ACUMEN Logo Success Stories

Initial and ACUMEN Team up for "Sweet 16"

These days, all the press is full of failures.   Whether talking about dot com's going under or large companies falling under suspicious circumstances, the reports seem to be all bad news.   According to the Standish Group's Chaos Study, 84% of all IT projects fail, either by going over budget, over time, not meeting the needs and expectations of the project, or a combination of all three.   However, in the case of the implementation of OpenAccounts Financials at Initial Contract Services in Atlanta, Georgia, the project drove its way into the "Sweet 16" – the 16% of projects that are a success!

Lead by a very strong internal implementation team and the project management of ACUMEN Corporation, ICS was able to meet their budget, timeline and project goals.

"I would have to deem this project a success from the standpoint that we got up and running on time and on budget."

– Barry T. Collins, CFO, Initial Contract Services, Inc.


ICS project team discusses another OpenAccounts feature

OpenAccounts was chosen to replace an aging and unsupported Great Plains system.   All billing, as well as Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, General Ledger and Financial Reporting are now being done with OpenAccounts for multiple ICS regions including Atlanta, Baltimore, Danbury, and New York.   OpenAccounts is also being utilized in several of ICS's sister divisions in Europe, and was also selected to be implemented in two other sister divisions in Atlanta.   These implementations are currently under way with the same ACUMEN project team directing the efforts.

ACUMEN Corporation's commitment to its project implementation methodology combined with a strong client project team was key to this project's success.   The best plan in the world will not succeed without the right people to implement it.   In this case, the strong group from ICS, including Barry Collins, Nell Willis, Theresa Stehle, Bobby Whitley, Jim Collis, and Michelle Bowling, formed the basis of just such a team.   Under the direction of ACUMEN project manager Mark Ownby, this team worked hard to achieve all the goals set forth at the beginning of the project.   According to Collins, "This implementation compares very favorably to other ones I have been involved with in the past.   Would I choose ACUMEN or OpenAccounts again?   Yes, in fact we have selected both for implementation for our Healthcare & Pest Control businesses."  


Barry Collins, Initial Contract Services and Mark Ownby, ACUMEN Corporation 		"Mark has returned from each trip to Atlanta praising your team, the level of co-operation and hospitality provided and the obvious commitment you and your staff made to completing a successful project."

– Phil Perkins, President, ACUMEN Corporation"

When asked to sum up the implementation, Collins stated, "On behalf of Initial Contract Services and the implementation team, I must say that ACUMEN's dedication, responsiveness, in-depth product knowledge, flexibility and no nonsense approach to developing solutions to our business needs sets you well ahead of your competition.   I honestly believe that a better implementation partner could not have been found!"   Added Ownby, "Working with such an enthusiastic team as this one makes my job much easier.   I cannot think of a better group to work with and am really looking forward to working with them again on future projects."

Congratulations, team, you're in the Sweet Sixteen!