Company: Knox College
Contact: Steve Hall, Vice President and Chief Information Officer
At first glance, you might think Knox College is just a traditional liberal arts college in the Midwest.
However, from a business communication standpoint, Knox VP and CIO Steve Hall will describe it as, “a unique and dynamic environment; a multi-national business with locations and constituents around the globe; a financial institution; a substantial fund raising organization; an online community with tens of thousands of members; a web centric marketing firm; a large employer; a cable TV provider; a small phone company; an Internet Service Provider; a hotel and conference center with 1400 guests every day; a health club; 14 athletic teams with demanding travel schedules; and most importantly, a nationally recognized educational institution with a diverse group of scholars, researchers and students…all with unique needs working at the leading edge of their respective disciplines.”
Custom Solutions
Knox became a Stratus Networks client in March of 2014. “I had been trying to cultivate additional ISP partners for Galesburg and Knox College to spur competition financially and technologically in our market,” Hall relates.
“Stratus expressed an interest in building infrastructure in Galesburg and extending it to Knox with a commitment of only a 50 Mb/s Internet connection,” says Hall. During initial conversations with Stratus president John Petrakis, Steve Hall shared his vision and asked him to earn their business by offering a deal Knox and Galesburg “couldn’t refuse.”
The Stratus Difference – Agility
What set Stratus apart for Hall? “Instead of being offered a menu of services and being asked to choose, I have been able to work collaboratively with the business and technical teams at Stratus to build a solution that is mutually beneficial. Having access to top decision makers in the company who can discuss both business and technical issues gives Stratus agility that is a valuable and a strategic asset in an ISP and telecom-munications partner.”
Going Beyond Service
Along with large providers with a national and international footprint, Knox needs partners, says Hall, “with the agility and technical and administrative acumen to build custom solutions that enable us to respond in the competitive and dynamic Higher Ed marketplace.””Stratus fits into our solution ecosystem – their agility, talent and their willingness to engage us on a personal level. Stratus goes beyond offering us services. They help us execute our plans and strategies.” Reach Mr. Hall for further discussion at (309) 341-7171 or email: shall@knox.edu.