Spotlight On MSP Client Success: Integrated Enterprise Solutions, Inc.
A conversation with Eric Gorman, Integrated Enterprise Solutions, Inc.
In this SPOTLIGHT ON CLIENT SUCCESS, Integrated Enterprise Solutions, Inc. executive vice president and COO Eric Gorman shares how his company is driving the success of its clients.
Solutions Provider: Integrated Enterprise Solutions, Inc.
Client Name: The Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce
Describe The Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce’s problem that precipitated the need for your solution(s). The Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce, serving the Hudson Valley of New York, is an advocate, information source, and champion for the region’s businesses and economic health. The Chamber has a staff of 35 people without a dedicated IT person in-house.
When we began working with the client, there was no strong antivirus and endpoint protection in place for their 37 desktops and nine servers. They had free antivirus in place on the desktops and nothing on the servers. The client was not keeping up with security because the Chamber did not understand the risks associated with poor security as well as for budget reasons. Our next step would be putting a proactive security program in place.
Before we could put any type of advanced security in place, the client experienced a CryptoLocker ransomware attack. The ransomware came through via an attachment on an email an employee opened. Someone on their team was IT savvy and realized what was happening, quickly called us, and we were able to quickly isolate the incident and manage recovery of the system and the data, though it took a long time as the client’s backups were not as robust as they should have been. That was another aspect we corrected when the Chamber became our client.
What solution did you implement and how did it address the client’s challenge? Right after the client’s ransomware incident, we put the Avast Business CloudCare cloud security platform in place. The CloudCare platform offers a range of subscription-based, pay-as-you-go security services. For the Chamber, we added Avast Business Antivirus Pro Plus and AntiSpam — all integrated within the platform and can be scheduled and automatically delivered through the cloud management console. This also includes a free remote-control tool.
We chose CloudCare because it offers strong protection with a flexible pricing model that lets us easily add more devices or services as their needs or budget changes. The antivirus includes advanced features like Behavior Shield, CyberCapture, and identity protection. This combination of detection technologies is designed to block ransomware and zero-day threats. The console also provides 24/7 visibility of all devices and activity on the client’s network.
How is it helping them do business more efficiently? The solution addressed the security challenges for the client on several different levels. First, we were able to provide an advanced, proactive security solution for the client’s endpoints. Through the CloudCare platform, we can provide the Antivirus Pro Plus and continue to monitor their network through the central console. And second, we also can respond quickly, connect remotely to their network, respond to issues, communicate, and work with the client quickly and from any location.
How is the solution helping the client do business more efficiently? We have reduced incidents to zero last year. Through the advanced protection offered by CloudCare and the visibility we now have to the system’s security, we have been able to prevent incidents from occurring. As a result of not having to pay to remediation of additional incidents, the client has used that money to provide annual cyber-security training to their staff. This also has resulted in a better understanding of proactive security protection.
How is that success being measured and attributed to your solution? The client can access the console and review reports pertaining to their cyber-security, giving them the confidence that the strategy we recommended was the right direction. The client’s knowledge of cyber-threats and best security practices also has improved. For example, following the ransomware incident, the Chamber hired my team to provide end user training on security phishing schemes.
Has this solution led to any new business opportunities or product/service offerings for your company? Yes, this has resulted in new services as well as new business referrals. For example, the day the ransomware incident was happening, we were on-site doing remediation on their systems and the client’s board of directors was in their office that day. The board members were watching us quickly running stand-alone scans and restoring backups and advising on security programs to put in place.
Six months later, we landed two new customers — two business owners on the client’s board of directors. One of the business owners had been on-site that day and watched us performing the remediation, restore, and deploy of CloudCare.
In addition, after we provided the client end user training, we developed a security training program for our clients to train their employees and began providing it as another value-add service in our portfolio.