Financial institution raises the bar on cybersecurity with co-managed IT services
Summary
A co-managed IT services relationship enables Western AgCredit to consistently raise the bar on cybersecurity and maintain compliance. Western AgCredit has benefited from a multi-year co-managed services engagement, with the internal team looking after line of business applications, while Snap Tech modernizes the IT infrastructure and consistently improves the cybersecurity posture.
The Role
Co-managed IT services and support
Server, network & cybersecurity upgrades
Proactive maintenance & monitoring
Compliance-driven, cybersecurity services
The Challenge
Western AgCredit is a financial institution that provides credit and financial services to farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural businesses in the western United States. It is a member-owned cooperative that operates as a part of the Farm Credit System, a nationwide network of cooperatives that specialize in agricultural lending. Western AgCredit offers a variety of services to its members, including loans for operating expenses, equipment purchases, real estate, and livestock. They also provide financial management and consulting services to help farmers and ranchers grow their businesses.
Western AgCredit partnered with Snap Tech in 2015. With 75 employees and a big mission of supplying credit to farmers across five western states, Western AgCredit leverages IT outsourcing to keep IT costs under control, while tapping into the deep technical bench of an outsourced partner. At the same time, the organization maintains a host of proprietary line of business applications which require internal expertise and support.
The Solution
Snap Tech IT delivers co-managed IT services and support to Western AgCredit. The internal team at Western AgCredit maintains a set of line of business applications which have been in use for well over decade and require internal maintenance and support. The internal IT team at Western AgCredit also provides frontline helpdesk, before escalating more complext tickets to the Snap Tech IT team.
With the internal team focused on frontline and application support, the team at Snap Tech has consistently managed and upgraded the IT infrastructure of Western AgCredit over the past eight years. Amongst others, Snap Tech has led projects involving server consolidation, SAN upgrades, and firewall upgrades and hardening, while migrating select applications to modern SaaS solutions, such as Microsoft 365.
As a financial institution, Western AgCredit must make cybersecurity and data privacy a top priority. Snap Tech has helped Western AgCredit consistently invest in advanced cybersecurity technologies, such as SIEM and zero trust technology. Western AgCredit must stay one step ahead of threat actors targeting financial institutions, while maintaining compliance with financial regulators such as Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC).
The Result
Snap Tech IT partners with Western AgCredit for co-managed IT services. This partnership has enabled Western AgCredit to consistently modernize its infrastructure while raising the bar on cybersecurity maturity and readiness
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