Case Studies

Tecovas Case Study

1,000

hours of work

22 minutes

response time

200%

employee growth

20

retail locations

The Client

Founded in 2015, Tecovas is an Austin, TX-based retail company. While best known for its high-quality boots, the brand has expanded to Western wear that caters to farmers and fashion-forward folks. 

The Challenge

With business booming, this Texas company has expanded rapidly over the past decade. In fact, as of 2024, it’s the fastest-growing Western brand in the world! 

From Tecovas headquarters in central Austin to 20 retail stores across the region, the brand understood they required greater IT support. When they reached out to our team, they were scheduled to move to a new headquarters within a month – without an IT infrastructure plan in place.

With growth on the horizon, Tecovas debated between in-house and outsourced managed IT solutions. They determined that their goals would be more easily met by partnering with a managed service provider. We were happy to prove them right! 

Partnering with Live Oak

As a fellow Austin-based company, Tecovas knew that Live Oak could provide expert assistance with their complex IT requirements. And Live Oak shared Tecovas’ reputation of excellent service and great quality. It felt like a great fit. 

We determined that the best course of action was heading their IT operations. This allowed Tecovas to focus on increasing brick-and-mortar locations, honing its brand identity, and expanding its product lines. 

Live Oak designed a network that gave Tecovas immediate stability and security. 

Interconnectivity

By improving interconnectivity between retail operations and their corporate office through one managed dashboard (using Cisco Meraki), we reduced set-up time from an average 9 hours to 2.5 hours per location. 

Building IT Infrastructure

We had less than one month to create – and implement – IT infrastructure for Tecovas headquarters. The staff of 30 employees had been managing all of their IT needs in-house, so we designed and installed an IT network from the ground up. 

Full IT Support

Tecovas requested that we provide full IT support. This extended to planning and budgeting, day-to-day staff service, as well as project execution for new retail stores (including acquisition and setup of network and security hardware). We developed employee IT management procedures that were scaleable with company growth. This enabled Tecovas to hire our entire team of dedicated experts for the same cost as a single in-house employee.

Streamlined Retail Solutions

For new Tecovas retail locations, we focused on simplifying security and hardware procurement as soon as we received the address and a target open date. Our team negotiated internet service providers and contracts, purchased installation network hardware, coordinated office cabling, and installed IT racks.

Our IT professionals configured the network remotely, coordinating with the necessary parties to activate the location and install hardware. 

Employee Onboarding

When any business grows, they need to hire additional staff members. Live Oak onboarded Tecovas employees by procuring their workstations, granting access to software accounts, and providing desktop hardware (such as monitors, keyboards, and mice).

We ensured that employees were equipped with the technical tools required for their first day. 

Employee Offboarding 

Live Oak has a defined employee offboarding process to ensure that company data remains intact and secure. When any employee exits the company, the employee’s access to company systems is terminated. Next, their workstation operating conditions are restored, ready for the next staff member who requires it. 

Ongoing Support

As Tecovas’ full-time IT support, we respond to their help desk tickets in approximately 13 minutes. Weekly check-ins are ongoing, keeping us aware of potential technical issues, product maintenance, and upcoming projects.

At the start of our partnership, we spent just over 100 hours to set up Tecovas’ headquarters and their flagship store. Since then, the company has grown from 30 to 120 full-time employees – and more than 20 brick-and-mortar locations! 

Live Oak It Partners currently services Tecovas corporate offices and all retail locations. By managing their IT and security requirements without disruption, Tecovas is able to focus on what they do best: exceptional customer service and unparalleled Western wear. 

As Tecovas increases its physical stores and online presence, we look forward to a continued, successful partnership.