For some industries, the pressure to perform is highest just when most people are clocking out. At least, that’s the challenge Celebration! Cinema faces every weekend with its movie theaters throughout Michigan. From online ordering to finding the right seat, customers expect a lot from the small number of people that make up the staff. Kenneth Baas, the VP and CTO, often uses outside technical resources to keep ahead in the progressive entertainment industry.

For many aspects of the theater’s operations, Ken relies on industry-specific software. Vista software products power everything from digital signage to ticket sales to scheduling. But sometimes, Ken wants to do even more. His team focuses on strategic projects to move the business forward, but someone needs to maintain the 100 workstations and 100 servers that keep the business running. And since you can’t avoid the additional work that comes up, so Ken looks for a partner to have on call.

“The people at Springthrough have a personal investment in the success of our company. We don’t think we’d get that level of commitment elsewhere.”

Kenneth Baas, VP & CTO / Celebration! Cinema

Problems don’t wait for regular business hours.

In order to maintain their hardware and software, Ken needs IT professionals on call 24/7 to support the daily needs of the theater staff. It would be costly to keep that support internally, so instead, Ken wanted to contract with a help desk to have people available whenever he needs them.

Centralized process for independent locations.

With 12 locations running each night, Ken needs a consistent experience for customers at any theater while separately maintaining each theater’s systems. If an issue arises with one location’s server, it shouldn’t affect them all. That means Ken needs to proactively maintain the servers at each location consistently but independently.

Connected experience from online to in-person.

When we first met Ken, Celebration! Cinema wanted a new website. They were looking for a vendor to build their website and connect it with the software that runs the theater’s operations. This vendor should be a partner that could follow the company’s technology philosophy; they wanted something built to last.

INSIGHT

We work hand-in-hand with Ken to understand his technology goals. He wants top-quality technology infrastructure that meets the business needs. By taking the time to gain an in-depth knowledge of the theater’s systems and operations, we can see how all the tools works together.

CLARITY

Together, we craft a strategy that matches the metrics that matter to Celebration! Cinema. Early in our work with Ken, we saw the value of a relationship of communication. Even today, we meet on a regular basis to talk strategy. He shares his upcoming plans, and we review the insight we've gained through working with his systems.

ENABLEMENT

We offer daily stability to help them to move forward.

When one of the employees at Celebration! Cinema makes a call to us, it’s like they are calling one of their own team. We are their help desk any day or time. Ken is able to keep his team focused on big initiatives while using our Managed Service team to maintain reliability for day-to-day operations. 

12 Locations. 100 Servers. 100 Workstations.

With operations throughout the state of Michigan, Celebration! Cinema capitalized on the benefits of separate locations with the standardization of central controls. Our team is responsible for proactively maintaining 100 servers and their 100 workstations for all of the theaters. We’re monitoring their systems, applying system patches, anti-virus maintenance and scheduling. On a regular basis, we’ll travel to their many locations, all contributing to an in-depth understanding of how they work.

Customized Systems for Customer Ease.

Back in 2011, we set up Celebration! Cinema’s website to connect and share data with their theater management software. Of course, there continue to be ways that we can improve the experience, so Ken asked us to continue to support the website. We have helped Ken make modifications that meet the growing business needs and the growing customer expectations. But as you can imagine, technology has changed quite a bit since the first website. Now, we are working with Ken to identify how we can add more functionality and simplify the work for Celebration! Cinema today.

"Our regular strategy meeting with Ken help us better understand the way he sees the world and the goals for Celebration! Cinema. We learn from each out in this process."

Patrick Kimbrell, Support Services Manager / Springthrough

 

PROJECT SNAPSHOT

To accomplish this work, we use a variety of technologies:

• Microsoft Hyper-V
• Microsoft Windows Servers
• Dell EqualLogic Storage
• Cisco and WatchGuard Networking
• Microsoft Remote Desktop Services
• HP ProLiant Servers
• APC Smart UPS
• .NET Framework
• Vista Internet Ticketing System Web Services
• jQuery
• Ecommerce
• Social Media Integration