The Challenge:
The existing network at this Bay Area maker of tools for the life sciences industry was an inconsistent collection of standalone services that made it hard to onboard new employees and ensure reliable, secure access to key systems and data. The infrastructure was so difficult to monitor and manage, the company couldn’t even tell whether all of its computers had active antivirus protection. As a result, the under resourced IT staffer was overwhelmed with support requests. Moreover, with no time or capacity to modernize systems or implement security best practices, the company was unable to qualify for cyberinsurance coverage or build business relationships with organizations that have more stringent security requirements.
With plans to expand its workforce from 180 to 300 users in just one year, the company urgently needed a more modern, scalable, secure IT and security architecture.
The Solution:
The company’s new CFO, who was already familiar with Xantrion, recommended hiring them to modernize the IT infrastructure and take over the company’s cybersecurity.
Xantrion began by centralizing all the company’s disparate platforms and systems into a single infrastructure, which makes it easier to scale and manage. Next, Xantrion started handling all employee onboarding, via its Supplemental IT service, to ensure speed and consistency, while the company’s in-house IT staff managed other day-to-day support (i.e. problems with applications, hardware, and network functionality). In addition, when internal staffers lack the time or expertise to handle a trouble ticket, they can now escalate it to a Xantrion engineer for a fast response.
Xantrion is also fully responsible for monitoring, managing, and securing the company’s critical systems with tools that can scale across all users, devices, services, and data, via its Managed Security service. This service includes critical protections the company previously lacked, such as secure backups, multifactor authentication (MFA), single sign-on (SSO), threat analytics, and email filtering. It also incorporates regular user awareness training to help employees fend off socially engineered cyberattacks like phishing – a threat to which the company once lost $600,000.
The Outcome:
The company’s systems are now reliable, integrated, and fully managed. Onboarding is fast and seamless so new employees can get down to business sooner. The company is so well protected it hasn’t suffered any cyber incidents since implementing Xantrion’s cybersecurity service. It has also qualified for and purchased up-to-date cyber insurance. Finally, their lead investor can rest easy now that their investment is well protected.
