Plumbing & Air company saved time, reduced spending, and leveled up their cybersecurity by deploying IT PROTECT.
The company drastically improved managing their technology with IT PROTECT, leveling up their cybersecurity posture in one day. This saved countless hours for the CFO, alleviated the burden of researching IT issues, and elevated their environment to industry standards.
"I was spending a ton time researching various technology issues. I'm the CFO, not an IT expert."
WEARING THE IT HAT
A prominent plumbing and air company located in Sarasota, FL, revolutionized its IT management by partnering with Cloud Matrix IT, a managed IT firm (MSP) who specializes in providing managed IT and security services to small & medium sized businesses (SMBs). This strategic collaboration has yielded remarkable benefits for the company, particularly for their Chief Financial Officer (CFO), who had previously dedicated numerous hours each week configuring and researching IT issues for the organization. This partnership resulted in a significant time savings managing various IT intricacies, office & mobile devices, and servers. This allowed them to redirect that time towards other critical responsibilities and growing the business.
Moreover, the partnership has proven to be highly cost-effective, with the company saving substantial amounts of money and resources that would have otherwise been allocated managing IT themselves. The company completely leveled up their access to enterprise level resources and especially their overall security posture. Cloud Matrix IT efficient management of the company's IT infrastructure, proactive issue resolution, and expert guidance have not only enhanced the overall productivity and efficiency of the business but have also fostered a secure and reliable IT environment.
- Time requirements to manage IT internally
- Major security gaps within the IT environment
- Limited scalability
- No automated patch management
- Limited access to advanced technologies
- No business continuity or backups system
- No efficient document management system
- No staff training on cyber threats
- No password management system in place
- No Microsoft 365 administration or support
"Managing your IT internally can be quite costly, take you away from your regular duties, and create major security risks. We believe every business deserves a smooth, predictable, and secure IT environment so they can do what they do best."
- Richard, Cloud Matrix IT
IT & BUSINESS CHALLENGES
"I'm not an IT person. I was spending countless hours each week trying to band aid our IT and our operations running smoothly. Managing users, credentials, inboxes, documents, software, and our mobile devices. Trying to solve IT issues I knew nothing about", said the CFO of the company. The company faced several challenges that were difficult to manage and lacked the resources to make proper configuration changes. Like most companies they just wanted their technology to "work".
One challenge they faced was managing a local server that housed a few key applications as well as their entire file system. The local server, sitting inside an unsecured office, had no automated system patching configured and no regular maintenance being performed. Furthermore, the absence of backup systems for disaster recovery was a major concern. Their crucial applications and vital documents were left without any means of recovering from potential disasters. There were also no permissions management or collaboration tools in place. This posed not only a risk to continuity and disaster recovery, but also presented a significant and alarming security vulnerability. The potential impact on the business with the lack of these solutions could have been devastating. From an operations and technology perspective, they were not ideal.
Supporting your businesses in key areas: Cybersecurity, Infrastructure, Strategy, & Support.
IT Help Desk Support | Managed Detection & Response (MDR) | Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR)
Advanced Email Security | Fully Managed SOC+ Platform | Dark Web Monitoring | Network Management
Microsoft 365 Security & Assessments | Strategic IT Planning | Vulnerability Management | Cybersecurity Awareness Training | Multifactor Authentication (MFA) | Automated Patch Management | Password Manager
SOLUTIONS DEPLOYED
CYBERSECURITY
A Cybersecurity Risk Assessment was quickly initiated to learn what areas our client was vulnerable in. These areas included user training and knowledge, workstations, networking & Wi-Fi equipment, as well as the various cloud services they used to operate their business. From this assessment we were able to identify key areas that needed configuring and security hardening.
Our Advanced Email Security & Filtering solution was installed within their email client. Once it familiarized itself with their company's email patterns, it eliminated phishing and threatening emails from their employees' inboxes. Additionally, it allowed their employees to report malicious emails to the system, removing them from everyone's inboxes.
Managed Detection & Response (MDR) was deployed throughout the organization via our Managed SOC PLUS Cybersecurity platform to provided the company with 24/7/365 security monitoring, alerting, and immediate response if something were to be flagged as malicious. Cybersecurity engineers with our Managed SOC constantly monitor all the telemetry data within their environment and can step in to prevent any lateral movement of cyber threats from spreading to other machines or systems. Even on weekends and holidays.
We implemented a Password Manager for the entire organization, ensuring all the critical credentials for all their services were securely documented.
Endpoint Protection & Response (EDR) was deployed on every managed devices to actively monitor and hunt for malicious behavior. It is designed to prevent cyber threats from taking a tight hold within the environment.
Multifactor Authentication (MFA) was implemented for every user in the organization making it easier to access critical resources while preventing unauthorized access to all company data and resources.
We enrolled them into our Dark Web Monitoring solution which allowed us to monitor every account within their business for credentials and personal private information that may be leaked by third parties.
Enrolled the entire company into our Advanced Cybersecurity Awareness Training that turned one of the biggest risks for businesses into a huge asset. By passively training employees on the dangers of cyber threats, we holistically enhance the security of the entire organization. Complete with simulations and an entire library of training videos.
A complete Microsoft 365 review and security assessment was completed with a follow up report that highlighted a priority list of critical areas that needed improvement. This drastically elevated their security and identity scores from the lows 30's to an average of 90%.
An Identity Management system was developed using Microsoft Azure to install a Zero-Trust platform, ensuring that only authorized users were being granted access to company resources.
INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT
We got to work right away by migrating their local server to the Microsoft Azure cloud. We deployed a virtual machine that could operate their applications (such as QuickBooks desktop) and provided a secure way for multiple users to access it from anywhere, remotely & securely.
Our Advanced Automated System Patching solution was configured on all managed machines and software deployed in the company to prevent threat actors from taking advantage of outdated systems. This prevented manually going to each machine each month and applying critical updates and system patches. Our solution also test updates to make sure they function as intended before getting applied.
Standard user accounts were implemented where users could easily log into their workstations with their M365 credentials. This prevented them from having admin rights to the machines, removing a major security risk to the organization.
An Enterprise Content Management System was developed within Microsoft 365 SharePoint so the entire organization could safely and securely manage, share, and collaborate with their documents internally and externally.
We implemented Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery solutions within their IT environment, ensuring the back ups of their critical software, company documents, and the entire M365 environment. This included user mailboxes, MS Teams, SharePoint documents, M365 groups, and more.
They gained the ability to see every aspect of their network, in real time, with our Network Assessments, Monitoring, & Alerting. Giving them real time mapping of their network and alerts to know when unrecognized behavior was taking place.
STRATEGIC IT PLANING
We set our client up on a regular cadence of Strategic IT Planning sessions to discuss how their IT environment was preforming and what the IT roadmap looked like moving forward.
Our dedicated Virtual Chief Information Officer (vCIO) worked with our client on a regular cadence to develop an IT Budget, establishing a cost effective way forward to reach their business goals.
The client also benefited from our strategic on-demand technology reporting that reviews how IT PROTECT is keeping them well oiled, protected, and explains the company's current technology state.
IT SUPPORT
Remote Monitoring & Management was deployed to each managed machine to allow Cloud Matrix IT support engineers to monitor and manage those devices when users need IT support.
This also allowed them to submit tickets directly to our IT Help Desk Support services right from the system tray of their machines. Making it extremely easy for them to contact us to resolve any IT related issues they were facing.
A smooth onboarding & offboarding process was implemented throughout the entire organization. Allowing new employees to easily get access to their resources the moment the signed on to their devices, and removed resources/permissions for former employees.
Our Microsoft 365 License Management services allowed us to properly assign & remove licenses as needed, configure the correct security controls depending on the role, and deploy certain automations to make the entire process zero-touch for the client.
BUSINESS OUTCOMES
By partnering with Cloud Matrix IT our client reduced their costs in quite a few ways and gained many technological advances over their competition. The moment we began onboarding they had access to skilled IT professionals without the expense of sources those themselves. Resources like a Virtual Chief Information Officer (vCIO), Chief Security Information Officer (CISO), Cybersecurity Engineers, Network engineers, and other technology experts who now help support their business. They also gained back hours each week trying to research and manage their technologies in house.
Our client drastically leveled up their cybersecurity posture in one day via our fully managed SOC+ Cybersecurity Platform. This gave them critical insights into their entire IT environment, something they didn't have before. The company now had IT expertise, scalable solutions, and proactive maintenance to ensure efficient operations that minimalized or eliminated downtime.
By partnering with us they prioritized cybersecurity that gave them robust & resilient protection against the multitude of cyber threats they were facing everyday. They were able to focus on their core business objectives while leveraging advanced technologies to position their business for growth and beat out their competition. Ultimately, deploying IT PROTECT empowered them to enhance productivity, competitiveness, elevate their security posture, reduce time researching technologies, and obtain business continuity.