Case Studies

Case 1: Crisis Center of Tampa Bay

Profile

The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay offers help, hope and healing. The non-profit agency has an annual operating budget of $8 million with 177 employees and 160 volunteers. Operating 24/7, it offers services to people coping with sexual, physical or domestic violence; depression and suicide; substance abuse; financial problems; and gambling addiction.

The Center also operates a 24-hour 211 hotline and the largest 911 basic life support ambulance company in the county. Technology is critical to the agency's effectiveness and efficiency. They were spending their whole budget on support and repair, not updating and improving systems.

IT Goals

  • Reduce IT operational costs
  • Stabilize infrastructure
  • Improve staff experience with technology

Technical Issues

  • Incomplete data and system back ups
  • Outdated hardware
  • Improper electrical power
  • Inadequate email security

Technical Solutions

  • Help desk tracking system to identify staff training gaps & organize requests
  • Precise recommendations for improvements resulted in immediate savings on IT operational expenses
  • Priority Issues Project stabilized technology platform creating immediate efficiencies for the users and IT management
  • Care4IT monitors and maintains all system devices, servers and workstations 24/7

Outcome

  • Costs reduction by 50%
  • Consolidated network servers
  • Improved overall reliability
  • Improved user experience & employee satisfaction

Products and Services Utilized

  • Detailed Network Documentation
  • Prioritized recommendations
  • IT transition services
  • Annual IT Budget analysis
  • Added Unified Threat Management to network
  • Priority Issues Project enhances current technology investment
  • Help desk management systems
  • Monthly preventive maintenance, Care4IT, performed by VIT
  • 24/7/365 support
  • Pulse: Proactive monitoring and issue remediation
Case 2: Integrity First Title

Company Information

Integrity First Title provides their customers with a wide range of title and closing services, including purchase and refinance transactions, and for sale by owner assistance

  • Locations throughout central Florida with offices in Riverview, Lakeland, and Winter Haven; conduct business in the entire state of Florida.

  • Integrity First Title is an agent for Old Republic Title Insurance Group, Fidelity National Title and Land America Financial Group Inc.

  • Licensed for both residential and commercial properties for every county in the state of  Florida.

The Challenge

  • Create a reliable and secure network, centralize data,
  • reduce IT workload and
  • improve productivity to enable future growth.

Business Situation

Integrity First Title was looking for solutions for secure and centralized data at their four offices throughout Florida.  They understood the need for reliable systems and backup, although they did not have the IT resources for implementation.

Technical Situation

Integrity First Title’s network consisted of separate island environments that was no longer capable of handling the bandwidth necessary to serve Integrity First Title’s       customer base. Additionally, Integrity First Title wanted to allow their employees with the ability to access secure company-centralized information.

Solutions

Vertical IT Solutions utilized much of Integrity First Title’s existing infrastructure while stabilizing and centralizing resources.  Microsoft Windows Small Business Server (SBS) provided centralized data, e-mail storage and backup in a single site.  Microsoft Windows Terminal Services provided consistent and reliable access to applications such as title closing software and Microsoft Office.  SonicWALL firewalls allowed for fast and secure remote access to network resources.  Vertical IT Solutions provides Integrity First Title with ongoing monthly maintenance of their network systems and CIO visits, to ensure system reliability.

The Results

  • Increased Productivity by 20%
  • Lowered Cost of  Ownership by 60%
  • High Availability
  • Strong Security & Controls
  • Improved Client and Employee Satisfaction

 

Case 3: Able Body Labor

visit http://www.sonicwall.com/downloads/CS_AbleBody.pdf

Company Profile

Able Body Labor is a family owned and operated temporary staffing firm committed to matching community residents with local employment opportunities. Based in Florida, Able Body Labor has grown from its first location in Largo, Florida to more than 130 locations in 16 states. Since 1986, Able Body Labor has been a part of most important construction projects in the markets they serve.  The company has doubled in size over the last several years and needed a technology solution to support its evolving security and management needs. They needed more proactive security measures and installed a SonicWALL® PRO 3060 high-performance security appliance and Unified Threat Management (UTM) services to protect its systems from growing Internet-based threats. Soon after, Able Body started adding SonicWALL TZ Series firewall appliances in each branch office to safeguard daily finance and payroll transactions through secure VPN connections with corporate headquarters.  “By implementing SonicWALL network security and management solutions in our headquarters and branch offices, Able Body has introduced new efficiencies and cost controls into our growing organization. SonicWALL’s expanding technology offerings have supported our evolving security and management needs,” says Paul Zimorski, CIO of Able Body Labor.

Business Situation

Due to its growing geographic distribution the company’s IT team found it was spending more time handling firewall security updates and Internet access settings for the growing number of remote offices.

Solution

To ease the burden on its in-house IT resources, and to streamline ongoing security updates at all locations, Able Body worked with SonicWALL channel partner Vertical IT Solutions to build an expanded centralized network management solution based on SonicWALL deep packet inspection technology.

Vertical IT Solutions is one of Florida’s leading providers of outsourced information technology services and consulting expertise for small and medium sized businesses (SMBs).  For 16 years, Vertical IT has been providing enterprise-class technology services to SMBs at a fraction of the cost.

Vertical IT installed SonicWALL's award-winning Global Management System software (GMS) to centralize reporting, monitoring and management for all remote office firewall appliances. Now, Able Body’s IT team can easily manage the growing network from its headquarters.”

The Results

  • Easily-managed network provides secure and reliable connectivity between local offices and headquarters and allows for streamlined processing of functions including payroll and banking.
  • Central management capabilities reduce the time required to get new sites up and running and ongoing management and maintenance is handled with just a few clicks.
  • Content management and wireless solutions provide additional security and Internet access at headquarters and local offices.
Case 4: Peace River Electric Cooperative

Company Profile

Peace River Electric Cooperative, Inc. provides electric service to residential, business and light industrial firms. It has a broad service area stretches from residences within 30 miles of the Atlantic Ocean, to homes on the Gulf of Mexico.  Peace River Electric Cooperative, Inc. is an electric distribution system - it does not generate its own electricity. Peace River Electric Cooperative, Inc. buys its wholesale electricity from Seminole Electric           Cooperative, a member-owned, not-for-profit cooperative generating entity that     maintains one of the cleanest coal-fired generating plants in the nation.

  • Peace River Electric Cooperative, Inc. (PRECO) currently maintains nearly 4,000 miles of energized underground and overhead power lines across its system.
  • Headquarters are in south central Florida in the town of Wauchula and district offices are located at Bradenton in Manatee County and Indian Lake Estates in Polk County.

  • Provides service in ten Florida Counties: Brevard, DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Manatee, Osceola, Polk and Sarasota.

Business Situation

Peace River Electric Cooperative, Inc. was interested in providing a cost-effective way to reduce downtime, increase flexibility, and use hardware more efficiently.  In addition, they required a solution that could reduce hardware, maintenance and operating expenses. 

Technical Situation

Peace River Electric Cooperative, Inc.’s environment consisted of legacy applications running on aging servers and hardware that was no longer capable of running new applications. Additionally, Peace River Electric Cooperative, Inc. would like to be an industry leader and support green initiatives by reducing operating costs and carbon footprint.

The Challenge

Provide a cost-effective solution to reduce downtime, increase flexibility, and use hardware more efficiently.  In addition, they needed a solution that could reduce hardware, maintenance and operating expenses. 

The Solution

Provide a virtualized environment utilizing  current hardware and consolidate servers.  Offer   disaster recovery solutions with server replication.

The Results

  • Reduced hardware costs by 40%
  • Increased access and availability
  • Reduced downtime
  • Green initiative compliance
  • 5 year projection to reduce hardware by 30k