Red Door Interactive is a full-service marketing agency based in downtown San Diego, California, with annual revenue of $30.6 million. It uses data-driven expertise and global resources to help its clients' businesses grow, and has been nationally recognized over the years for both its work and its workplace culture. The agency continues to grow, with new remote workers joining the team from across the United States, and its technology function is led by Dennis Gonzales, Sr. Principal, Information Systems and Technology.

Just before the pandemic started, one of Red Door's help desk technicians left the company. The agency initially needed to fill that technician role, but leadership saw the vacancy as an opportunity to think differently about IT: rather than hiring one replacement, it wanted a much more scalable IT support function.

Outsourcing to the right company promised more than a single hire could. Red Door recognized it could expand the knowledge and resources available to its team while saving money and time. It also needed a compliant IT function, including support for Microsoft software licensing, and greater governance over its cybersecurity structure.

Timing added pressure. The engagement would begin in the early stages of the pandemic, coinciding with a move between offices; plans for a new office were postponed by global circumstances, so the agency needed a robust infrastructure that could support a remote workforce without a physical office. Red Door had worked with Managed Solution on a cloud migration project over a decade earlier, but still interviewed several other managed service providers before choosing.

Red Door selected Managed Solution on the strength of its proven capabilities from the earlier project, the breadth of resources it could bring, and its status as a Microsoft Partner able to support software licensing alongside project work. The two companies began working together officially in the early stages of the pandemic, as Red Door transitioned from one office to another.

The plan was to fortify Red Door's security and infrastructure while providing opportunities around software licensing so the agency could remain compliant and stay a step ahead of competitors. Right away, Red Door was able to scale its support to Managed Solution's 100-person team of experts behind its sole IT lead, Dennis Gonzales. That gave him more control over areas of concern such as staying on top of software opportunities and maintaining greater governance over the cybersecurity structure.

Since then the two teams have completed a series of projects: the design and execution of a brand-new security network, a guest network with a guest Wi-Fi key, the build-out of multi-factor authentication, hardening and securing email, and ongoing software licensing support. Managed Solution also developed cybersecurity protocols, policies and controls to help Red Door maintain a secure posture. A designated Managed Solution contact is assigned to the account and builds working knowledge of the agency's IT needs, with local technicians available in areas where Managed Solution has staff.

• Scalable IT support: a 100-person team of experts behind Red Door's sole IT lead
• New security network designed and executed, with cybersecurity protocols, policies and controls in place
• Guest network implemented with a guest Wi-Fi key
• Multi-factor authentication built out across the agency
• Email security hardened and Microsoft software licensing kept compliant
• Modernized technologies and infrastructure supporting a remote workforce during the pandemic