The Challenge
It’s no surprise that Kaydee Engineering asked Andisa to help migrate to 365 when they realised the recent threat to Exchange servers. We have provided Managed IT support to Kaydee for nearly 2 decades. Initially Kaydee owned on premise servers and stored all data locally. In a plan to fix costs and never to have to replace a server again we worked with them to move into a private cloud environment. Now dedicated virtual servers are hosted in our Yorkshire hosting centre. They can be accessed any where and at any time across secure VPN links.
Now the servers are on 24 hours a day 365 days a year and IT investment is focussed on process improvement rather than fixing infrastructure. In fact the technical issues that fall from on premises infrastructure – lack of control, hard to manage updates etc are all but eradicated.
Kaydee have continued to grow and have recently built a large factory extension. This needed careful network design because the two halves are balanced across the mezzanine style office block. Yet the machines all still need connecting to the control network, security systems and door control systems need linking, the new electric vehicle charges need internet access and the staff need Wi-Fi to let them manage stock on the move.
How We Helped
- Install Unifi Wireless and wired network
Kaydee already had a highly secure network so that security cameras, time logging, factory control etc were isolated. However the new factory design will evolve over the next few months and they needed the ability to easily move offices or machines around. The Unifi system has profiles for ports to define their use. We or Kaydee can easily configure an individual port for correct access by choosing the profile on a web control panel. It means they are free to move machines around quickly and we can simply reconfigure without having to visit site. - Migrate to Microsoft 365 mail
Despite utilising 365 for office app licensing, mail was previously stored on a dedicated Exchange mail server. When the vulnerability was discovered we helped move mail fully into 365, eliminating the Exchange server. The move got rid of the need for further patch management by us and meant that mail would work more quickly. At the same time, the step enabled extra features such as Teams, Yammer etc and helped to improve internal team communications. - Planning and Business knowledge
Andisa and Kaydee have worked together to ensure that we both understand each others business to a high level. This knowledge means that Andisa is always primed to give best advice and to recommend solutions.
This of all things has made the greatest impact on IT development at Kaydee.
The Results
Kaydee were immune to the Exchange vulnerability, have a more flexible and yet still very secure network. The move to a hosted environment and then the further evolution by moving into the cloud has eliminated most issues on the infrastructure, fixed monthly costs and allows them to improve business processes rather than worry about IT cost.
We used to have on premises servers that we were responsible for. Now Andisa take on full responsibility for our infrastructure in what they call “Fully managed”. It really does give us peace of mind. They stay awake so that we can sleep! They are regularly helping us work out new ways to address business issues or processes – its a great partnership.
Rob Ward – Director
