Electric: HR/IT Security and Support
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Posted on 01-19-2021, Read Time: 5 Min
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Meet Some of the Newest Startups in the HR Space!
The HR Startup Q&A Series brings you the story behind each startup, the value they bring to the HR industry, insights into the new solutions that could work for HR professionals, and much more!
The HR Startup Q&A Series brings you the story behind each startup, the value they bring to the HR industry, insights into the new solutions that could work for HR professionals, and much more!
Ryan Denehy
Founder
Tell us the story behind the company. What led you to start it?
Ryan: In 2012 when running my retail analytics company, Swarm, I first started to notice problems with the standard MSP model— things like slow response times, lack of transparency into what you are actually paying for, and so on.
It became clear that there were major opportunities for someone to come into that space and address those IT problems. The real lightbulb moment occurred when I was setting up Swarm on the HR platform Zenefits. At my first company prior to Swarm, we had an in-house part-time benefits coordinator that had to set up and maintain HR-related tasks like benefits, payroll, and onboarding.
Comparatively, the ease that came with using a platform that streamlined HR-related tasks like onboarding, benefits, and payroll was extremely noticeable versus having someone in-house. This made me think about the end customer experience with IT and how it could be automated in a similar way with a piece of software akin to what Zenefits did for HR.
When I eventually sold Swarm to Groupon, I was able to hang around with the IT department at their headquarters in Chicago that serves more than 2,000 employees. Doing this, I realized that large enterprise organizations were not the best fit for the idea that would eventually become Electric, because they already have so many tools and headcount at their disposal.
However, it was clear that there was a large addressable market with small-to-medium sized businesses that would be a great fit for this idea.
Of all the things in the world I could do, I decided to focus the vast majority of my waking hours on “solving the IT problem” and quickly assembled a team of entrepreneurs, experts, engineers and investors to tackle it our way:
It became clear that there were major opportunities for someone to come into that space and address those IT problems. The real lightbulb moment occurred when I was setting up Swarm on the HR platform Zenefits. At my first company prior to Swarm, we had an in-house part-time benefits coordinator that had to set up and maintain HR-related tasks like benefits, payroll, and onboarding.
Comparatively, the ease that came with using a platform that streamlined HR-related tasks like onboarding, benefits, and payroll was extremely noticeable versus having someone in-house. This made me think about the end customer experience with IT and how it could be automated in a similar way with a piece of software akin to what Zenefits did for HR.
When I eventually sold Swarm to Groupon, I was able to hang around with the IT department at their headquarters in Chicago that serves more than 2,000 employees. Doing this, I realized that large enterprise organizations were not the best fit for the idea that would eventually become Electric, because they already have so many tools and headcount at their disposal.
However, it was clear that there was a large addressable market with small-to-medium sized businesses that would be a great fit for this idea.
Of all the things in the world I could do, I decided to focus the vast majority of my waking hours on “solving the IT problem” and quickly assembled a team of entrepreneurs, experts, engineers and investors to tackle it our way:
- Lightning-fast response times
- Intelligent and proactive support
- Total cost transparency
A brief about the company and its products
Ryan Denehy: Electric is reinventing how businesses manage their IT security, support, and devices.
Through its user-friendly interface, Electric streamlines time-consuming and business-critical IT tasks by providing accessible, ‘lightning-fast’ support and increased visibility into your IT infrastructure.
IT that is secure, accessible and lightning fast... that is Electric.
Our Products & Services:
Through its user-friendly interface, Electric streamlines time-consuming and business-critical IT tasks by providing accessible, ‘lightning-fast’ support and increased visibility into your IT infrastructure.
IT that is secure, accessible and lightning fast... that is Electric.
Our Products & Services:
- Real-Time Support
- Device and Inventory Management
- Network and Server Management
- Application and Cloud Management
- Employee Onboarding and Offboarding
- Procurement and Provisioning
- Security
New trends that you see in the HR market where you could be catering to
Ryan: Due to the nature of our work at Electric, we have seen firsthand some of the technical issues plaguing HR professionals the most in the wake of Covid-19 related to personnel changes and shifting infrastructure priorities. More than ever, seamless collaboration is needed between IT and HR to ensure both can do their jobs productively.
As HR professionals continue to navigate the challenges of remote work, they are in uncharted territory with their IT teams. Previously, it would be extremely rare to on or offboard an employee while not physically in the office, but as we adapt to the new normal in the workplace, companies must equip these departments with the tools needed to seamlessly transition employees.
Our platform allows teams to conduct both remote employee onboarding and offboarding. Users can submit their onboarding and offboarding requests in a matter of minutes, directly through the Electric Platform. Once your request is submitted, we will handle the rest. Which includes: device provisioning/de-provisioning and procurement; application, software, and file access; credential management.
As HR professionals continue to navigate the challenges of remote work, they are in uncharted territory with their IT teams. Previously, it would be extremely rare to on or offboard an employee while not physically in the office, but as we adapt to the new normal in the workplace, companies must equip these departments with the tools needed to seamlessly transition employees.
Our platform allows teams to conduct both remote employee onboarding and offboarding. Users can submit their onboarding and offboarding requests in a matter of minutes, directly through the Electric Platform. Once your request is submitted, we will handle the rest. Which includes: device provisioning/de-provisioning and procurement; application, software, and file access; credential management.
Are you planning any improvements to your solutions?
Ryan: We have only scratched the surface of the products and solutions we are bringing to market and it will be unlike any product out there
First, we are making HR managers’ lives easier by adding in software-prompted SaaS application information during onboardings in the next few months. As an example: “Please purchase this user an Office365 Premium license. In Office 365, please add their title as Inside Sales Coordinator and Houston for office location.”
We know how important it is for HR managers to make a first great impression during onboarding on behalf of their own company, so we want to streamline the process as much as possible while you prepare for new employees. This new functionality will provide our agents with all the information we need for each application to more efficiently complete an onboarding.
Recently, we launched a first of its kind IT Scorecard. Giving IT Managers and businesses easily digestible information about their employees’ device and application health and security which empowers even non-technical users to make more well-informed, proactive decisions regarding IT management.
We are also very close to launching our real-time support offering to MS Teams users. Until now, Electric’s real-time support was only available through Slack, requiring users to direct message Electric through the application to submit their support requests. But, thanks to advancements made in Electric’s proprietary ticket management & processing system, this service will now also be available through the Microsoft Teams app as of July 2020.
First, we are making HR managers’ lives easier by adding in software-prompted SaaS application information during onboardings in the next few months. As an example: “Please purchase this user an Office365 Premium license. In Office 365, please add their title as Inside Sales Coordinator and Houston for office location.”
We know how important it is for HR managers to make a first great impression during onboarding on behalf of their own company, so we want to streamline the process as much as possible while you prepare for new employees. This new functionality will provide our agents with all the information we need for each application to more efficiently complete an onboarding.
Recently, we launched a first of its kind IT Scorecard. Giving IT Managers and businesses easily digestible information about their employees’ device and application health and security which empowers even non-technical users to make more well-informed, proactive decisions regarding IT management.
We are also very close to launching our real-time support offering to MS Teams users. Until now, Electric’s real-time support was only available through Slack, requiring users to direct message Electric through the application to submit their support requests. But, thanks to advancements made in Electric’s proprietary ticket management & processing system, this service will now also be available through the Microsoft Teams app as of July 2020.
Could you please share a case study?
Mercar is a Japanese eCommerce company that currently operates in Japan and the United States. Electric supports the company’s ~250 users in the United States primarily based in Palo Alto, California and Portland, Oregon.
The company had just signed their deal with the antivirus solution, Sophos, days prior to Covid-19-related stay-at-home orders being issued en masse.
By March 11th, their 1-person IT team was given 48 hours to ensure that all 250 devices were properly set up with both the antivirus solution and VPN access in order to prepare the company’s employees to work remotely. The problem? Only 20-30 employees had these downloaded on their machines at the time.
For their 1-person IT team to address the issue of manually implementing it across the 200+ remaining devices would have been an impossible task given the short timeframe.The company had just signed their deal with the antivirus solution, Sophos, days prior to Covid-19-related stay-at-home orders being issued en masse.
By March 11th, their 1-person IT team was given 48 hours to ensure that all 250 devices were properly set up with both the antivirus solution and VPN access in order to prepare the company’s employees to work remotely. The problem? Only 20-30 employees had these downloaded on their machines at the time.
Electric was not only able to get Sophos installed on all of the devices but also set up for the company’s IT environment.
Further, we were able to:
- Install the antivirus solution Sophos across all their remaining Electric-supported devices within 24 hours.
- Identify that not all of their machines’ hard drives were encrypted, which allowed us to push FileVault to those devices, not in compliance.
- Install Tunnelblick VPN for those users whose roles required access to it.
“Electric being able to push out antivirus, VPN, and Filevault through Jamf to 250+ of our devices, with less than a 24-hour turnaround, really bailed us out of a tight spot. Having a Jamf instance through Electric really helped us out in this time of crisis,” said Alex Rust, IT Specialist, Mercari
What are the market pain points that you address?
Ryan:
Lightning-fast response times: A proprietary chat-based IT support system, our helpdesk averages six-minute response times, is never sick and never takes a vacation.
Empowering remote workforces: We can put the proper technology and cybersecurity measures in place to protect your business without needing to be on site. We'll also be there to provide real-time remote IT support that keeps your employees productive and ensure they have secure access to your business systems, no matter where they're working.
Intelligent and proactive support: With Electric, you'll have access to the expertise of a fully-loaded IT team comprised of 130+ support technicians, professional service reps, and customer service managers.
Total cost transparency: With an unlimited, extensive flat fee/ per user, our pricing is all-inclusive of support with transparent project pricing.
Lightning-fast response times: A proprietary chat-based IT support system, our helpdesk averages six-minute response times, is never sick and never takes a vacation.
Empowering remote workforces: We can put the proper technology and cybersecurity measures in place to protect your business without needing to be on site. We'll also be there to provide real-time remote IT support that keeps your employees productive and ensure they have secure access to your business systems, no matter where they're working.
Intelligent and proactive support: With Electric, you'll have access to the expertise of a fully-loaded IT team comprised of 130+ support technicians, professional service reps, and customer service managers.
Total cost transparency: With an unlimited, extensive flat fee/ per user, our pricing is all-inclusive of support with transparent project pricing.
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