Background
Fireplace Stone & Patio (FSP) is a fourth-generation family-owned retailer specializing in residential and commercial new construction and outdoor living products. As the business expanded, so did its reliance on technology to manage day-to-day operations, customer experience and internal communications. With a lean internal team and growing infrastructure demands, leadership recognized the need for an IT partner who could complement their in-house capabilities — without replacing them.
Key Challenges
Fireplace Stone & Patio had previously worked with a managed services provider for over a decade, but the relationship had grown stagnant. Service was reactive, response times lagged and the provider pushed a one-size-fits-all model that didn’t align with Fireplace Stone & Patio’s goals. At the same time, maintaining on-premises infrastructure at the company’s Omaha headquarters created a single point of failure — if the main office went down, all five branches were impacted.
Adding to the pressure were rising licensing costs from VMware, which forced the company to rethink its approach to server infrastructure. With limited in-house expertise in cloud technologies, they needed a partner who could guide the transition and support day to-day operations in parallel.
Solutions
IP Pathways stepped in as a strategic partner, delivering a flexible co-managed IT services model tailored to the company’s needs. From the start, IP Pathways worked alongside Nathan Glassburner, IT Administrator, in a way that complemented FSP’s internal IT department.
Jeff Funk, President of Fireplace Stone & Patio stated:
“Nathan and I both appreciated IP Pathways’ collaborative approach — they helped us shore up specific areas of need instead of forcing us into a rigid, all-or-nothing managed service model.”
Early initiatives included Firewall as a Service, Sophos endpoint protection and expert oversight for network performance and configuration. IP Pathways also led a phased cloud migration to its AdaptiveCloud Cloud Infrastructure, beginning with the domain controller and print server and expanding to phone systems and utility servers. This shift connected all branches under a unified, cloud-based infrastructure.
By taking a consultative approach, IP Pathways helped evaluate and validate technology decisions while offering cost-effective alternatives to traditional infrastructure. Projects were delivered on time, in collaboration with other vendors and with minimal disruption to day-to-day business.
“There are certain fields within Information Technology that I have less experience with than others. That’s where IP Pathways has been rock solid in filling those gaps in knowledge so we can continue to move forward.” Nathan Glassburner, IT Administrator, Fireplace Stone & Patio
The Results
The partnership with IP Pathways empowered Fireplace Stone & Patio’s internal IT team by providing expert-level support and proactive monitoring, while maintaining the value of onsite personnel.
“I know there’s always an IP Pathways engineer available with the right expertise when we need it. They help us solve problems rather than accept limitations.” Nathan Glassburner, IT Administrator, Fireplace Stone & Patio
With IP Pathways AdaptiveCloud platform, the company enjoys improved performance and reliability. All five branches are now connected in real-time, eliminating the siloed systems that previously slowed operations. In addition, the company is no longer burdened by expensive on-prem hardware or inflated software licensing fees.
Looking Ahead
With full cloud migration nearly complete and legacy infrastructure being phased out, Fireplace Stone & Patio is well positioned to scale with confidence. The co-managed relationship with IP Pathways ensures they can continue to grow without needing to build out a large internal IT department.
“IP Pathways didn’t just sell us a plan — they helped build a better long-term strategy. We’re more secure, more efficient, and we finally have the support structure we needed.” Jeff Funk, President, Fireplace Stone & Patio
View the full case study: Fireplace Stone & Patio Case Study
