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Itasca
Independent School District
If used effectively,
the Internet can be a consummate communication and information channel.
Part of maintaining its benefit is ensuring the information managed
by the system on which it's running remains secure.
At the Itasca
Independent School District in Texas, Internet and email have become
core communication methods for teachers and administrators alike.
Secure web and email services are essential to the organization's
continued productivity. "Keeping the district connected to parents,
state services and each other is the most important aspect of my
daily routine writes," Richard Wilson, director of technology for
Itasca Schools.
Founded in
1900, the Itasca Independent School District is home to 650 students
K-12 and approximately 100 teachers and administrators. An educational
institution with three separate schools teaching varied disciplines,
users explore many different places on the Internet. As not to limit
website availability while ensuring Internet resources remain effective,
preventative security measures such as virus and web content scanning
are implemented to maintain the integrity of the network. Having
few IT professionals on staff, time management is critical. Not
possessing the resources to continually secure the Red Hat systems
they had in place, Wilson began the search for a simpler, more secure
alternative.
Simple, Secure
Alternative
Although ease of management was a top priority, system security
was still the foremost concern. Retaining confidential student and
teacher accounting information on their network, it was important
for Itasca to implement a system that would accurately maintain
the data and allow administrators to control and monitor who has
access to the district's information.
User privacy
is a monumental issue among administrators. Protecting the students'
and teachers' privileged information such as performance evaluations,
grades and health records is a principal obligation. Guardian Digital's
comprehensive access controls allow Itasca administrators to regulate
what information can be accessed through their network protecting
the privacy of their students and staff.
With the Internet
quickly evolving into an incomparable learning and communication
tool, network security is important not only for privacy but for
functionality. Teachers, students and administrators at Itasca have
become dependent on email and Internet for communication and information.
"We rely heavily on these services for interaction with the State
and all aspects of communicating with one another. Availability,
reliability and security are current concerns," writes Richard Wilson.
Needing a simple
to administer, cost effective, secure and reliable web, email and
DNS solution, Itasca Schools turned to Guardian Digital for an answer.
Guardian Digital's
enterprise suites of applications are engineered to be secure and
easy to manage. Integrated security features significantly reduce
Internet threats supplying unsurpassed reliability and network productivity.
The simplified web-based management system makes configuration and
maintenance quick and easy resulting in less administration time
and lower IT costs.
Open Source
Architecture, Decreased IT Costs Relying on Linux software in previous
systems, Itasca had already been introduced to its cost, versatility
and security advantages. Guardian Digital enhances those benefits
with their unparalleled security expertise and adds to them with
their simple to use web-based administration capabilities.
The level of
security provided by open source software is remarkable. With thousands
of developers collaborating in a multitude of environments security
vulnerabilities are identified and patched quickly. Typically, however,
administration of open source software takes a substantial amount
of time and expertise.
The Guardian
Digital WebTool alleviates those requirements by creating a simple
to use web-based management system drastically reducing the time,
expense and complexity of maintenance. The combination of open source
benefits, Guardian Digital's expertise and customized design made
EnGarde Secure Linux an obvious choice for Itasca's operating platform.
The Clear
Decision
After considering many competing products including Symantec, Itasca
schools implemented Guardian Digital's award-winning EnGarde Secure
Linux and Secure Mail Suite, with comprehensive virus and spam protection,
on 12 servers district-wide.
EnGarde is
an enterprise-class Linux operating system engineered to enable
administrators to quickly and cost-effectively build a complete
and totally secure online presence while simultaneously preventing
Internet threats. This comprehensive solution includes DNS, Web,
and FTP services to reduce the time and resources required to build
and maintain a secure and effective network.
Secure Mail
Suite provides all the tools necessary to build a complete corporate
email messaging system. WebMail, LDAP integration and web-based
group collaboration make it the ideal organizational communication
system. Encrypted email connectivity and integrated spam and virus
protection keep the network safe from unsolicited emails, malicious
content and multiple other Internet threats.
Comprised of
a unique collection of open source tools together with the security
expertise of Guardian Digital, EnGarde and Secure Mail Suite best
addressed their need for applications focusing on security, reliability,
and ease of management. "Guardian Digital outperformed competitive
products in both cost-effectiveness and ease of management. Our
decision was clear," states Wilson.
Delivering
Simplified Management, Cost-effective Security
Itasca Independent
School District is currently operating Guardian Digital Secure Mail
Suite, DNS and Web services on their network. Having one system
providing all their security and productivity applications has significantly
reduced administration and management duties, freeing up time and
resources for more crucial responsibilities.
Knowing that
security applications are an important function of any organization's
network, Itasca is very pleased with the level of security Guardian
Digital has provided them. Lacking spam and virus protection on
prior systems, the ability to configure security settings to the
specific needs of the organization is of great value to system administrators.
With personalized
spam and virus settings intact, Itasca Schools reported seeing a
significant reduction in internal virus situations and spam occurrences
since applying EnGarde and Secure Mail Suite to their system. "I
am finally able to control all the unsolicited junk email that my
teachers and staff have been complaining about for the past few
years saving everyone valuable time," writes Wilson.
Guardian Digital
takes the best open source tools available and creates business-specific
applications much more secure and at a cost much less than proprietary
counterparts. The cost-effective solutions presented by Guardian
Digital have allowed the district to enhance productivity and security,
ease management duties, and keep IT costs down making available
more of their budget for teacher training.
Committed
Partnership
Based on the incomparable security and efficiency of Guardian Digital
products, services and support, Itasca Independent Schools and Guardian
Digital have formed a solid partnership to continue to bring secure
and effective Internet and email services to the dedicated teachers
and students of the district. As Guardian Digital continues the
innovation and development of existing and new products and services,
Itasca Independent School District will upgrade their software as
technology evolves and purchase additional products as their requirements
change.
"The integrated
features furnished by Guardian Digital have delivered an effortless
and cost-effective way to create a powerful Internet presence for
the entire district. The simple administration, the notification
and simplicity of updates and built-in monitoring tools ensure the
consistent security of our network while leveraging my existing
resources. We see daily instances of virus detection with our users
going many places all over the Internet; it is nice to be able to
know that we have good security and virus scanning in place," said
Wilson.
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