Hands-off, high-performance IT for a growing engineering firm: Live Oak Consultants
Live Oak Consultants, a full-service engineering firm, needed a partner to lead IT strategy and run daily operations so its people could focus on client work. The Bluetowne team, now part of Katalyst, delivered a managed platform that keeps CAD-heavy, high-performance workloads running and lets the firm scale.
About Live Oak Consultants
Live Oak Consultants (LOC) is a full-service civil, structural, mechanical, plumbing, and electrical engineering firm that delivers quality, custom solutions using the latest technologies. Built to be responsive to projects of all sizes, LOC serves an impressive client list that includes Boeing, the SC Ports Authority, Gulfstream Aerospace, MUSC, Robert Bosch, Clemson University, the College of Charleston, BP Cooper River, WestRock, Ingevity, Nucor, and Patriots Point Development Authority.
The Challenge
As LOC grew from a small firm, it reached the point where it could no longer effectively manage its own IT and needed outside expertise. The nature of its work demands an always-available, secure environment with large file storage and high-performance computing for massive customer projects. Remote workers also need to run the firm's CAD software against large files at a high performance level. LOC needed a partner who could both lead IT strategy to support fast growth and manage daily operations and end-user requests, so the team could stay focused on responsive, high-end client service.
The Solution
An advanced service desk, monitoring, and proactive maintenance solution created a cohesive, high-performance environment for LOC's mission-critical needs. With infrastructure powered by Cisco, Meraki, and Dell, the operating platform was tuned for higher network throughput and clear visibility into bottlenecks and congestion.
Standardized, repeatable end-user compute
End-user computing was standardized on repeatable custom images with hardware validation, delivering seamless performance across LOC's multi-layer CAD and design applications. Layered security was deployed across the environment with central logging of application and hardware activity. A managed platform support application gave end users live chat with a remote technician, efficient ticket creation, and on-the-fly self-help through local maintenance and tuning.
"They are there when we need them, without the overhead of a dedicated IT person on staff. They are intimately familiar with our environment and resolve any issues that arise quickly. That critical support function lets me focus on what we do best, providing high-value, quality engineering services."
Managing Principal, Live Oak ConsultantsThe Results
The BlueCare managed platform gave LOC a hands-off solution that met its high-performance operating requirements with standardization that is responsive, repeatable, and economical. End users now work at a higher productivity level with greater confidence in system uptime. All infrastructure and end-user systems are monitored and tuned to industry best practices and field-experienced engineering validation. As a result, LOC scales effectively, operates efficiently, and moves through a demanding daily workload with confidence, with IT that is stable, effective, and a competitive advantage in its market.
Key Takeaways
- Strategy and daily operations, together. One partner leading IT direction and running the day-to-day.
- Performance where it counts. Compute and network tuned for heavy CAD and large files.
- Standardized and repeatable. Custom images and validation keep every workstation consistent.
- Room to grow. A managed platform that scales with the firm.
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