CCS, A case study on the hidden dangers SMBs may face

Overview

CCS came to Galileo looking for a seasoned, highly responsive technical support team to replace their existing “IT Guy”.  Their initial pain point was poor quickbooks performance that was negatively impacting their staff’s productivity.  They were also interested in improving the quality of their IT service and response.

Hidden Problems

Galileo arrived onsite after discussing the performance issues with CCS staff.  After only a few hours onsite, it was clear there were deeper, potentially disastrous problems.  Our initial evaluation uncovered:

1. The local-only backup had not run in nearly a year
2. There were errors on the server array that were causing both performance and reliability concerns
3. No Anti-virus was in place on the server, and the workstations were running a hodge-podge of different AV tools
4. The server had not been patched in 6+ months, and there was no patch management for the workstations
5. Nearly all workstations were running on the wireless network, when gigabit wired network was available to the desk

CCS was a disaster waiting to happen.  They were extremely vulnerable to data loss from one of several sources (hardware failure, ransomware, employee error) and employee productivity had been hampered due to poor performance for months.

Solution

Galileo implemented a multi-faceted solution to address these concerns.  With our Total Desktop Care program, we installed patch management for all workstations and the server.  We provided licensing for Anti-virus/Anti-malware and remote support software.  We also installed 24/7 server monitoring and management, backed by our partner NOC (network operations center), so that the server can be proactively managed, 24hrs a day, 7 days a week.   This gives Galileo the ability to detect and solve problems, often before the client is even aware of them.

Projects were then implemented to update the firmware on the server array, eliminating the performance and integrity concerns. We also installed a backup solution that now protects CCS’s server around the clock with both local and offsite copies of their data.  A system wide AV scan was done with both webroot and malwarebytes, removing numerous pieces of spyware.  Lastly, we reconfigured all workstations to use their LAN connections and disable their wireless links (thus freeing up wifi bandwidth for devices that actually needed it).

Results

CCS is now running their core software at 10x the performance they were before contracting with Galileo.  In addition, serious, potentially business ending problems were found and addressed.  CCS is now secured, managed and operating at peak efficiency.