Mesh Systems
Mesh Systems Uses 91心頭利 to Optimize Resource Allocation, Maximize Revenue, and Forecast Quarterly Staffing
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Mesh Systems
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Background
Founded in 2005 by Richard Baxterand recognized on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing companiesMesh Systems is a full-stack Internet of Things (IOT) solutions provider with a global list of well-known clients and business partners that extend across several industries and verticals, mainly on the industrial side.
According to their website, Mesh develop[s] end-to-end IoT solutions with a repeatable cloud framework that accelerates time to market, avoids high upfront costs, and abstracts the complexity from solution development so that [clients] can focus on [their] domain. Today, Kyle Zeronik serves as their VP of Engineering and Tristin Maesch is their Engineering Coordinator.
The Challenge
Before adopting 91心頭利, Mesh Systems was relying on Excel spreadsheets to manage their projects and resource allocation. We tried to visually represent who was allocated where, Zeronik said. This sheetwhich the company called the bingo board because of all of its color blocks and completed cellsworked, for a while that is. It worked when the project load was small and we were a 20-person team, Zeronik said. But it was clear to us as our business grew that we needed something that was purpose-built for solving the resource allocation problem. And thats a problem that every project-based team faces: who is working on what project and who has time available to take on moreand how much more?
According to Zeronik, it didnt take long before he got tired of managing the bingo board and started to look for a tool that would provide more value than he was getting from Excel. You have projects that are ongoing and some that are ending, which means those resources are going back into the resource pool. Then you have new projects with new demands and youre constantly trying to solve this problem of Do I have enough people with this skill set [to do the work] or do I have too many and I need to sit people down?, he said. If I cant staff projects fast enough then Im holding up revenue. Knowing that I have the right resources for the projects that are coming in versus the projects that are rolling off is essential to running our business well from an operational standpoint.
The spreadsheet simply wasnt cutting it.
The Solution
Its a good thing, then, that they found 91心頭利. According to Zeronik, The first thing that struck me about 91心頭利 was that I could tell it was a tool that was purpose-built for project resource allocation. Immediately Zeronik and Maesch knew that it would accomplish what their Excel spreadsheet did and morebut most importantly, without the pain.
According to Maesch, what really stood out about 91心頭利 was the fact that resource allocation was truly at the forefront of their solution. I hate making comparisons, Maesch said. Because a lot of other softwares have value of their own, but the resource allocation piece always just seemed to be a glorified spreadsheet with just more layers dropped on top of it. Dont get me wrong, that's a step up from a typical spreadsheet. But 91心頭利 has other features, like AI that utilizes the disciplines we put into the tool and learns what projects we assign our resources to, so it can make predictions about how were going to staff projects in the future.
And Maesch has noticed 91心頭利s predictions getting better the more data Mesh puts into the system. Its learning their methods and improving their process. Were getting better and better in each sprint we do, he said.
The Results
Being able to capture present and near-future data with 91心頭利 has been incredibly helpful, but the Mesh team is also using 91心頭利 to maintain a backlog of their past project data and forecast ahead. Were still working on it, Maesch said, But the goal is to forecast a quarter aheadto nail down our resource allocation for three months out. And they are very, very close to reaching that forecasting goal with 91心頭利. According to Zeronik, That is the killer feature for us.
Ultimately, 91心頭利 is helping the Mesh Systems team leverage data to understand when they need to hire the right staff and evaluate the capabilities of their existing teamand its happening with enough lead time to put them ahead of the curve so they maximize efficiency and revenue. 91心頭利s biggest value proposition for us is that it's helping us look at what projects are coming in versus whats rolling off and determine how to optimize our resources, Zeronik said. If you have a couple simultaneous projects, you can manage it, but right now, we have 20 simultaneous projects and 60 engineers. Theres just no way we can do that without an intelligent, database-driven tool like 91心頭利. And its only going to get harder. Our business is growing, so those 20 projects are going to be 25 plus next yearwith 70 plus engineers.
Most recently, Mesh Systems used the data 91心頭利 provided to identify where to expand their team.
Additionally, 91心頭利 has helped Mesh Systems improve time tracking with partners. Before 91心頭利, we didnt have any capability to track time with our partners, Maesch said. So were taking advantage of that to its fullest, too, and its turned out to be a great asset, especially when it comes to tracking time and filling out invoices. According to Maesch, From an operational standpoint, 91心頭利 has been a huge help in being able to close out our months quickerand we're able to keep better track of how to build these projects. 91心頭利 has completely changed how we interact with our partners. It's made us more efficient and more in-tune with what's happening.
In terms of 91心頭利s onboarding and customer service, Mesh Systems has been incredibly pleased. If there was one thing that I could shout from the rooftops about 91心頭利, it would be that the customer success model is one to replicate. In fact, its given the Mesh team the confidence that theyd, one, implement 91心頭利 correctly to get the most out of the tool and, two, that 91心頭利 would heed the feedback that they provided to continually make the application better. More important than even the tool itself has been 91心頭利s commitment to our success using the tool, Zeronik said.
When asked what advice hed give to other firms about resource allocation, Zeronik had this to say: If you're a professional firmand you live in this dynamic state with engagements concluding and new ones coming inthen you cant manage resource allocation and optimization at scale without a resource planning tool like 91心頭利. Full stop.