I was looking for a company that says: 'Hey, there are entirely different solutions to that problem.'
Working digitally, having a fast internet connection and being able to share documents – a modern ICT architecture is crucial for Lieftink Geveltechniek in Alphen aan den Rijn. The designer and manufacturer of aluminium facades switched to a different IT provider last year, choosing Aster. Co-director Dirk Lieftink: “Aster has taken Lieftink to the next level.”
Anyone who thinks facade construction is just about making window frames and inserting glass should have a conversation with Dirk Lieftink, co-owner of Lieftink Geveltechniek since 1982. “It seems very simple,” Dirk says in the company’s meeting room. “But there’s an incredible amount involved: legislation, environmental concerns, fireproofing requirements, ventilation, bulletproofing, insulation,” he lists.
And then there are the different types of buildings Lieftink works on – the photos on the walls showcase the wide variety of facade technology, from terraced houses to large office complexes in Amsterdam and at Schiphol Airport. “We’re happy with projects worth more than a million, but just as happy with jobs of €10,000,” says Dirk. The company has seventy employees, and as far as he’s concerned, it will stay that way. “We want to keep that small scale.”
Proactive support
In early 2017, Lieftink was looking for a new IT vendor. “We work with a fully automated ICT architecture, and sometimes things go wrong. You could have an IT vendor come by, fix your problem, and leave again. But I was looking for a company that says, ‘Hey, there are entirely different solutions to that problem.’ A company that provides proactive support on all fronts, looks ahead, advises us and takes us to the next level. That company is Aster. With Aster, we no longer have just a system administrator – we have an ICT partner. That’s a significant difference.”
I was looking for a company that says: 'Hey, there are entirely different solutions to that problem.'
Lieftink’s ICT architecture was revamped. A fibre-optic connection was installed, the servers were upgraded, and soon Lieftink will move to the cloud and start using Office 365.
Sharing information quickly is a key issue for Dirk. “We receive so many different types of information and documents: by email, by post, through the website. They used to be sent around the company from one person to the next. At one point you’d have 25 copies of the same document on the server, and you never knew which one was the latest. Soon, we’ll have every document stored once, in one place, accessible to everyone.”
Quick resolutions
Dirk is very pleased with how Aster handles issues. “Aster’s ticketing solution works wonderfully. They’ve really got it right. You enter issues, and they’re handled seriously and quickly, which is so crucial. Because if a product that thirty people rely on stops working, it can wreak havoc on your business operations.”
That continuity is assured with Aster, allowing Dirk to focus on his core business: managing his organisation. With all the diverse interests, laws and requirements, it’s complex enough. He laughs, “You can’t say my work is boring.”