Business to Business

About Company X

Think Cirrus were approached by a new corporate start-up with private equity funding to provide IT support services that would support the build of a tailored digital ‘passport’ system that uses Blockchain cryptography. Company X held a series of successful meetings with Anito Lauriello, Think Cirrus’s Managing Director to discuss the system’s requirements. Upon understanding the nature of the company’s activities and industry in which it operates, it was immediately apparent that security needed to be of paramount consideration in all areas. As Company X are a financial institution, they are subject to compliance on par with banking and are subject to strict government controls and security requirements.
The Solution

After the initial meeting to discuss the system’s requirements, the first point of action was to fully immerse ourselves within the company to really understand its varied technical requirements. Company X has around 50 employees based in their head office, although it operates on a much wider scale as it is internationally connected to multiple locations across the globe. The system would therefore be based in the UK but with hubs located in the US and Dubai. The primary purpose of the systems functionality was to be used for identity verification of all types in addition to payment processing. During this phase we learned that Company X used both desktop and laptops to connect to their systems with typical office-based applications such as printing and Wi-Fi. Alongside their usual applications, they also have a development environment in place. This highlighted the need for critical cyber protection and security.

With this information in mind, we provided Company X with several of our valuable IT services which included our management tools and software licences for daily use; remote control, AV, Secure Mail, Office 365 and Spam Filter, plus monitoring and alert systems as the first level of support. Furthermore, we put in place hosting services, a dedicated server and data backup provisions too – all of which are monitored and maintained remotely from our office in Chester.

As the company has its own internal IT department in place it was agreed that the day to day systems management would be covered by them but as a separate safety net we also established third-level support and auditing for all systems, escalations and special requests. If there are any technical issues which the on-site team cannot solve, they come to us for assistance. As part of the support we also hold the role of an official gatekeeper responsible for the auditing and security of the systems so if there are any concerns, we can access the system’s logs to investigate the problem further. They have already experienced hacking attempts and our systems have allowed them to identify, track down and implement measures against the unwanted access. As well as improving things from a process perspective separating the auditing functionality fulfills the required regulatory compliance.

 
SH – CTO

Owner – Company X

To underline the importance of using a company like Cirrus, less than 3 months from start their value both in terms of service and operation was tested fully. Having systems that alert in real-time and a team willing to do the extra has proven hugely important to us and safeguarding our data.
Benefits

There are an abundance of key benefits Company X have gained by partially outsourcing their IT solution to us. Using our expert-grade tools means they negated the need to invest in their own expensive equipment, thus reducing capital expenditure costs, a key consideration for any start-up business.

If any escalations become evident through the monitoring software we can provide a full audit trail which will assist with the investigation.

Our equipment enables us to work as an extension of Company X’s own team rather than appearing as an outsourced unit.  We have built their system on a scalable model which can be increased and decreased as they wish, this flexibility is a huge advantage to a start up company that may grow at a rapid rate and wish to protect themselves from outgrowing the capacity of their systems.

Most notably, the third level support we provide means that Company X can maintain the autonomy of their day-to-day support using their own in-house team safe in the knowledge that should they need additional assistance we were at the end of the phone or a click of a button away.

Every member of the team was involved in the discussion, identifying frustrations, requirements and working together to find the best solutions.

ANITO LAURIELLO

Managing Director – Think Cirrus

We are really pleased to have provided such a flexible and bespoke service for SH and the team. They really did require a different service, but with a pragmatic approach we’ve been able to deliver fully.

Conclusion

We are always thriving to provide solutions for our clients which fit into their bespoke operating environments. We understand that every company is different and therefore never attempt to take a “one size fits all approach”, instead preferring to truly understand our client’s businesses and tailor an IT solution that will enable them to thrive, going the above and beyond traditional measures to ensure 100% client satisfaction. This project is an excellent example of this. Not only do we promise the best in terms of technology for our clients, we also want the best for their business and continue to provide IT services as they grow and develop.