The Need for a Solution
Brimmond Group and Rigrun Europe are a collective group of organisations that work globally to deliver safer, efficient, and cost-effective engineered solutions. Established in 1996 and based in Kintore, they deliver bespoke, integrated solutions, from the purchase and hire of specific equipment, to the design and manufacture of one-off pieces, for a range of sectors including marine, renewable, oil & gas and defence.
The solutions in place were over a decade in age, dating back to when their support began and had not been reviewed or modified since. As a growing business, these solutions and capacities no longer met any of Brimmond's requirements.
Storage had reached critical capacities for both their back-up solutions and server. As there were concerns that the back-up solution may not meet the business requirements, they began looking for guidance to see if the backup was sufficient to spin up the servers in a disaster recovery situation, if required. There was also not enough disk space for the virtual host to run the servers efficiently, which caused frequent issues, such as freezing and crashing. This caused increasing concerns and highlighted the dangers, which could be faced if changes were not made.
The staff at Brimmond had lost confidence in their current IT provision and didn't feel they were getting the support they needed from the resource available to them which meant any problems Brimmond faced were often left unresolved, which lead to a host of internal challenges.
Brimmond's VPN access was originally set up using a free piece of software, that only allowed access for one person. It had become clear when attending events or attempting to log in anywhere, that it was un-reliable and was not fit for purpose.
After experiencing problems for an extensive amount of time, without any resolutions, the decision was made to change IT provider.
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Objectives
- Improve performance and reliability for Backup solution
- Increase disk space for the Virtual host, so that servers can run without issues
- Setup backups for Autodesk Vault
- Provide stability, confidence and ensure that in case of a disaster, Brimmond can be back up and running again, in the minimum amount of time with very little loss of data
- Set up VPN to allow remote working for 26 staff
- This was an added objective because of Covid-19, which occurred soon after taking the client on
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Challenges Faced
- Covid-19 Lockdown 1.0
- A nationwide lockdown was put in place which added uncontrollable challenges. Engineer visits onto site were cancelled and timelines were stretched to focus on business-critical objectives, such as setting up the VPN to ensure all staff could work with ease at home enhanced security
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Solution Delivery
ITWORX UK were recommended to Brimmond Group and awarded the contract, after presenting a solution which met all business support requirements at competitive pricing.
To meet the backup objectives, the backup systems were reviewed, and a larger Datto device was recommended. This would provide stability, confidence and ensure that in case of a disaster, the virtual host servers could get back online quickly with no issues.
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Why Datto?
- Data restored from any point in time
- Device protects critical business data across server infrastructure, from e.g., ransomware, accidental deletion, and disasters
- Device can easily protect physical, virtual and cloud infrastructure of any size, running on Windows, Mac, or Linux
- Server images replicated to the Datto Cloud for Disaster Recovery
- Virtualize protected servers locally or in the Datto Cloud
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Why Cisco Meraki?
After reviewing the current VPN, a Meraki MX Firewall was proposed which was a key requirement for enabling effective remote working. It was crucial to ensure the Network was fully secured while allowing load balancing and access to bandwidth.
- Client has full control of their Network edge, allowing notifications, monitoring and management from one screen
- Secure high speed remote access to the central office to enable effective remote
- Application Visibility and Granular Control – prioritise critical applications and limit recreational usage
- Device constantly scans and protects against security threats
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The Results
Since completion, there have been reports of immediate improvement across all business systems.
The staff at Brimmond Group and Rigrun Europe were successfully set up to work remotely without any issues, as the national lockdown began. ITWORX UK supplied and set up laptops to ensure all staff were able to work remotely. This included ensuring there was access to private software and accounts systems, which were not accessible over the VPN.
From the Brimmond and ITWORX UK partnership, a great rapport has formed between all staff. Client staff are comfortable to ask for assistance when required and receive immediate support. The proactive reports conducted by ITWORX UK find and fix any problems before the end-user is affected.
As a result, this has reduced internal staff frustration and has increased productivity as there are no glitches or problems with the server or backup solution.
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“We have complete trust in ITWORX UK as our IT Support provider. Their suggestions keep us on the right track and have greatly improved our business since the very beginning of our contract. The ITWORX UK team deliver next level customer service, professionalism and are there whenever we need assistance.”
– Operations Director