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The news wasn't good. Hurricane Xena had ravaged the Florida Keys as a Category 5 storm, was wobbling in the Gulf, and now threatened to bear down on central Florida.With perhaps one million vacationers and residents at risk, the Orange County Fire Rescue Division's Emergency Operations Center sprung into action. Rapid communication and dissemination of information was crucial. At the height of the multi-agency Hurricane Xena exercise, the Orange County Fire Rescue Complex was |
Luckily, Hurricane Xena was a drill. Participating in the County-wide exercise was Andre Anderson, the county's Growth Management and Environmental Resources Department Chief of Information Services and overseer of technology and computing needs for six divisions which include Planning, Zoning, Building, Parks & Recreation, Animal Services, Housing and Community Development, and Environmental Protection. In addition to his nine years in Orange County government, Mr. Anderson is well known as a respected community leader. We caught up with Mr. Anderson at the Hurricane Xena drill and asked him why his Division chooses Axon Computers.
With a Bachelor's in architecture
and his Master's in urban planning, by nature, Andre is a cautious and
knowledgeable manager who wouldn't think of using a vendor for mission
critical applications without meticulous due diligence. "When Axon first
came to our attention, I wasn't really interested in dealing with a small
computer company". But when Andre learned that Axon is a non-profit organization
whose mission is helping Florida's disabled community, instead of dismissing
Axon out of hand, he decided to open-mindedly investigate for himself.
In November of 1998, Andre and members of his technical staff drove out
to Clearwater and inspected Axon's manufacturing facility on the Abilities
of Florida campus.
I really got a full understanding of the purpose of the company. Tax money spent buying Axon PC's gets put back into the Florida community. That made more sense to me than sending the tax money to out of state companies where it goes who knows where."
"I was impressed and touched with the job training and the mission, but the thing that really sold me was that I could have my own computer company right in my own back yard." Like many Florida agencies, Andre's Department had been buying from an out-of-state computer manufacturer. "In my nine years with the County, I had only one face to face meeting with our old vendor."
"The nice thing about dealing with Axon is that they are so open to learning our operation and accommodating my sophisticated technical staff with responsive service. Axon works with us and that's important."
Luis Reichard seconded that idea. The PC/LAN Network Technician said, "What I really enjoy about choosing Axon is their flexibility. They build machines to our custom configuration using our preferred components. We get exactly what we want and the County gets a lot of bang for the buck. We see nothing but high quality hardware from Axon, plus the customer service is superb". Since the November visit, Axon has delivered about sixty PC's to Andre's staff.
Tom Grimes, Orlando District Manager for Axon said, "Andre and his staff are some of the most knowledgeable and technically proficient people that I have worked with during my twenty years in technology. It's a pleasure serving them".
When asked if he had any advice for other IS professionals considering using Axon, Andre said, "The important thing is to have an open mind. I was pleasantly surprised during my due diligence and so far I am pleased with my decision to switch to Axon Computers."
