About Metafore
Metafore has over 25 years experience delivering information technology solutions to government, health, education, and to businesses of every size and in virtually every industry sector. With a team of more than 1000 associates, operations throughout Canada, and access to a network of 1200 certified technical resources from coast to coast, Metafore is one of Canada's leading full service IT solution providers.
The Problem
With twelve office locations spread out across Canada, Paul Smith, the Senior ITS Network Engineer at Metafore, had his hands full connecting and securing each of the company’s offices. To secure each remote office Smith would have to purchase, configure then ship a security device to each location. Once the device was delivered he would then have to depend on an onsite employee to install the product. “It could take up to two days of work for me to secure a single office,” explained Smith.
In addition to the difficulties associated with setting up the security configuration for each office, Smith was experiencing issues with troubleshooting at the remote sites when configuration or other issues arose. “I would either have to travel to the remote site or work with someone present at the office to diagnose and then fix the problem.
A New Solution
Because Smith was already familiar with Astaro he was enthusiastic when hearing of Astaro’s new RED solution. “I’ve been working with Astaro for more than seven years and use several Astaro Security Gateway devices to secure our network. Astaro RED appeared to be and is indeed, a unique way for connecting remote offices,”
Smith continued. Smith tested the beta version of Astaro RED to see if it could help reduce the amount of time he was spending connecting and administering the remote offices’ security.
Success with Astaro RED
After only a few moments with the Astaro RED, Smith was able to connect the remote offices. “It only took a few moments to set up the security at a remote office, saving me four to five hours per site,” said Smith
Specifically, Smith is pleased with the fact all the Astaro RED units require is a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) address at the remote site and connectivity is possible. Also, he is impressed with how quickly the RED units connect to the Astaro Security Gateway at the home office. Smith continued, “For the remote site, setting up the RED is literally as easy as plugging in the power and the Internet connection. I can configure the security using the Astaro Security Gateway at the home office so I no longer need to rely on someone technical at the remote site.”
The Future with Astaro
For Smith, there is no question as to whether or not he will purchase the Astaro RED when it becomes available. “Not only do I plan on it, but I will be highly recommending these devices to others.”
Additionally, Smith plans on expanding his relationship with Astaro as new products, features and applications are developed. “The product enhancements Astaro makes continue to impress me and the innovation of the Astaro RED has changed the way I look at remote office security. I am looking forward to future enhancements in new version of the Astaro Security Gateway and the upcoming Astaro Wireless Security Product,” said Smith.
About Astaro RED
Astaro RED is the first security solution to offer complete and centrally managed Unified Threat Management for branch offices. It empowers organizations to connect their remote locations to a central location (headquarters) within minutes and without onsite technical expertise.
For more information about Astaro RED watch this short video here: http://www.astaro.com/landingpages/2min-explainer-red
