“The HP EliteBook Notebook PC delivers reliable performance for CRG consultants working at client sites. HP understands what we need, freeing us up to focus on the growth of our business.”
—Adam Godfrey, managing partner, Carly Rian Group, Toronto, Canada
Five years ago, managing partners Adam Godfrey and Rajeev Roy left senior positions at a global professional services firm to open Carly Rian Group (CRG), a boutique management consulting firm with a focus on solving business problems related to cost, quality and time. In hot demand by Fortune 500 companies, CRG has grown from two founding partners to a staff of
20 with an office on King Street in the heart of Toronto’s financial district.
With success came a need to develop CRG’s infrastructure. CRG consultants often work on site at client locations, requiring them to bring notebook devices with them wherever they go. In the firm’s early days, these devices were of disparate brands.
Performance was not uniformly outstanding and every purchase decision took time and effort. Managing partners Godfrey and Roy aimed to standardize on a durable, high- performance mobile PC to support employee productivity and send a message of quality to both their employees and customers. They also wanted to optimize use of their own precious time by making solution selection an efficient, repeatable process working with a trusted vendor.
The answer was the HP EliteBook Notebook PC.
“Our clients can see we have made a commitment to high quality technology in support of our high-quality delivery,” says CRG Managing Partner Adam Godfrey. “What’s more, the caliber of sales and service support we get from HP means we work with a partner who knows us and understands what we need. As business owners juggling multiple demands, that saves us the most precious commodity of all: our time.”
Information-based decisions deliver quality
CRG’s hallmark is a commitment to high- quality, data driven fact-based problem solving, enabling clients to make effective, information-based decisions. CRG used that same lens and approach when choosing its own PC solution.
“We needed to ensure we were getting high value. It had to meet our requirements in terms of quality, functionality, security, reliability and support,” Godfrey says.
“It had to be secure, to protect client information. It needed to be the right form factor to carry around with ease and it had to provide a consistent solid user experience so employees would feel confident about their device.”
“Our clients can see we have made a commitment to high quality technology in support of our high quality delivery.”
Adam Godfrey, managing partner, Carly Rian Group
Godfrey and Roy had been using another brand of notebook and at first thought they might standardize with that vendor. Then they had HP demonstrate the HP EliteBook Notebook PC. “The proven reliability of the HP EliteBook and the support system that came with the HP solution were impossible to ignore. The comparison was eye-opening to us,” Roy recalls. “Our consultants are traveling all the time, from home or office to customer sites. If their devices cannot stand up to some rough treatment and it breaks, that’s downtime costing us by the hour. We felt the HP EliteBook could reduce that risk.”
CRG chooses reliable, secure, high performance solution
The models CRG chose are the
HP EliteBook 8440p Notebook PC and HP EliteBook 8460p Notebook PC. CRG rounds out the solution with HP docking stations and HP executive leather cases.
The company also uses an HP Color LaserJet CM3530fs Multifunction Printer.
HP EliteBook notebook PCs meet military standards for vibration, dust, humidity, altitude and high temperature. They have spill-proof keyboards, scratch-resistant aluminum surfaces and hard-drive protection against drops and shocks.
CRG’s most recent order was for the HP EliteBook 8460p Notebook PC, which runs on genuine Windows® 7 Professional and is configured with optional integrated webcams; 6C Li-Ion batteries delivering up to eight hours of battery life; and Intel® Core™ i7 processors with vPro technology. The devices are ENERGY STAR®-qualified and EPEAT® Gold rated for energy efficiency. HP offers the largest selection of ENERGY STAR®-qualified electronic products
in the industry.
CRG purchases their devices through an HP Partner, who configures and images the PCs. Security is of utmost concern at CRG.
Customer solution at a glance
Primary applications
Consulting engagements at customer sites; work from home, office or on the road
Primary hardware
• HP EliteBook 8440p Notebook PC
• HP EliteBook 8460p Notebook PC
• HP Docking Station
• HP Color LaserJet CM3530fs Multifunction Printer
Primary software
• Genuine Windows® 7 Professional
HP Services
• HP CarePack Service (3-year Accidental Damage Protection, Travel, Next Business Day Onsite)
• HP Computrace Complete Service (3-year Security)
Consultants are constantly on the road carrying the company’s and clients’ sensitive information. The HP EliteBook comes standard with robust security features including file sanitizers, Pre-Boot OS Authentication, Auto DriveLock and a Device Access Manager. CRG opted to further enhance security with HP Computrace Complete Service5, which provides centralized asset management, remote data deletion, global positioning and Wi-Fi device location; and theft recovery in cooperation with police. It also chose HP CarePack Service for three years of next-business-day travel onsite service and accidental damage protection.
Employees love performance, form factor
All CRG employees have high expectations of their PC. “They love the EliteBook—the user experience, form factor, look and feel, and performance,” Godfrey says.
Snapping open a top-line tool like the HP EliteBook Notebook PC in front of customers communicates CRG’s commitment to utmost professional quality, he says. The firm serves a variety of clients in a number of industries, including financial services firms and public-sector organizations including provincial governments. CRG brings a unique toolbox of skills and deep subject-matter expertise in Lean Management, Six Sigma and Activity Based Costing that put them in a unique position to help organizations achieve the results they desire. The boutique firm’s commitment to providing clients with defendable, numerical results is apparent with each engagement and is driven by an elite team of professionals. CRG attracts top consultants to join its team through a commitment to quality that is evident across the entire business, including providing employees with high quality HP solutions.
Included with every HP EliteBook device is HP Elite Premium Support. To access the 24x7 service, customers call a standard phone support line and say “Elite.” The call goes to a dedicated team of Elite-certified support professionals for fast response and issue resolution.
It’s critical in knowing great service is available, Godfrey says.
HP relationship frees CRG partners to focus on growth
As CRG continues to grow, Godfrey and Roy are focusing more on hiring top talent and choosing the right markets for expansion. With success generating global demand, the company stands poised to increase its presence in North America and Europe. Since its business model is “industry agnostic,” Godfrey says, CRG’s client base is expanding to new domains and geographies at an accelerated pace.
Given the high-stakes demands of running a small business—especially one whose very mission is management excellence—the last thing Godfrey and Roy want to spend their time on is repeatedly researching PC solutions or dealing with performance problems. Their relationship with
HP delivers the strategic advantage of time-saving simplicity.
“With HP, we work with a partner who knows us and understands what we need. As small-business owners juggling multiple demands, that saves us the most precious commodity of all: our time.”
Adam Godfrey, managing partner, Carly Rian Group
“HP looks out for us,” Godfrey says. “The HP EliteBook line gives us durable, high-performance machines with the right look and feel, backed by great service and support. What’s more, HP knows what we purchase, how we use it, and what we need moving forward.”