Client Feature: Bajan Capital

We touched briefly upon how working in the cloud could be useful in highly regulated industries in our “Cloud Computing: It’s not just for geeks any more” post. We are taking it one step further by speaking to Richard Basile, of Bajan Capital, about how we’ve been able to assist his company. Being that he is working in the highly regulated financial services industry, we can’t go into detail about what Bajan Capital does for their clients. But how they do what they do (and how we came to be known to them) is what we’d like to look at today.

Let’s start from the beginning. Rich told us about time he spent as a federal prosecutor in DC years ago. Back then, the system that they used to remotely access their servers was Citrix (you may recall, Applications2U recently became a Citrix Gold Solution Advisor). When Rich was starting his own company, prior to joining Bajan Capital and was looking to set up an office with colleagues in the UK. Despite being a relatively small company, it had a wide reach. He thought perhaps Citrix was what he would need. So he went directly to Citrix to see what they could do for him.

The cost to get the company its own server set up through Citrix was prohibitively high. This was back in 2006, when the notion of cloud computing was still in its infancy. Thankfully for us, someone at Citrix gave Rich our name and number.  The products that Applications2U offered fit the needs of Rich’s company at the time. His partner in the UK was able to access their files with no latency. The pricing was minimal compared to setting up their own dedicated server – in the hundreds rather than the tens of thousands. Applications2U made it much easier for them to afford, but still offered, “as robust a platform as you could imagine.”

We asked what Rich’s idea of the cloud was back then – he told us, “In 2006 – I can speak with confidence – nobody was defining the cloud. Even Applications2U’s own literature didn’t address it. It wasn’t part of the vernacular. The idea of a small company with offices in different countries networked together, and doing it on a hosted platform was really unheard of.”

Based on Rich’s previous jobs and his extensive experience with technology,­­ he knew the challenges that came with attempting to link up networks around the world. To him, the ability to use the Internet to create a global network was “an elegant solution to a mission critical problem.” He did his research – even going to one of the big players in the industry – and was “disappointed in how burdensome and complex it was compared to Applications2U. And more costly.”

When Rich and his partner were discussing setting up their current company, Rich knew that Applications2U would be able to make it work. The industry and clients require high security measures, “not just adequate disaster proceedings” and the ability to back up and fully implement them. Rich knew that there are now a lot of companies working in this line of business – but that Applications2U was and still is on the cutting edge, “doing this better, and still competitive” with the rest of the cloud players.

The team at Bajan Capital is small – currently 3 employees. Sometimes their work requires them to be on the road, but they still need to have access to all their files and support tools. The cloud is the perfect solution to fit their needs, and the products as well as the service Applications2U provides help maintain that relationship. “We stay with them as much because of the people and the way they do business as because of the service they provide,” Rich told us.

Offering 24/7 support has been a big help to the folks at Bajan Capital. “The difference is the guys at Applications2U know me better than the guys on the IT team that I worked with before. We’re on a first name basis – they know as much about our systems as I can imagine. It’s like they’re working in the next room, not in a different state,” says Rich.

Rich told us he’s recommended Applications2U to many people he’s encountered along the way.  Thanks Rich! He also said that if he were to start a new business, he knows he’d come right back to Applications2U, “they’re great for small businesses – and frankly, for large businesses as well. It takes so much off your plate!”

Can we take something off your plate? Let us know!