4-page Case Study - Posted 4/26/2007

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Peters & Associates

IT Service Provider Uses Security Solution to Save Time, Better Address Customer Needs

Peters & Associates, based near Chicago, Illinois, provides consulting and deployment services to companies looking for integrated IT network solutions. These companies, which conduct business in government, education, and the financial services industry, need help fighting spam, viruses, and other threats to the IT infrastructure. Because Peters & Associates specializes in helping these customers stay ahead of such challenges, the organization needs to be trained and educated in the most current security software technology. The company recently deployed Microsoft® Forefront™ Client Security, a new security solution that integrates with the company’s existing IT environment and provides consolidated management and comprehensive reporting tools. As a result of this deployment, the company has saved time and can provide its customers with an efficient, effective security solution.

Situation

Our customers can clearly see that Microsoft is committed to protecting data and IT systems. This is definitely the enterprise security solution we were looking for, and our customers agree.  Ric Opal Vice President Peters & Associates

Many of these customers face significant challenges from e-mail viruses, spam, spyware, malware, and additional outside security threats. “Our customers are large banks or educational institutions and they should not have to worry about spam,” Opal says. “They need security solutions that allow them to function without worrying about managing those solutions.”

Because Peters & Associates helps businesses protect data and secure their IT environments, it needs to stay current on the most effective technologies. “From a marketing perspective, our customers expect us to have confidence in our own ability to control security threats,” says Opal. “If we’re educating them on how to protect their systems, we need to have first-hand knowledge of what works.” To ensure that, Peters & Associates is committed to staying ahead of its own IT security threats by using the latest security software.
 
For the past several years, the company has used Microsoft security software products to protect its IT infrastructure, which is based on the Windows Server® 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition operating system. “The product we used really delivered on its security promise of guarding the entire IT infrastructure,” says Aaron Campbell, Managing Consultant, Peters & Associates. “However, we were looking for the next generation of Microsoft security software, so we could have the absolute best, most current protection for ourselves and our customers.”

Solution

Because of its close relationship with Microsoft, Peters & Associates was an early adopter of Microsoft® Forefront™ Client Security. This new security solution contains advanced technology that guards server operating systems and computers from viruses, spyware, malware, rootkits, and a range of other security problems. It also provides unified protection and centralized IT management features, in addition to automatic security updates and new reporting tools.

The solution integrates fully with an existing Windows®-based IT infrastructure and complements other Microsoft security technologies.

Peters & Associates began deploying Forefront Client Security earlier this year, with the intent of rolling it out to its entire infrastructure later this year.

Benefits

Forefront Client Security provides Peters & Associates with a security solution that integrates well with its Windows-based IT environment and offers consolidated management features and better reporting tools. As a result, the company has saved time previously spent managing security and can confidently provide its customers with an efficient, effective security solution.

Integrates with Existing IT Products

Forefront Client Security integrates easily with the existing Peters & Associates IT infrastructure, which is entirely based on Microsoft products. In addition to Windows Server 2003 R2, the Peters & Associates environment includes Windows Server Update Services, Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003, Exchange Server 2003, SQL Server™ 2005 database software, and Operations Manager 2005.

Forefront Client Security uses database and reporting systems from SQL Server 2005 and gives administrators the ability to deploy protection agent settings using the Active Directory® service. “Forefront Client Security takes advantage of products that we are already very familiar with, which makes overall IT administration easier,” says Campbell. “For example, we can use Windows Server Update Services as a delivery mechanism for Forefront Client Security, as opposed to having to install an outside engine to do that. This level of integration also helps our customers, most of whom are already using these same products.”

In the past, I spent a lot of time reviewing the overall infrastructure for viruses…. Using Forefront, I have cut at least 10 percent out of each workday in time previously spent doing those reviews.  Aaron Campbell Managing Consultant Peters & Associates

Consolidates Management

The fact that Forefront Client Security is so well-integrated means that Peters & Associates can consolidate its overall security system management. “Because of that integration, we can use our current Update Services server to deploy new security patches,” says Campbell. “We can also use Forefront Client Security to deliver virus and spyware definitions from that Update Services server. Everything is more consolidated, and as a result, I can better look at security threats across the entire infrastructure.”

Improves Reporting

The Forefront Client Security solution also contains automated reporting capabilities, such as scheduled reports, that give Peters & Associates the ability to watch for emerging security trends. These reports are presented in a summarized view and hyperlinked to allow IT administrators to connect to them directly. This approach makes it easy for IT administrators at Peters & Associates to review and analyze security assessment and malware reports. It also makes overall management much easier for the organization’s administrators. Campbell adds that the automated reporting in Forefront Client Security is much more in-depth than what the company had previously. “We’re now watching and tracking spyware, for example,” he says.

In addition, the solution provides state assessment scans that further complement the scheduled reports. “The scans help me determine which computers are in need of patches, for example,” says Campbell. “With features like that, I no longer have to worry about searching through huge amounts of data.”

Saves Time

Because Forefront Client Security provides automated reporting, Peters & Associates IT managers save time on overall security review. “In the past, I spent a lot of time reviewing the overall infrastructure for viruses and other security trouble,” says Campbell. “Using Forefront Client Security, I have cut at least 10 percent out of each workday in time previously spent doing those reviews.”

In addition, the saved time gives the Peters & Associates IT department more opportunities to respond to customers. “Because we can respond faster to internal security issues, we can take care of our customers faster as well, and help them deploy their own security solutions,” says Opal. “We can be more strategic in our business, instead of spending time managing software.”

Boosts Customer Security

By deploying a security solution that integrates with its IT environment and provides consolidated management and better reporting, Peters & Associates is well-positioned to help its customers address their own security needs. “We have already helped a few of our customers deploy this product,” says Opal. “Their computers revealed security problems that these companies were unaware that they had. Until they had this tool reporting back to them about a virus or spyware issue, they could not see that their computers and servers were not as secure as they should be.”

Deploying and using Forefront Client Security internally have also given Peters & Associates full confidence in the solution. “Our customers can clearly see that Microsoft is committed to protecting data and IT systems,” says Opal. “This is definitely the enterprise security solution we were looking for, and our customers agree.”

For More Information

For more information about Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (877) 568-2495. Customers who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can reach Microsoft text telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234 in the United States or (905) 568-9641 in Canada. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to:
www.microsoft.com

For more information about Peters & Associates products and services, call (630) 832-0075 or visit the Web site at:
www.peters.com

Microsoft Forefront Product Portfolio

The Microsoft® Forefront™ comprehensive line of business security products provides greater protection and control through integration with your existing IT infrastructure and through simplified deployment, management, and analysis. Forefront is a comprehensive solution that helps provide protection for the client operating system, application servers, and the network edge.

For more information about the Forefront product portfolio, go to:
www.microsoft.com/forefront

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Document published April 2007