New IT infrastructure for a fresh start

maaike — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 11:25:27 +0000

Services: IT Consulting & Project Management, Help Desk, Infrastucture Management, Compliance, Telecommunication

Client: Arctic Cooling Systems, a turnkey cooling systems company that seemed to be frozen in time. Their productivity was low, security was a mess, and the company’s general performance was ice cold.

The issue

Right away, we assessed ACS’s problem; their IT infrastructure was entirely obsolete, which caused their problems.

The data situation was troublesome with data spread among local computers, personal computers, USBs, and external drives with no centralized location. There was also a certain lack of standardization of software availability, with each user having a different set of software options making communication and collaboration nearly impossible.

We also discovered that all users across the entire company had admin rights; phone lines were connected to PSTN lines. Hence, calls required routing through multiple switches, and they had failed PCI compliance, so customer credit card information was vulnerable.

All of this, we diagnosed, was the fault of an obsolete IT infrastructure.

The solution

We took an aggressive attack on the situation. In under 90 days, we carved out from a Fortune 500, with no existing infrastructure in place, and we implemented a flexible hybrid cloud model.

Installed an RDS (Remote Desktop Server), which improved efficiency as well as reducing costs. This is because RDS allowed software installation on the primary server, which was then transmitted to all computers. This was a more efficient choice than installing software licenses on all their individual computers and brought centralization to the system.

We then consolidated all servers into one, virtualized the system, and created backups for tighter security.

We then aimed at the support desk activity and took over 100% of the operation. 100% of the IT department is now managed by Luch Tech. Support is handled remotely by our expert Atlanta based team with on-site provided when necessary. The Atlanta team is readily available to provide support, and that includes troubleshooting processes.

That was a lot, but we weren’t done yet. We implemented supermicro chassis to provide scaling capabilities and then combined technology, HP switches, PBX, and PFSense firewalls. This reduced costs in licensing for hardware from Cisco and Microsoft operating systems and telecom.

We then looked at their data storage and data backups and decided it would be better to carve out any physical and convert it to virtual. This reduces the possibility of hardware failure. We also updated their hardware/software to improve the user experience.

When dealing with their intranet and internal IT process, a distribution file that centralized the company information was created. We then replicated all information on a separate virtual server for back and safety.

And to finish up, we installed PBX to create an efficient voice system and avoid additional licensing fees, set up a VPN that allows employees to work remotely, and installed full office 365 experience to enable cloud-based storage that will also encourage and enhance collaboration. Finally, we synchronized Azure with the active local directory.

Results

They now have a fully updated and more centralized IT system. This allows for greater efficiency, lower costs, more collaboration, and better performance across the board. Work is being done on PCI compliance with new security measures, so customer data is safe. Better communication, virtual back-ups, and a smoother running system.

Going Forward

Our expert Atlanta based team will continue to provide 100% control over the support desk activity and manage the IT department. We will provide on-site help when needed and advise and answer queries about their new systems.

Increased operational efficiency for a growing company

maaike — Fri, 16 Oct 2020 11:03:32 +0000

Services: IT Consulting & Project Management, Help Desk, Infrastucture Management, Telecommunication

Client: Imageworks, this is a company providing guidance and tools for digital marketing. Here was another example of an obsolete IT infrastructure creating security issues and sending performance into a nose-dive.

The issue

At the heart of Imageworks’problem was an obsolete IT infrastructure that slowed down performance and caused security risks across the company.

Data was spread among local computers, personal computers, USBs, and external drives, and there was no centralized location for any of it. They also lacked an active directory. A lack of standardization for software availability meant each user had a different set of software options, which caused slowdowns in productivity and discouraged better collaboration.

We saw an overall lack of unity in the operation. They had MS Windows individually installed not as a network; phone lines were connected to PSTN lines, there were no shared folders, no remote connections, and they had failed PCI compliance.

They also had security issues that needed attention. Their only security measure was an internet provided firewall nit a business management firewall, their Wi-Fi setup was open to anyone, and they had a lack of network switch infrastructure.

The solution

First, we implemented a flexible hybrid cloud system and installed an RDS (Remote Desktop Server), which improved efficiency and reduced costs. This is because RDS allowed software installation on the primary server, which was then transmitted to all computers. This was a more efficient choice than installing software licenses on all their individual computers.

Next, all servers were consolidated into one, virtualized, and then a back up was created for security purposes.

We then examined the support desk activity and took over 100% of the operation. 100% of the IT department is now managed by Luch tech. Support is handled remotely by our expert Atlanta based team with on-site provided when necessary. The Atlanta team is readily available to provide support, and that includes troubleshooting processes.

We then combined technology, HP switches, PBX, and PFSense firewalls. This reduced costs in licensing for hardware from Cisco and Microsoft operating systems and telecom.

We then took a close look at their data storage and data backups and decided it would be better to carve out any physical and convert it all to virtual. This reduces the possibility of hardware failure. We also updated their hardware/software to the latest technology to improve the user experience.

Then came time to deal with their intranet and internal IT process, a distribution file that centralized the company information was created. We then replicated all data on a separate virtual server for back and safety.

We installed PBX to create an efficient voice system, avoid additional licensing fees, and set up a VPN that allows employees to work remotely, including employees working between the U.S. and South America. We then installed full office 365 experience to enable cloud-based storage that will encourage and enhance collaboration, and we synchronized Azure with the active local directory.

Finally, we performed an IT installation for secondary customer service offices located in South America, set up Wi-Fi with access point controllers and Ubiquiti systems, and set up an IT security access system.

Results

Consolidated data and a unified computer system as well as an active directory. We removed the obsolete tech and made their system much more efficient and secure. Virtual back-ups reduce the chances of lost or compromised data, and productivity is up across the company.

Infrastucture Management – Luch Tech

New IT infrastructure for a fresh start

The issue

The solution

Results

Going Forward

Increased operational efficiency for a growing company

The issue

The solution

Results

Going Forward