Case Study

KIRBY GROUP ENGINEERING

Enterprise-level networking, security & connectivity for Kirby Group Engineering
BACKGROUND

Founded in 1964 by two entrepreneurial brothers, Michael and Tom Kirby, Kirby Group Engineering has grown into an international organisation with offices in Ireland, the UK and Brussels.

Kirby Group depends on a robust and secure telecommunications connection to manage its remote sites, including an extensive windfarms infrastructure, in multiple locations across Europe.

SOLUTION

INNOVATE provides network architecture and support for Kirby Group, managing the connectivity between offices and a high-speed layer 2 direct connectivity, and managed WAN (wide area network) connection.

RESULT

“I have been working with INNOVATE as my ICT partner of choice for the last 6 years. I place huge value on their approach and technical expertise and how they have designed and implemented enterprise-level security on my network. Given the nature of our business, with multiple sites and a big user base, having a secure network is business critical”, said Adrian Harte, IT Manager.

“When our telecommunications connection came up for renewal, INNOVATE knew I needed a flexible solution to support our business growth and expansion plans.They partnered with Airspeed to deliver a connection that was right for our organisation. My expectations were high going into this, and I am very happy with INNOVATE and Airspeed. INNOVATE has worked across multiple sites in Limerick, Dublin, Galway, London, Manchester and Glasgow, and recently upgraded the capacity on Kirby Group’s network to cater for the growth that has happened in our business,” said Adrian.

“INNOVATE were true to their word and delivered a reliable and scalable connectivity with Airspeed for my business. At the end of the day, I have to stand by these decisions. If our connection and network security fail, I am the one responsible for it, and I need an ICT partner I can rely on. The flexibility they could provide for us was a major factor. The nature of our business means we are predominantly site-based, with temporary sites all over Ireland and the UK, not just our fixed offices. Just last week, we increased the connection from 200mb to 400mb in our office in Limerick. That’s the kind of flexibility we need as a growing company with a big user base,” Adrian said.

Adrian continued: “I now have a more personal relationship with INNOVATE and Airspeed than I did with our previous provider. The standard of service is excellent, they understand my business and I know they will recommend the solution that fits my business strategy. They are my trusted IT advisor.”

“We have also worked with INNOVATE on the design and implementation of a Unified Security Management (USM) system and have implemented it based on INNOVATE’s recommendation,” Adrian said.

Kirby Group is very conscious of the security aspects of their ICT systems and are progressive in their approach to the level of security required by their organisation.

“We now have full visibility on the backend and we can see potential threats we would never have previously been aware of. The USM replaces the vulnerability scans and penetration tests that we would have done as part of ISO. One aspect of our business involves doing a lot of PQQ’s for different jobs, and our clients expect us to reach a certain standard when it comes to IT security.

“We needed a system that monitors 24/7, and that’s what this new system does for us. It is constantly scanning for new threats and it updates itself based on a threat database. It also scans for new pieces of hardware that show up on our network, so if any new devices show up we see it in a report.

It is continually showing us what we need to do to shore up our network and you feel better knowing that you have patched a vulnerability that could bring down our network.

Having this reassurance on the security of our network and the back-up provided by INNOVATE is a big asset to our company, it makes sense for me as IT manager, and I am very happy with the results,” said Adrian.

INNOVATE – and transform your organisation

Are you looking for an IT Partner with a proven track record to consolidate your entire IT and Communications infrastructure and make this affordable as a monthly investment?

Discover how a move to the cloud can help you meet today’s business challenges and quantify these benefits during a Cloud Readiness Assessment with INNOVATE by clicking here.

INNOVATE will help you create a tailored cloud strategy to support your business now and into the future.

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