Decades of Service to Fremont Bank

“As a regulated industry, we have to be super careful about who we partner with, about who has access to our IT systems,” notes Richard Wong, Director of IT Infrastructure at Fremont Bank. “Quest is a close partner—and it’s a decision we feel very confident about.”

What’s more, it’s a decision that Fremont, a leading California-based retail and commercial bank, has reaffirmed for the past 14 years.

Today, says Richard, Quest provides the bank with a range of Managed and Professional Services, including security monitoring, management of its Exchange environment, systems management and monitoring, expertise in negotiating technology purchases on the bank’s behalf, and help acquiring expert staff for short- and long-term assignments. Notably, the bank also selected Quest as its disaster recovery and co-location partner.

Fremont’s relationship with Quest has stood the test of time for many reasons, Richard says, and chief among them are flexibility, quality, and trust.

Flexible Approach

Richard likes to describe Quest’s willingness to shape its services to a customer’s needs as an a-la-carte approach.

“With Quest, I don’t need to buy the whole offering when all I really need is a small piece of it,” he explains. “For example, I buy a backup service from them, but there are certain things they offer as part of that service that we don’t need. Rather than force us to accept a one-size-fits-all package, Quest tailored a solution for Fremont to my exact needs.” And, he adds, “they priced it accordingly.”

That flexibility, extending across all of Quest’s offerings, has been especially helpful, Richard says, in enabling Fremont to “design a disaster recovery and co-lo solution just right for us.”

Of course, a flexible approach does not wholly explain why, as Fremont grew in size to its now more than 18 branches, it continued to expand its partnership with Quest.

Consistent Quality

“Fourteen years ago, Fremont began its relationship with Quest. Eight years ago, we selected them as our DR partner, and their impressive Business Resumption Center became our secondary data center location,” Richard notes. “I think that continued and expanded level of business speaks volumes about the quality we’ve received and have come to expect from Quest.”

 
Often, quality of service depends on people. Richard observes that Fremont’s own IT group prides itself on being able to react swiftly to industry dynamics and bring new customer products to market quickly. So, when they need some extra people, they need folks who are prepared to jump right in.

“We regularly ask Quest for extra hands,” he says, “and whether it’s a generalist or an expert we need, we are never disappointed.”

What’s more, he adds, the service Fremont receives from Quest is “the same whether we’re spending a lot or just idling. There’s no degradation — time and time again, Quest is ready to help us.”

Relationship Trust

In fact, Richard sees Quest as more than just a technology partner.

“A lot of companies are in it for the here-and-now, but Quest is like a cousin — they’re part of the Fremont family. Our Quest Account Manager, Justin Trammell, is awesome. He’s always responsive and ready to listen. If I call to chat about something we’re planning, he’ll point me to the right people and technologies. He goes out of his way to help us, even contacting me if he sees a new technology that might be of interest to us.”

“Quest is with you for the long haul,” says Richard. “Plenty of businesses talk about relationship, but Quest lives it every day.”