Transforming IT at Handtmann Into a Growth Advantage

Handtmann’s need to adopt cloud-based solutions and modernize technology without overburdening their small IT team was a significant challenge. Recognizing this, they sought an experienced IT Managed Services provider who could support this shift while still aligning with their long-term goals – a role that BT Partners’ Managed Services team was well equipped to fulfill.

Since 1998, Handtmann had partnered closely with BT Partners’ SYSPRO team to support its business management & ERP technology in keeping pace with its ambitious growth. Having had great experience with the team for over 20 years, BT Partners was Handtmann’s first call when looking for additional technology support.

As a leading IT managed services provider with experience and expertise across all areas, BT Partners’ has since helped streamline the Helpdesk, manage critical infrastructure projects, improve cloud solutions with MS Azure, increase the team’s usage of AI, and improve cybersecurity across the company.

To start, Handtmann quickly gained comprehensive and friendly Helpdesk Support. This provided Handtmann employees with quick access to responsive IT experts so they could move forward in their work faster. Smith continues, “BT Partners answered the phone. They were very friendly. They responded very nicely and quickly to emails. I would argue that pretty much every day BT Partners had an impact in some way or another with our staff on the helpdesk. We have a dedicated point lead that really built trust where people reached out, and I got regular feedback that the team is great.”

This commitment to trust and relationships paid off. Handtmann’s Helpdesk utilization rate was 300% higher than before and while some of this can be attributed to growth, it was also a clear sign that users felt more confident and engaged.

After gaining traction with a strong outsourced Support desk, Handtmann expanded its team and brought the Help Desk in-house, while still leveraging the BT Partners Help Desk for assistance when needed. Where other providers might have fallen short with this hybrid, bespoke mode – BT Partners provided a nearly seamless transition. Since then, the team has continued to be engaged and reach out to their coworkers now for support when needed.

Handtmann recognizes BT Partners as not simply a IT Managed Services provider but as a valued partner who seeks to truly understand their history, operations, and goals while delivering quality, insightful service, and guidance.

Smith describes his relationship with Austin Germaine, the Senior Director of Managed Services, “I’ve worked with Austin for quite a few years, and to have someone like that to bounce ideas off of. He is probably one of the most genuine people you’ll probably ever interact with. That comes across in the work, too, not just in the conversation. He genuinely listens to what you want to do, or an idea, or a direction you want to go, and he will absolutely give you a very genuine answer, an idea, or any thoughts he may have on that. And it’s always delivered in an incredibly respectful and productive way. There’s a ton of value.”

BT Partners has also helped Handtmann manage critical infrastructure projects, including the setup of their West Coast facility in Cypress, California in 2025. This complex undertaking required the assistance of BT Partners’ expertise in network design, internet connectivity, and system integration to have seamless operations across locations both during the launch and after.

Smith explains, “They have been great with supporting this initiative from a project standpoint. How we stand up our network, get internet in that building, and get everything to cohesively work.” With BT Partners’ hands-on approach, Smith is confident they can expand operations and still maintain strong infrastructure management and security every step of the way.

With the strong support from BT Partners shifting his workload, Smith’s role at Handtmann evolved. He got out of the day-to-day mundane work and has been focusing on growth and modernization while trusting that their technology infrastructure is in good hands with a partner who genuinely cares about their success and unique needs.

Looking forward, Smith has more time to develop a roadmap for Handtmann’s future goals. “Our roadmap is starting to be pretty extensive. It never fails that every month, we need to shift something around, and BT Partners are great at being flexible and adaptable to those situations,” explains Smith. One key initiative of the roadmap involves modernization, including moving Handtmann’s legacy infrastructure to the cloud and enhancing accessibility and data management capabilities.

BT Partner’s experience with Microsoft Azure has been instrumental in transitioning to the cloud and embracing AI solutions, establishing remote connectivity, and supporting scalability. Smith continues, “It’s interesting from a perspective of laying out a roadmap and having a partner that can absolutely look at that roadmap, keep working on delivering on that roadmap with me but adapting and overcoming anything that changes in the middle. That’s always been a great part of the relationship with us.”

Security is a leading priority of BT Partners’ IT Managed Services with Handtmann. “BT Partners takes security very seriously. Not just from a product standpoint, but from a service delivery,” says Smith. Leveraging solutions like Arctic Wolf and CrowdStrike, Handtmann has strengthened their defenses against modern-day cyber threats. This resilient approach to cybersecurity has enabled Smith to successfully train staff to recognize and mitigate phishing scams and other prevalent risks.

Leveraging the Arctic Wolf MDR platform, BT Partners is not only doing infrastructure monitoring but monitoring & containing security threats for the entire Handtmann IT operation. This reactive monitoring covers everything from on-premise infrastructure to cloud solutions.

With Smith and BT Partners both being pro-active and early adopters in technology, BT Partners is also using the Arctic Wolf’s pro-active data reporting to reviews hundreds of thousands of known vulnerabilities (i.e. – missing server patches, out of date software, incorrect configurations) and flags if any of those are found on the entire Handtmann infrastructure and hosted platforms.

While Arctic Wolf collects the data, the BT Partners team distills the large amount of information into reports and recommendations for the Handtmann leadership team that are presented in monthly reviews. This not only makes the recommendations easier & faster for the team to act on, but provides a clear picture of the entire organization’s security stance.

When asked how to describe BT Partners, Smith says, “BT Partners is not really a family business, but it has that family business feel. Everyone genuinely cares, gets along. They all seem to genuinely want to work together.”

He continues, “We’re not just a customer name in a sea of other customers. BT Partners knows who we are, what we do, and they genuinely try to understand what we want to do as well. That sets them apart.”