Energy Infrastructure Partners (EIP): From Scrappy to Scalable

Energy Infrastructure Partners is a national energy efficiency consulting firm that helps state and local government entities and utility companies reach their decarbonization goals. As EIP began winning larger utility contracts with strict cybersecurity requirements, a single in-house IT person could no longer keep up. Xperteks stepped in as a full outsourced IT department, closing security gaps, scaling onboarding, and guiding the company through SOC 2 certification.

About the Client

Energy Infrastructure Partners (EIP) is a national energy efficiency consulting firm that helps state and local government entities and utility companies implement and achieve their decarbonization goals. The firm operates as a national company with a deliberate local presence. For each utility or municipal contract, EIP hires staff embedded in the local community.

Claire Richardson joined EIP in January 2023 as Director of Administrative Services, responsible for overseeing IT, finance, HR, payroll, facilities, and insurance. At that time, EIP had just 6 employees: the owner, three partners, and two staff members. By the time of this interview, the firm had grown to 35 employees, with 12 more positions planned in the next three months and a projected headcount of approximately 60 by year-end.

The Challenge: A Single IT Person Could Not Scale

When Claire joined EIP in early 2023, the company had one individual handling all IT needs, from firewall setup to basic infrastructure maintenance. While adequate for a 6-person firm, this arrangement had clear limitations as the company began winning larger contracts with major utility companies.

The trigger for change came from EIP's contracts with utility companies, which carry exceptionally strict IT and cybersecurity requirements. Claire described the burden this placed on the organization.

There was an RFP process where we had to answer over 500 questions and provide proof, pictures, documents. The process was taking too long, and it was also unclear.

Claire Richardson, Director of Administrative Services, EIP

Compounding Constraints

Beyond the RFP questionnaire burden, EIP faced a direct operational impact. After winning a utility contract, the client refused to share its customer list, which EIP needed to begin outreach, until a full cybersecurity review of EIP was completed. The single IT person was not positioned to respond quickly to the utility's questions, causing delays that directly stalled revenue-generating work.

• Limited team depth: The individual IT provider lacked the team depth to service EIP's growing needs across onboarding, security, and compliance.
• Limited business maturity: He lacked the business maturity to produce formal proposals, budget plans, and documented processes that utility contracts required.
• Looming compliance demands: The firm was heading toward SOC 2 Type 1 and Type 2 certification, a complex, multi-phase compliance process requiring dedicated IT infrastructure and expertise.

How They Found Xperteks

Claire first connected with Xperteks during an MBE CyberReady certification course, a webinar-based series covering cybersecurity for minority business enterprises. At the same time, she was already evaluating IT managed service providers to replace the company's existing arrangement.

After those initial conversations, Xperteks made a formal presentation to EIP's owner. EIP signed with Xperteks in May and June of 2023.

Claire also compared Xperteks to a competing firm during due diligence. Her approach was distinctive. She searched Glassdoor reviews for both companies, looking at feedback from interviewees and former employees.

The reviews of people interviewing or who used to work at the other firm were negative. With Xperteks, I wasn't getting that. People had a good experience interviewing with them, even if they didn't get the job. That was a big deal.

Claire Richardson, Director of Administrative Services, EIP

The Xperteks Solution

Upon engagement, Xperteks audited EIP's existing IT setup and closed all identified security and structural gaps. This established a solid foundation before the company's rapid headcount growth began.

• Full IT department services: Xperteks assumed the full scope of IT support for EIP's distributed, remote-first workforce, including new employee laptop setup, secure provisioning, and ongoing technical support for all staff.
• Device lifecycle management: Wiping, reconfiguring, and staging hardware so every transition, whether arrival or departure, is handled without disruption, plus a proactive offboarding process to keep security tight as headcount grows.
• White-glove on-site support: When needed, Xperteks dispatches a technician in person, including a visit to the owner's Brooklyn location over the holiday period to resolve a complex issue.
• SOC 2 Type 1 and Type 2 support: Xperteks is actively guiding EIP through SOC 2 certification and supported the integration with Vanta, a third-party compliance monitoring platform, so auditors have a centralized view of EIP's controls and evidence.
• Bi-weekly strategic check-ins: Claire meets every two weeks with Xperteks senior leadership to align on evolving IT needs, review upcoming growth milestones, and stay ahead of change as EIP scales.

Why EIP Chose Xperteks

When evaluating IT providers, Claire assessed Xperteks against a larger competing firm. Several factors drove the decision.

• Personal connection and clear communication: Xperteks' direct engagement and clear ability to explain the path forward contrasted with the competing firm's evasive sales approach.
• Employee culture signal: Glassdoor reviews showed Xperteks had positive feedback from interviewees and current and former staff, indicating an internal culture that would translate to client care.
• Established team depth: Xperteks provided a full team versus a single-person shop, giving EIP coverage, redundancy, and the ability to scale.
• Responsiveness and accountability: Structured bi-weekly meetings with senior leadership and a willingness to go on-site when needed demonstrated genuine commitment.

Looking Ahead

EIP projects reaching approximately 60 employees by year-end, nearly double its current size. Claire has already confirmed with Xperteks leadership that they are fully prepared to scale alongside EIP at that level.

As EIP completes its SOC 2 Type 2 certification, pursues additional federal contracting opportunities, and expands its national footprint, Xperteks will remain the IT backbone that makes it all possible. For a firm like EIP, growing fast, winning complex contracts, and navigating serious compliance requirements, having Xperteks is not a convenience. It is a competitive advantage.