HCC

A Volunteer-Run Hobby Club

As its name suggests, HCC is a hobby club—a true association. While there’s an office staffed by a few paid employees who, among other things, publish the PC Active magazine, the majority of the work is carried out by volunteers like Bas.

HCC consists of various interest groups that members can join. Each group has its own website and functions like a mini-association within the larger club. Bas is one of the six administrators of Hobbynet, the interest group that provides services to the rest of the association and acts as an ISP for these groups and their members. Hobbynet is currently looking to expand its team with more administrators.

Working from BIT’s Office

HCC has been a BIT customer for years. Bas explains, “We have a rack in BIT-2A where we maintain 125 virtual servers. Every Wednesday, a fellow volunteer and I are at BIT to carry out tasks. Since we don’t have our own office, BIT lets us use their workspace. It’s great because it feels like one big family, and we can always ask someone to take a look when we encounter issues.”

Modernizing the Email Platform

Previously, the email system was hosted elsewhere and was in dire need of an upgrade. Password synchronization issues arose frequently because user data was stored in multiple databases. Moreover, the system no longer met current internet standards. “And of course, we aim for a perfect score on Internet.nl,” Bas adds.

BIT provided the solution: a fully hosted, redundant mail server with a central LDAP database. Bas recalls, “Migrating the old mail servers to the new environment was a massive task. We also had a classic case of miscommunication, as Van Kooten & De Bie would say. BIT had an issue with a document, which caused confusion. Initially, we were emailing back and forth, but in such cases, it’s better to just pick up the phone. Once we spoke, it quickly became clear where the confusion stemmed from, and the problem was almost immediately resolved.”

Quickly Assisting Users

After that, the migration went smoothly, though some HCC members did encounter email issues, Bas notes. “Some users still had old, unsecured email clients, making it impossible to log into the new environment. We provided solutions for secure login to all affected users. Additionally, a few members experienced issues with their mailboxes not transferring correctly from the old to the new environment. We resolved this by manually transferring data from the old hard drive to the new system. BIT provided excellent support in this process.”

Now, Bas and his colleagues are deep into a new project: rolling out new websites for all interest groups. Nearly 50 sites need to be migrated to a new version of Joomla. “It’s a huge task, and we’ll undoubtedly encounter unforeseen issues. That’s why it’s great to have our regular Wednesday sessions at BIT where we can brainstorm with the team.”

Leveraging BIT’s Expertise

Bas knows he can always count on the experts at BIT. “We’ve faced DDoS attacks and storage issues in the past, and each time, BIT stepped in to help us resolve them. During the pandemic, they assisted us in setting up a Jitsi platform so we could hold virtual meetings for our members.”

Bas appreciates that BIT doesn’t hesitate to offer support when needed. “And they do it without sending us an invoice because BIT is one of HCC’s sponsors. They truly fulfill that role, not just financially, but by offering their expertise whenever we need it. They’re simply a very reliable partner.”

In addition to reliability, BIT is also honest. Bas values this the most. “Mistakes happen, and when BIT makes one, they have no problem admitting it.” This attitude is rare in an industry dominated by bonus-malus contracts, but it’s essential for quickly resolving issues. “That’s why I value BIT’s honesty the most. It’s the cornerstone of our successful partnership.”