MAG Mental Acrobatics Group Frees Valuable Man-Hours

Management Summary

Die MAG Mental Acrobatics Group™ is a full-service agency for IT solutions, advertising and marketing, and a commercial agency. It has specialized in IT security (firewalls, VPN, SSL, IKE, AV protection), remote support, client server solutions, LAN-/WAN connection, FileMaker and SQL-based databases and applications. For MAG Mental Acrobatics Group™ the IT infrastructure forms the sensitive inner core of its everyday working life. One of the company’s most important principles is prevention instead of reaction, especially since it maintains and serves many international branch offices remotely. The company generates homogeneous, innovative, and secure networks including LAN infrastructure, which operate nationally as well as internationally. IPCheck Server Monitor supports the agency particularly in long-distance monitoring.

Customer Benefit

By using IPCheck, MAG Mental Acrobatics Group™ can now guarantee its internationally positioned customers a stable long-distance monitoring thus strengthening customer loyalty. Time saving is another advantage. By using the monitoring tool, the agency saves roughly 5,000 Euros per month and adds about 45 free man-hours. With this user-friendly tool, not just technically qualified people are able to follow up the monitoring. Because of the clear user interface, the customer can retrieve their own status. Internally, even non-technical staff can be authorized to work with IPCheck and if necessary take minor actions.
“We have tested and compared several monitoring tools. The crucial factor was a stable long-distance monitoring. Above all IPCheck has convinced us in this regard,” says Richard Novy, owner and chief executive officer of MAG Mental Acrobatics Group™.“Also, quick implementation, efficient configuration possibilities, and clear structures of the application were considerable advantages of the Paessler tool IPCheck Server Monitor.”

Challenge

Since the MAG Mental Acrobatics Group™ not only monitors its own servers and end devices but also those of its international customers, it had to find a tool that provides good long-distance monitoring. Many of its customers work with destinations abroad and in some of the new European Union countries, which do not have a stable Internet landscape.
There are mission-critical applications running on 95 percent of the customers’ servers, like various web interfaces (OWA, SharePoint applications, web access to company applications et al.), and internal company software applications (FileMaker DB, accounting, trading and broking systems that have mainly been developed by the MAG team). So monitoring the applications and servers is part and parcel of the business area of the IT service provider. No less important is the partly automated reaction to events and being able to check the various log files, especially with respect to security and audits. In regard to this, the tool had to be up to the mark as well.

Solution Requirements

• Stable long-distance monitoring
• Automated reaction to events
• Ability to check log files
• Time saving through easy implementation
• Flexible and quick configuration
• Clear structure of the application

Solution

On the one hand, the full-service provider uses IPCheck for monitoring its own IT infrastructure. This includes three WAN servers (including NAS servers), three LAN servers, four routers, two firewalls and various end devices. On the other hand, it monitors several customer devices. External WAN devices (e.g. router of the provider) are monitored directly, whereas LAN, DMZ and WAN/LAN network components are part of an intensive monitoring via secure VPN connections.
All devices of the MAG portfolio (including security appliances) can be monitored by IPCheck. Also, the monitoring of Symantec software, which many of the MAG customers use for their LAN area, is integrated already. Presently, MAG Mental Acrobatics Group™ uses approximately 100 sensors; an expansion is planned for 2005.