Client: Belrose Veterinary Hospital

Belrose Veterinary Hospital (BVH) provides local Northern Beaches residents with high quality and affordable medical care for their beloved pets.  Their focus is to provide an environment that is comfortable and enjoyable for pets and owners alike.  Furthermore, as well as being a comprehensive medical facility for animals, their services conveniently extend to year-round boarding for cats.

Techstream Solutions recently established a client relationship with Belrose Veterinary Hospital following a security threat. As such, we have happily continued to assist Belrose Veterinary Hospital with ongoing IT support, services and solutions.

Client’s IT requirements:

Belrose Veterinary Hospital housed their own server and standard firewall.  However, their IT infrastructure was aged and no longer meeting their business requirements.  As a result, issues were constantly arising due to various vulnerabilities.  These included:

• Overall system instability
• Lack of performance for internal RxWorks applications
• Low redundancy
• Low performance disks. 

Servers do require regular checking, updating and monitoring.  When an existing IT environment becomes redundant, such as in the case with BVH, instabilities are expected to occur.  This results in increased maintenance costs and a frustrating operating environment for end users.   

Furthermore, there were concerns regarding the existing firewall.  The current firewall was not covering their security requirements.  As a result, this left BVH vulnerable and exposed to cyber security threats, such as a Crypto locker attack. 

Unfortunately, the BVH server experienced a critical failure error.  As it was no longer viable to resurrect the existing server, Techstream Solutions provided a temporary server solution to minimise downtime.  As a result, BVH were up and running within two hours following the critical error.  However, as this was temporary, it allowed BVH to continue operating, whilst Techstream Solutions developed the right solution for BVH’s business needs.

Our IT Solution

Cloud Hosted Desktop Solution:

Techstream Solutions recommended migration of BVH’s data to a cloud hosted remote desk top environment using our locally based Data Centre. This cost-effective solution eliminates the need for costly hardware purchases, repairs and maintenance.  Best of all, a cloud hosted remote desktop solution would offer the flexibility needed for a growing business like BVH, providing reliability, security and scalability. 

BVH would now experience faster performance and a better overall user experience.  With our data centre offering the latest hardware technology, the days of experiencing down time caused by redundant technology, would become a thing of the past.

Overall, the migration to a cloud hosted remote desktop environment is the perfect solution to complement and support the growing business needs of Belrose Vet Hospital. 

Security:

To ensure BVH’s security requirements were covered, Techstream Solutions recommended an enterprise grade Sophos XG Firewall implementation.  Sophos XG Firewall offers unmatched protection and has three key advantages over other network firewalls:

1. Exposes hidden risks via a visual dashboard, rich cloud-based reporting and unique risk insights.
2. Blocks unknown threats faster and more effective than other firewalls through a full suite of advanced protection capabilities. 
3. Automatically responds to incidents with “Synchronised Security Heartbeat” which shares real time intelligence between your endpoints and firewall. 

By using the latest security technologies including Remote SSL VPN access to the environment, Techstream Solutions would significantly mitigate any future cyber security threats.  In return, management can rest assured their systems and environment are protected. 

The Result:

Overall, the infrastructure upgrade to a Cloud Hosted RDS including enterprise security, ticked the requirements for Belrose Veterinary Hospital.  Whilst there has been an initial outlay associated with the upgrade, the stability and speed of the new environment means lower maintenance costs and higher efficiencies. Therefore, the solution will in time provide significant cost savings in more ways than one.

Most importantly, with the right infrastructure in place, BVH can now concentrate of growing their business with confidence.  Afterall, they now have the right infrastructure in place to support them on all fronts. 

Cloud Hosted Remote Desktop Solutions

Techstream Solutions are Sydney IT consultants. We are proud of our reputation for providing a bespoke IT support service to our clients.  With a dedicated computer support help desk and easy ticket management system, our highly experience consultants and engineers are readily available to provide effective ITC support assistance.  After all, we understand downtime can be stressful and frustrating. Therefore, we ensure your workplace IT infrastructure is running at efficiently.  In addition, our local team will resolved IT issues swiftly.  In addition, our technicians can attend to all your business computer support requirements including managed IT, cloud services, backup & recovery,  and security. Our IT consultants can manage every aspect of your ITC infrastructure projects and upgrades.

Call 1300 304 630

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Client: Universal Aesthetics.

Universal Aesthetics (UA) is a Sydney based privately owned company.  They are the leading distributors to some of the largest international luxury spa and natural skincare brands. Furthermore, UA is today recognised as one of the foremost suppliers and consultants in the Australasian beauty industry.

UA has been a long-term valued client of Techstream Solutions.  As such, we have provided IT support, services and solutions.

Client’s IT Requirements

Universal Aesthetics housed their own exchange server, which had become an aging IT infrastructure.  Typically, a server’s life span is approx. 3-3.5 years. However, UA’s exchange server was beyond its life expectancy.  As a result, it was creating an unstable environment.  The client was reporting weekly access issues, they were experiencing outlook disconnections and using physical infrastructure to host email.

Aging infrastructure brings a lot of hidden costs.  In the case of Universal Aesthetics, it affected system performance which led to rising maintenance costs, not to mention energy inefficiencies.

Whilst Techstream Solutions did there best to maintain the existing infrastructure, it had become necessary for Universal Aesthetics to upgrade their environment.

Our IT Solution:

Techstream Solutions recommended a public cloud hosted solution for Universal Aesthetics.  An Office 365 migration was carefully planned and designed to provide the client with a reliable, secure and scalable solution. Best of all, with a public cloud hosted solution, there was no longer the requirement to house onsite hardware or any capital expenditure associated with hardware purchases.

Once completed, the Office 365 migration proved to be a successful solution for Universal Aesthetics.  They are no longer experiencing downtime or disconnections due to aging infrastructure.  Outlook remains always connected and online.  Furthermore, the removal of physical on-site hardware has lowered maintenance costs.

Overall, the infrastructure upgrade to a public cloud hosted environment was a successful solution for Universal Aesthetics.  Most importantly, it supported UA’s business structure and fulfilled their technology requirements.

Office 365 Cloud Hosted Infrastructure, Sydney

Techstream Solutions are Sydney IT consultants. We are proud of our reputation for providing a bespoke IT support service to our clients.  With a dedicated computer support help desk and easy ticket management system, our highly experience consultants and engineers are readily available to provide effective ITC support assistance.  After all, we understand downtime can be stressful and frustrating. Therefore, we ensure your workplace IT infrastructure is running at efficiently.  In addition, our local team will resolved IT issues swiftly.  In addition, our technicians can attend to all your business computer support requirements including managed IT, cloud services, backup & recovery,  and security. Our IT consultants can manage every aspect of your ITC infrastructure projects and upgrades.

Call 1300 304 630

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IT ASSET MANAGEMENT PLAN SYDNEY

Case Study

Background:

The following case study focuses on two business clients.   “Business A” has applied an IT Asset Management plan whilst “Business B” keeps no IT asset inventory and continues to purchase or maintain IT systems on an ad hoc basis.

The case study provides an insight and observation of how these two business clients, similar in size and within the same industry, can operate diversely different environments.

Furthermore it demonstrates why incorporating a IT Asset Management plan can be instrumental in establishing a successful business foundation.

Business “A”:

Business “A” understood firsthand that changes needed to happen to their IT workplace environment. They held no inventory of their IT assets. Their IT infrastructure had grown organically and was not ideally configured. As a result, their workplace environment was unstable and inefficient. Business A realised this was impacting everyday business functions. Growth remained stagnant due to poor performing  IT systems.

Solution:

Business A engaged the services of Techstream Solutions as their preferred IT service provider, to assist with the implementation of a new IT solution.

Our first task was to conduct an audit of the existing infrastructure and implement an IT Asset Management plan. The IT Asset Management inventory was essential to gain a full insight of the existing software and hardware components.   This enabled us to understand the age of the systems and determine if there was a greater ROI to replace the existing hardware, or try to maintain the existing systems that were dated and causing frustration.

Further analysis of the environment indicated that keeping the existing systems would also prove costly as they would require a high level of maintenance and support.

Furthermore Techstream Solutions were able to assess what hardware and software components were required. In this instance backup and security measures were non-existent.

The IT Asset Management initiated good IT business practices for Business A. Having the knowledge and understanding of their IT infrastructure empowered Business A to track valuable information and make inform decisions regarding future upgrades and spending.

With careful planning, Techstream Solutions achieved a successful solution for Business A. This included a complete reconfiguration of their IT systems, new server, PC’s for all employees and a backup/security solution.

Results:

As a result, Business A’s workplace now operates at optimum efficiency and other than maintenance requirements, rarely experiences IT related issues. Staff are no longer frustrated, stressed or delayed due to IT problems. Staff turnover is minimal. Most encouraging is the continued growth and success experienced by Business A.

By implementing an IT Asset Management plan, Business A can now:

• Proactively manage software licenses;
• Proactively manage hardware components;
• Keep full inventory of IT assets within the workplace;
• Forecast and budget future upgrades and spending requirements;
• Understand software and hardware usage;
• Reduce their carbon footprint by eliminating any under utilised equipment.

 Value:

Business A has achieved the ultimate ROI. Upgrading systems and incorporating an IT Asset Management plan has provided Business A with maximum benefits including continued growth and success. By strategic planning, Business A has looked beyond the short-term organisational needs and problems and can now make educated and inform decisions for their business.

Knowledge is power!

Business B:

Business B, is a prominent business organisation. On the forefront, they are driven, successful and seem to have good business practices. Behind the scenes their IT business practices are not ideal. They operate on a reactive basis, happily requesting the services of Techstream Solutions on an “ad-hoc” basis, when IT problems arise.

Business B does not have an IT Asset Management plan or strategic IT infrastructure in place. Overall, it is evident their business struggles to cope with the pressures of an unstable IT workplace environment.

The impact on business operation is significant and includes:

• High levels of stress and frustrations endured by management and employees;
• Loss of income from system downtime;
• Loss of revenue due to high staff turnover;
• Unbudgeted spending for unplanned upgrades;
• No inventory on software, leads to being exposed to unlicensed products;
• No inventory on hardware leaves you vulnerable to unnecessary spending or theft.

Techstream Solutions have provided many proposals for a viable effective solution that would see a much more stable workplace environment. At this time, Business B continues to work on an “ad-hoc” basis with no clear IT plan or infrastructure in place.

The post Benefits of IT Asset Management. appeared first on Techstream Computer Repairs and IT Support Northern Beaches.

Client : Brescia Furniture Sydney.

Brescia furniture is a renowned family retail business that has been operating in Australia since the 1960’s. Techstream (previously IBTHO) has been working with Brescia since early 2000.  During this time, Techstream Solutions has implemented multiple IT infrastructure upgrades in an effort to keep their systems current and accommodate their changing environment.

Client’s IT Requirements

The initial requirement for Brescia when IBTHO was first engaged was service orientated.  They felt their current IT provider did not deliver efficient service or support and as a result the productivity of staff was poor primarily as a result of their technology infrastructure.  Brescia required a proactive ITC Company who had the expertise and knowledge to offer guidance, a new direction and the foundation of an excellent support service.

Brescia’s main concern was that they needed to improve communication performance between their head office, city store and warehouse.  At the time they had a 128k leased line connection which connected their offices to allow access to their Novell Netware File server, Groupwise Email server and custom CRM system. Due to the cost of networks at the time the speed between offices was causing staff to wait a frustrating 30 minutes or more to log into applications each time. Staff had no choice, but to sit and wait after each change or entry, impacting productivity greatly.   With staff spending most of their time waiting for their computers to process requests and their IT support company unable to offer a better solution blaming technology restrictions, Brescia set out to find another solution.

Our IT Solutions

At the time, network speeds were a major issue for Australian businesses.  IBTHO engineers worked on a solution that would prove both light on the network with the ability to still access all systems and applications located at head office. The solution involved the upgrade of servers to current versions including Novel Netware and Groupwise and the implementation of Citrix for remote access. Once the upgrade was completed, staff in remote locations were working just as efficiently as those at head office. It also allowed management to realise that the need for expensive private network connections between the offices to access data was no longer required.  As a result this infrastructure solution presented the ability for expansion of the Brescia brand with further stores opening throughout Sydney. More information about our internet connectivity services »

Over time the solution was upgraded to continue to meet Brescia’s growing company requirements. The move to a Microsoft Active Directory and Microsoft Exchange meant the implementation of the Microsoft Office suite.   The benefits of this software installation eliminated the requirement for intense training of the older Novel Netware and Groupwise applications which proved to be a constant issue in the retail industry with a high turnover of staff.  It also allowed for simple email configurations on mobile phones as the shift to email communication was becoming an industry standard and staff were constantly on the go.

As Brescia’s business evolved and with technology constantly changing, they finally moved to their current setup which includes a privately hosted cloud environment where they have the ability to use the services that best suit their business. With a mixture of Office 365, Microsoft Server Remote Desktop services and an upgraded CRM system they can now work from anywhere around the world at any time with the knowledge and assurance that their systems and data are protected and accessible 24/7. More information about our cloud hosting and Office 365 support services »

Ongoing ITC Support and Computer Maintenance

Techstream Solutions has provided support at all levels to Brescia Furniture over the years including onsite IT support, remote assistance for staff both local and overseas and maintenance for all technology systems and hardware. During the time that their email servers including Groupwise and Exchange servers were built and managed by IBTHO/Techstream we proudly maintained a 100% uptime with no unscheduled outages. This SLA still beats current Office 365 figures. Techstream Solutions will continue to work with Brescia to ensure their technology requirements are met with the best solutions for them moving into the future.

Computer & IT Support Sydney CBD

Techstream Solutions are Sydney IT consultants. We are proud of our reputation for providing a bespoke IT support service to our clients.  With a dedicated computer support help desk and easy ticket management system, our highly experience consultants and engineers are readily available to provide effective ITC support assistance.  After all, we understand that downtime can be stressful and frustrating.  Our aim is to ensure your workplace environment is running at maximum efficiency and any ITC issues are resolved swiftly by our support team. Our experts can attend to all your business computer support requirements including managed IT, cloud services, backup and recovery,  and cryptolocker decryption security. Our IT consultants can manage every aspect of your ITC infrastructure projects and upgrades.

Call 1300 304 630

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