When Milwaukee County's General Mitchell International Airport installed a new e-mail server in 2010, problems developed trying to integrate the system with Milwaukee County. While most of the County uses Lotus Notes, the airport chose to migrate from a Linux based system to Exchange Mail Server. The changes required a specific expertise that neither the airport IT staff nor County IT workers were comfortable dealing with. The airport needed an agreeable fix.

"We knew that the county's IMSD (Information Management System Division) people were relying on engineers at Superior Support Resources (SSR) for help with a higher-level software project downtown," recalls Tom Heller, accounting manager of the Milwaukee County Airport. "They had a very knowledgeable person, Scott Brys, on that job. He became our "go-to" guy to resolve this issue."

Brys, vice-president of SSR and a senior engineer, had a five-year working history with Milwaukee County on IT projects. He was a natural fit to address the problem.

"I've done work for Milwaukee County in the past, so I know Microsoft Exchange and the environment," says Brys. "In this instance, I designed and developed a project, and helped with the implementation acting as the consultant and technical intermediary between the airport and Milwaukee County."

Heller says the change enhanced the airport's ability to provide broader services to customers. Brys says it's been operating well. Facilitating communication between key people in several departments was essential.

"When there were hiccups," says Brys, "they gave me a call. I worked with their teams to be clear on where things might be breaking down. For the most part, the system now operates without issue."

When trouble developed with the airport's Exchange Archiver, Heller also called on SSR. This time, Dan Popp, SSR Operations Manager and a former Milwaukee County CTO, came up with a plan and time table for implementing changes.

"Dan accomplished in a matter of a few months what everyone else had danced around for the better part of a year," says Heller. "That includes people inside and outside of the airport. We had tried to figure it out internally and were unable to. It's more efficient now."

In addition to Help Desk support, SSR also regularly updates firewall systems for the airport. Brys says the process requires a more complex approach for integration because of existing security.

Heller says SSR engineers show the ability to work on a project basis, organize and develop an action plan to get the job done.

"I think the value to me is that they can do what they are hired to do," says Heller. "They don't get distracted. SSR comes in to work on a project and they accomplish the goal."

For Scott Brys, it's important to make the client happy.

"We like working with the airport because they engage us in interesting jobs. We have been able to give them solutions that work. At SSR, we can make that happen."