IT challenges and solutions for a logistics start-up company with users on five continents.
Logistics Startup IT Challenge
The container logistics start-up company has employees on four continents. The company has a BYOD (bring your own device) policy, and their employees and consultants work remotely from the USA, Brazil, South Africa, China, and India. The startup specializes in the automation of overhead container transportation in port terminals around the world, and their goal is to improve the efficiency and operations of the supply chain and ports. The company is picking up fast, and needs professional IT support for their evolving and increasingly more complex IT infrastructure and all 20 employees. The biggest issues they struggle with are as follows:
Inadequate email security
All users are set up in GoDaddy, which quickly proved to be lacking in security when a C-level executive's email was hacked
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Expensive email hosting
The email hosting is expensive (specifically when comparing the functionality) and a large monthly expense
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Insecure BYOD devices
The startup wants to keep the BYOD policy, but ensure employee's computers are free of viruses and have the latest updates
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Costly video conferencing software
The company has to pay for a 3rd party video conferencing tool software that was too expensive
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No IT Support
The logistics company needs a partner in IT to help implement and manage Microsoft 365 and provide ongoing support
The Solution
The logistics company reached out to us due to our specialization and certifications in Microsoft 365 services, our focus on small businesses and affordable rates. Our team started by analyzing their email setup, evaluating their BYOD needs and noting on improvements to the IT infrastructure.
We put together a plan of what would help save the startup resources, provide more security to email and user devices, and improve collaboration between employees.
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Email migration
We migrated emails under two domains from GoDaddy to the Microsoft 365 tenant since the previous email provider can quickly become limited for a growing business. Our Microsoft 365 experts migrated all email data (for a total of 25 emails) over for a seamless transition to the new system.
Migrating all company data and files to SharePoint and OneDrive to help the business save money while getting more storage space, get access to easier collaboration and better security.
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Enhanced email security
We set up 2 Factor Authentication for all accounts to block unauthorized access and provide more security. Our experts configured safe attachment policies to protect the startup from malicious content in email attachments, and authenticated the domain to prevent spoofing and improve email deliverability.
We also enabled strict spam and phishing filters to stop the barrage of spam emails from ending up in the inbox. To cut costs, we converted four email addresses into shared mailboxes
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Upgrade to Microsoft 365
implemented Microsoft Defender, which offers integrated threat protection for all Microsoft 365 apps, including emails, SharePoint, and OneDrive files.
The upgrade provides improved and more granular security features. The upgrade allowed employees to gain access to many useful collaboration tools within the Microsoft 365 environment, including Microsoft Teams for web conferencing and chatting, SharePoint to share files, and OneNote for sharing notes.
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Proactive computer maintenance
We performed a thorough security assessment for all users' BYOD computers to detect any potential malware of misconfigurations. We then installed business-grade antivirus software, ran a full system scan, and cleaned any infected files.
We created a minimum configuration for both PCs and Macs, proposed upgrades, and devised plans to standardize the configurations for when the startup receives funding and has more available resources.
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Monitoring, maintenance, and Help Desk
To ensure all employees can focus on their work, we set up the logistics company's workstations with Protek-IT's proactive maintenance and antivirus packages. This layer of protection ensures all hardware issues are caught before they snowball and that the devices are adequately protected from malware.
The packages include unlimited Help Desk support, so employees can call with any questions or issues they need troubleshooting, freeing them from spending time on small IT issues.
The Results
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Better reach
With fewer manual, painstaking tasks, team members can focus on reaching out to more people, which has increased the number of applicants by about 50% since launch.
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More insights
Thanks to improved reporting capabilities, it's easier to make organization-driven decisions that help the organization grow.
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Easier collaboration
Effectively using tools built into the Microsoft 365 suite (such as Teams, OneDrive, SharePoint and OneNote) allow employees to collaborate easily and efficiently - no matter their location
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BYOD protection
By installing a proactive business antivirus package on each of the employees' BYOD computer, everyone can be sure that the business data is secure and safe
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Access to IT talent
Unlimited Help Desk support allows employees to get instant assistance with technology. Protek-IT's skilled multi-tiered team maintains up-to-date secure documentation on business processes and solves any IT issue fast and efficiently
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