Arraya FAQ: 3 Questions You May Have Been Afraid to Ask
Since you’re on this site and reading this blog, then the likelihood is that you’ve heard a thing or two about Arraya Solutions. You’re probably at least a little familiar with the IT services and solutions we provide to our customers, the awards and recognition we’ve won, and the industry leaders we’re proud to call our partners.
But all that familiarity aside, there may still be a few things you don’t know about us. It doesn’t matter if you’re a new customer to Arraya – or even if you’ve worked with us for a while – there’s always more to learn about a company and more layers to peel back.
So in the spirit of openness, here are three things you may have always wanted to know about Arraya, but were too afraid to ask.
1. How do you say that?
There’s definitely no shame in not knowing how to say Arraya. Over the years, we’ve heard it all. We’ve heard our name pronounced as though it rhymed with Mariah and as if we were named after the youngest Stark daughter from “Game of Thrones.” The correct way to pronounce Arraya? Ah-ray-ah.
So where did that name come from? When Arraya was first founded by Dan Lifshutz and David Bakker back in 1999, they called the new company D&D Consulting, which was more of a play on their first names then a reference to the popular role playing game. Either way, it never failed to get a laugh when they went to see a new prospect, so the pair decided it was time for a change.
“The name Arraya Solutions was born in 2002,” explained Lifshutz. “After considering many options over a few weeks, I was looking through a Perl for Dummies book for inspiration. I saw the word ‘array’ and initially added an ‘on’ at the end before we changed it to Arraya.”
2. Where the heck is everybody?
There are days when you can walk into Arraya’s Plymouth Meeting headquarters and you can hear a pin drop. If you happen to come into the offices on one of those days, it’s only natural to think: “Where is everyone? Doesn’t anybody work here?”
The answer to the second part of that question is easy enough: Yes, the Arraya team is currently made up of around 80 people. But what about that first question? Just where is everyone hiding?
“Our business is structured so that many of our employees’ responsibilities require them to work off-site,” said Bakker. “Sales reps are out on the road, meeting with customers and prospects. Our engineers are at customers’ facilities, working to implement solutions. These duties keep them from spending very much time in the office. ”
So because of that, you might want to think of Arraya like a duck on a pond: It may look serene and peaceful on the surface, but you can bet it’s paddling like crazy underneath.
3. How does your receptionist work?
Visitors who enter through Arraya’s main entrance won’t be greeted by one smiling face welcoming them to our company’s headquarters, they’ll be greeted by an entire screen-full of smiling faces. See, instead of having one person crewing our reception desk, Arraya has decided to go a different, more high-tech route. Think Rosie, the robot butler from “The Jetsons.” Well, that’s overselling things. Think less high-tech.
When you walk in, you’ll see a kiosk which features pictures of every Arraya employee. Your first thought might be: “So how do I work this thing?” Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
First, you’ll need to enter your name, company, email and phone number. That info will then be stored in a database, so it can be auto-populated the next time you come in. Once you’ve entered your info, you select the employee you’re here to visit and submit the form. The Arraya employee you’re meeting will then be notified by email that they have a visitor waiting.
This service has helped Arraya keep costs down and track guests. In the future, the goal is to expand the system to:
- IM Arraya employees
- Issue WiFi password
- Issue a visitor badge
So there you go. Next time you come in for a meeting, you won’t have to worry about committing a name-related faux pas, being intimidated by our high tech receptionist or that you accidentally came in on a day the office was closed because the parking lot looks a little empty.
Still have questions? Visit us at www.ArrayaSolutions.com or follow us on Twitter @ArrayaSolutions
