By Insight Editor / 3 Apr 2020
Facts at a glance
Client industry:
Automotive dealer
Size of company:
25 locations
Challenge:
A security incident at The Humberview Group forced its IT team to quickly re-assess its network. The company needed to transform its security posture with a reliable solution and guidance from an expert partner.
Solution:
We implemented Cisco Meraki™, Cisco Umbrella® and Cisco AMP for Endpoints to strengthen the client’s network security and provide an easy-to-use solution for its internal IT team.
Results:
- Increased visibility into the network, improving security and business operations
- More transparent and reliable network that can be managed from anywhere
- Trusted advisors helped restore confidence in the client’s IT department
Solution area:
Insight’s Supply Chain Optimization solutions simplify the process of procuring, maintaining and replacing the technology clients invest in to run their business.
The Humberview Group is an auto dealer that prides itself on great people and outstanding customer service. Established in 1972 with its Humberview Chevrolet dealership in Toronto, the company has opened more than 25 locations across Southern Ontario.
Prior to this engagement, the company was using Cisco® routers and telephones, and was already considering how it could modernize its IT delivery and improve the user experience.
A small team managed the company’s IT, but eventually the sprawling network became difficult to adequately manage. The company engaged Insight to help transform its IT into a driver for the company’s business objectives.
“Our advanced solutions team came in with a consultative approach to help Humberview achieve its business goals,” said Mike Pivniceru, advanced network solutions practice lead at Insight. “What began as understanding the company's ideal end state evolved into a network assessment and long-term implementation strategy. Throughout, our team worked with one goal in mind: to help Humberview close gaps that were preventing IT from contributing to the company’s growth.”
A cybersecurity incident that left Humberview without email for four days led its IT team to re-evaluate its entire security posture. The IT department soon uncovered the vulnerability within the security stack, which included endpoint, email and server-side protection.
“We came to learn that the three products we had in place actually worked against one another because of a certain configuration we had enabled — something we weren’t even aware of,” said David Renton, director of technology at The Humberview Group.
The company’s existing solutions provided little visibility into its enterprise-wide network security. But with no security analyst on staff, the team needed a solution that was both easy to understand and simple to deploy. According to Renton, “We really needed something that could work well, could work easily and could work reliably.”
The company was already using Cisco Meraki™ networking products on-site, and Renton said the guidance from Insight to consider Cisco as more than a hardware and license vendor was vital in its selection of Cisco’s security solutions. “Insight helped me better understand Cisco’s positioning and encouraged me to view it more as a strategic partner,” said Renton. “They were essential for me during this process.”
With Insight’s support, The Humberview Group replaced aging Cisco® Adaptive Security Appliances (ASAs) with Meraki MX firewall appliances. These can be managed centrally over the web and include a complete, robust feature set right out of the box — future-proofing for a push to SD-WAN if necessary.
We deployed Meraki MR access points to more than 20 different physical locations, leading to more robust connections, greater user capacity and more network coverage. We also implemented Cisco AMP for Endpoints and Cisco Umbrella⪚, providing complete visibility into internet activity across all locations, devices and users through one centralized dashboard. Plus, adopting Cisco’s security product suite helped the solutions fit seamlessly into the existing Cisco network and on-premises Cisco Unified Contact Center Express (UCCX) phone system.
The Humberview Group immediately saw a difference in its network visibility after deploying Cisco Umbrella and Cisco AMP for Endpoints. The company was able to look into endpoint traffic — something it couldn’t do before — and see not only threats, but also general patterns of internet traffic, which could be used to improve operations and keep the business running smoothly. The company’s revamped security posture gave the IT department the baseline and confidence to start delivering on the business’s strategic initiatives.
“Our goal is to enable our customers to achieve their possible through technology,” said Erin Gertner, director of global virtual sales at Cisco Canada. “The work Insight and Humberview are doing to leverage IT as a business driver should be considered a best practice for digital transformation across Canada.”
So, what’s next for The Humberview Group? Making better use of the Unified Communications (UC) platform. The company is now discussing updates to its Cisco phone system with Insight, opening the opportunity to make use of collaboration tools.
“As part of our ongoing collaboration with Cisco and Humberview, our end goal is to help Humberview unlock the most value from Cisco’s cross-architecture technology portfolio,” said Pivniceru. “We continue to identify opportunities where Humberview can benefit from unified communications, networking and computing solutions.”
Renton certainly sees the value of preparing for cloud services, as well as equipping the company’s workforce with upgraded communication and collaboration tools.
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