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.
"Keeping our kids safe online, while having access to all of our resources are our most important requirements. Guardian Digital delivered solidly on both of them, and more."
- Richard Wilson, Director of Technology, Itasca Independent Schools
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 email security 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.
Guardian Digital enhances the inherent benefits of open source 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 Protection Suite Enterprise Edition an obvious choice for Itasca's email platform.
"Guardian Digital outperformed competitive products in both cost-effectiveness and ease of management. Our decision was clear!"
- Richard Wilson, Itasca Independent School System