Managed IT and Cybersecurity for a Growing Financial Advisory Firm

Confidential Client – Cybersecurity

Client Profile

The client is a growing financial advisory firm with approximately 45 employees. Its daily operations depend on employee devices, office networking, Microsoft Azure servers, secure access to financial information and reliable technical support.

As the business expanded, its technology environment became more difficult to manage. The organization needed one accountable partner to manage its infrastructure, protect sensitive information, support employees and prepare the business for potential outages or cyberattacks.

Plego introduced a fully managed, security-first IT framework covering more than 40 endpoints, office networking, Azure infrastructure, backup and disaster recovery and ongoing help desk support.

Client Industry

Financial Services

Business Challenge

The client’s IT support had developed informally over time. Technology issues were handled as they occurred, often by employees who had other primary responsibilities. This created inconsistent support and left important systems without centralized oversight.

The organization had no unified visibility into employee laptops and other endpoints. Its office network was not being continuously monitored, and several networking components had reached the end of their supported lifecycle.

An Azure virtual machine was operating without consistent patching, monitoring or reliable backup protection. The client also lacked a documented disaster recovery plan, defined recovery objectives and regularly tested restoration procedures.

The key challenges included:

• No centralized visibility across employee devices
• Informal and inconsistent IT support
• An unmonitored office network
• Outdated networking and firewall equipment
• Limited separation between critical network resources
• An Azure server without consistent patching or backup protection
• No documented backup and disaster recovery plan
• Slow response to employee support requests
• Limited records for compliance and insurance reviews
• Increased risk of data loss, downtime and cyberattacks

These gaps also created concerns for regulatory compliance and cyber insurance. Without documented controls, monitoring and recovery procedures, the organization could not easily demonstrate that its systems and sensitive information were being managed appropriately.

Solution

Plego introduced a comprehensive Managed IT and Cybersecurity program built around five service pillars:

1. End-User Device Management
2. Office Network Infrastructure Management
3. Azure Server and Cloud Infrastructure Management
4. Backup and Disaster Recovery
5. Help Desk and User Support

The new framework brought the client’s technology environment under one accountable service model. It combined proactive management, continuous monitoring, cybersecurity controls, backup protection and responsive employee support.

End-User Device Management

Plego enrolled more than 40 employee devices into centralized remote monitoring and device management platforms.

This gave the IT team a consistent view of device health, security status, software updates and potential issues across the organization. Instead of waiting for employees to report problems, the team could identify and address many concerns proactively.

Managed device protection included:

• Centralized remote monitoring and management
• Mobile device management
• Managed endpoint detection and antivirus protection
• Monthly operating system and software patching
• Full-disk encryption
• Multi-Factor Authentication
• Standardized employee onboarding
• Secure access removal during employee offboarding

These controls helped ensure that devices remained protected, updated and configured according to a consistent security standard.

Office Network Modernization

The client’s office network included outdated equipment and lacked the monitoring and segmentation required for a modern financial services environment.

Plego replaced the end-of-life firewall, network switches and wireless access points. The network was then reorganized into separate virtual network segments to prevent employees, guest devices and critical systems from operating within the same unrestricted environment.

The upgraded network included:

• A modern firewall
• Updated switches and wireless access points
• Network separation through VLANs
• Continuous network monitoring and alerting
• Regular backups of firewall and network configurations
• Secure VPN access for hybrid employees

This modernization improved reliability while reducing the risk that a problem or compromised device in one area of the network could affect the entire organization.

Azure Server and Cloud Management

Plego brought the client’s Microsoft Azure server environment under active management.

The Azure virtual machine was patched and monitored consistently, and its security configuration was strengthened. Azure-native monitoring was connected to the network operations center, allowing system health and security alerts to be reviewed continuously.

Access to cloud infrastructure was protected through:

• Role-based access controls
• Multi-Factor Authentication
• Just-in-time administrative access
• Automated server patching
• Continuous Azure monitoring
• Controlled administrative permissions
• Cost-optimized infrastructure sizing

Just-in-time access ensured that administrative privileges were available only when required, rather than remaining permanently active. Infrastructure sizing was also reviewed to ensure that the client was not paying for more cloud capacity than it needed.

Backup and Disaster Recovery

The client previously lacked a formal backup strategy, documented recovery objectives and regularly tested restoration procedures.

Plego introduced automated, geographically redundant backups for employee endpoints, shared file storage and the Azure environment. This ensured that backup copies were maintained separately and remained available if the primary environment was affected.

Recovery Point Objectives and Recovery Time Objectives were established to define how much data the business could afford to lose and how quickly important systems needed to be restored.

The backup and recovery program included:

• Automated endpoint backups
• Protected file-storage backups
• Azure environment backups
• Geographically redundant backup copies
• Defined recovery time and data-loss objectives
• Quarterly backup restoration testing
• A documented disaster recovery runbook

The recovery runbook provided clear instructions for responding to ransomware, system outages and other disruptive events. Quarterly testing confirmed that backups could be restored successfully when needed.

Help Desk and User Support

Plego established a structured help desk to give employees one reliable point of contact for IT support.

Support requests were documented, prioritized and tracked through resolution. The client received a defined service-level commitment with an initial response time of Under 15 minutes.

The support model included:

• Initial help desk response in Under 15 minutes
• Unlimited remote support
• On-site support when required
• A single point of contact for IT requests
• Documented ticket management
• Monthly reporting on support volume and resolution trends

This replaced inconsistent support with a responsive and accountable service that employees could rely on throughout the workday.

Implementation

The transformation was completed in four phases over approximately 60 days.

Phase 1: Discovery and Risk Assessment

Plego reviewed the client’s endpoints, network, cloud infrastructure, security controls, backup practices and support processes. Immediate risks and operational gaps were documented and prioritized.

Phase 2: Stabilize and Secure

Critical vulnerabilities were addressed first. Devices were enrolled, security controls were introduced, the network was upgraded and the Azure environment was secured and monitored.

Phase 3: Standardize

Plego established consistent configurations, patching schedules, access controls, onboarding procedures, backup policies and help desk workflows.

Phase 4: Operate and Optimize

The environment moved into continuous management. Plego began proactive monitoring, ongoing maintenance, security improvement, monthly reporting and regular recovery testing.

Outcome

The client moved from an informal and reactive IT setup to a fully managed, monitored and security-focused technology environment.

Network uptime increased from approximately 97% to 99.9%, while security incidents per quarter decreased by 68%. Security events are now centrally recorded, making investigation, reporting and follow-up more consistent.

Endpoint patch compliance improved from an unknown and inconsistent level to 98% within the required service window.

Key outcomes included:

• More than 40 centrally managed endpoints
• 99.9% network uptime
• 68% fewer security incidents per quarter
• 98% endpoint patch compliance
• Help desk response in Under 15 minutes
• Continuous network and infrastructure monitoring
• Automated backup protection
• Quarterly backup restoration testing
• A documented disaster recovery process
• Improved visibility across devices, networks and cloud infrastructure
• Better preparation for compliance and insurance reviews

The client’s cyber insurance renewal also improved. Previously identified technology and security gaps were addressed, resulting in approval with better terms.

Business Impact

Plego gave the client one accountable partner for its devices, network, Azure environment, cybersecurity, backups and employee support.

The organization no longer depends on informal or reactive IT assistance. Employees receive faster support, systems are monitored continuously and security issues can be identified before they become major operational problems.

The client also gained confidence that important business information could be recovered following ransomware, infrastructure failure or another disruptive event.

With a secure and scalable technology foundation in place, the firm can continue growing without needing to build a large internal IT department.

Technologies Used

Microsoft Azure, RMM/MDM, EDR, Azure Monitor

Services Provided

Managed IT Services, Cybersecurity