, Aventis Systems deployed solutions like its remote office in a box with much shorter contract terms to help SMBs weather the storm with comparatively little risk.
“We saw a lot of success around that,” she added.
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