Having provided IT services to many financial services customers in our 18 years’ experience in Dubai, IT Serve know the common experiences of such companies and the best it service approach for them.
One example of our financial services approach involves an investment house based in DIFC.
The company approached IT Serve as they were expanding to over 20 users, which occurred rapidly. They had found that the IT team, or lack of it, that they started with, wasn’t able to keep up with their new and growing demands. The problems they were encountering were as follows:
- Cost of IT employee for the team
- Structure and accessibility of data
- Security of data
- Backup of data
- Routine onsite fixes – email/printer etc
IT Serve firstly met with the company to perform an audit of the IT systems. The audit rightly suggested that the aforementioned items needed to be addressed along with the risks involved with not auctioning them. The IT audit also established that the many tools they were using were not integrated, and not communicating with one another.
IT Serve looked to address the data issues first. They created a Microsoft Server infrastructure which allowed the staff to have access to the information in a structured manner. Each position was assessed, along with their requirements. This was then used to build an Active Directory system, which allows users access to only the information that is relevant to their role and level within the company. The server was also given online access to allow users outside of the office to access critical information.
With respect to the security of data IT Serve looked at the two main threats, internal and external breaches. Often the internal data breaches are overlooked yet they are often the most common and hazardous risks. As previously mentioned, the Active Directory design allowed users only the access to relevant information for their roles. Other rules were also implemented which limited access to information that could potentially threaten their company. Such information was only allowed to be accessed visually and was given restriction to download. Even the USB drives on the computer were locked down, to ensure that no data could be easily removed from the office.
When addressing the external hazards, IT Serve built a robust routing and firewall system that protected their data from outside of the office risks. This ensured that no-one could hack into their network and server infrastructure without the correct levels of authorisation. This was also locked down with respect to guest WIFI access (a common form of unauthorised data access). The routing system also allowed the upper management to see the internet usage of their employees, ensuring the employees were using sites only relevant to their roles.
As part of the external threats, IT Serve also looked at the threat of virus attacks. They deploy their managed services suite, which ensured a routine update of all software with the latest anti malware patches. It also deployed enterprise grade anti-virus across all relevant systems.
To address the cost and routine onsite fixes issue, IT Serve recommended a hybrid outsource/inhouse solution. The onsite IT staff that was originally hired was retained for basic onsite requirements which required manual action. This ensured that the simple fixes were addressed immediately. IT Serve provided the higher level IT design and support. IT Serve also acted as the CTO for the organisation, they met frequently with the management team to understand IT requirements now and for the future. IT Serve then built the budgets for the IT activity that was required for the company.
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