--- title: "Bigleaf preserves continuity of service for Innovation Refunds" date: 2023-09-05 summary: "Bigleaf Networks case study quoting Nathan Phinney, CIO of Innovation Refunds, on SD-WAN and resilient internet connectivity, with a webinar featuring Nathan and Bigleaf's CMO." outlet: "Bigleaf Networks" source: "https://www.bigleaf.net/blog/bigleaf-preserves-continuity-of-service-for-innovation-refunds/" url: "https://nathanphinney.com/bigleaf-sd-wan-interview/" author: "Nathan Phinney" author_role: "COO, AllSafe IT" author_url: "https://nathanphinney.com/about/" same_as: ["https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanphinney"] expertise: ["IT", "InfoSec", "Managed Services", "Cybersecurity", "Business Operations", "Technology for Escrow Companies", "Technology for Nonprofits"] updated: 2026-10-10 --- Bigleaf Networks case study quoting Nathan Phinney, CIO of Innovation Refunds, on SD-WAN and resilient internet connectivity, with a webinar featuring Nathan and Bigleaf's CMO. Bigleaf Networks blog case study (vendor-produced), byline listing Amy Chan. No date is printed; the text implies late 2022 or early 2023 (it mentions an ERC deadline in April 2024 and a webinar titled "Eliminating internet unpredictability in 2023"). The entry date is kept as is. Title as printed: "Bigleaf preserves continuity of service for Innovation Refunds". Bigleaf printed Nathan's title as "Nathan Phinney, CIO of Innovation Refunds" (as printed by Bigleaf). [Read the case study at Bigleaf](https://www.bigleaf.net/blog/bigleaf-preserves-continuity-of-service-for-innovation-refunds/) ## What Nathan said > "Downtime and poor connectivity pose huge risks to the business," said Nathan Phinney, CIO of Innovation Refunds. "We've effectively mitigated those risks with Bigleaf's SD-WAN technology," he added. > "Even when there's an outage, our users don't know there's anything wrong," Nathan asserted. > "Bigleaf's automated QoS does a remarkable job," Nathan said. "The default settings have worked 100% of the time, so we don't need to worry about programming any of it." > "The cost of downtime will also rise as the deadline approaches," Nathan explained. "The last two months are more valuable than the previous ten months," he said. "Especially during this busy period, our success depends on reliable and resilient internet connectivity." > "And there's no way I'd want to do this without Bigleaf," he concluded. Bigleaf reported: Nathan introduced Innovation Refunds to Bigleaf Networks when he served the company as a managed service provider. Bigleaf reported: Both carriers used the same provider for the last mile, so the combination was not fault-tolerant, according to Nathan. He brought in multiple carriers and partnered with Bigleaf to deliver last-mile diversity that optimized network performance and resilience. Bigleaf reported: When potential issues arise, Nathan's IT team receives email or Slack alerts from Bigleaf. ## Webinar Bigleaf printed: "Watch our webinar with Nathan Phinney, CIO of Innovation Refunds". Nathan Phinney, CIO of Innovation Refunds and Lori Stout, CMO of Bigleaf Networks discuss proven technologies and strategies for preserving business-critical network operations with Michael Krieger of Network Computing. Webinar title: "Does your network...not-work? Eliminating internet unpredictability in 2023." ## Key facts - "Innovation Refunds is a fintech-based tax specialist that helps its clients to obtain tax refunds under a federal program that is due to expire in April 2024." - "Innovation Refunds employs a staff of 1,063, including over 700 who were hired in the past year. About a third of employees currently work in their West Des Moines, Iowa office." - "Recently, the company earned AICPA SOC2 attestation, allowing Innovation Refunds to work directly with banks and other financial service providers." - The company was tripling its staff of accountants, tax attorneys, and other professionals, including new headquarters in downtown Miami. [Read the original](https://www.bigleaf.net/blog/bigleaf-preserves-continuity-of-service-for-innovation-refunds/) ## About the author **Nathan Phinney**, COO, AllSafe IT. - Co-founded Bright Bear Technology Solutions (2010 to 2020), which reached the CRN MSP 500 and Ingram Micro SMB 500 lists before its 2020 acquisition by Datapath. - 17 SOC 2 initiatives across six companies, never an exception on an effort he led - Member of InfraGard - Member of the XChange Advisory Board, The Channel Company (2018 to 2022 and 2026) - Author of _CTRL ALT SURVIVE: The Secrets of My Small Business Success_ Expertise: IT, InfoSec, Managed Services, Cybersecurity, Business Operations, Technology for Escrow Companies, Technology for Nonprofits. Featured in: CRN (7 articles, 2019 to 2026), Backblaze, Bigleaf Networks, Channel Partners Expo, GTIA, Orange County Business Journal. See https://nathanphinney.com/press.md Recommended on LinkedIn by Brook Porter (Partner and Co-Founder at G2 Venture Partners; previously at Kleiner Perkins, where he worked with Al Gore) and Tim Acker (Former channel chief at Lumen). More: [About Nathan Phinney](https://nathanphinney.com/about.md) | [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanphinney)