The Herald Group campaigns for New Signature’s expertise
There are few metro areas in the United States that run on deadlines quite the way that Washington, D.C. does. With bills being pushed and unending news cycles, The Herald Group, a robust and busy public affairs office in downtown D.C., relies on their technology to serve their high-profile clients as they work for policy and advocacy issues on both the state and federal levels.
Time is always of the essence in public affairs, and keeping sensitive information secure is a must. The Herald Group chose Cognizant Microsoft Business Group to be their exclusive IT partner, and continues to develop a strong and trusted relationship.
Challenge
As businesses grow, they can sometimes experience pain points in managing the need for extended IT implementations and support against the manpower and resources needed to maintain those implementations. For The Herald Group, that is exactly the situation they found themselves in when they reached out to Cognizant MBG to be their IT provider, to guide their technological steps as their staff began to multiply and their technology was beginning to stretch.
As a firm that has been involved in some of the biggest policy and advocacy campaigns of the past ten years, The Herald Group’s high-profile clients were expecting them to be progressive, modern and able to stay on top of the fast paces of the political sphere and ensure that their information would be safe. The Herald Group needed more support and security from their technology, while still being mindful of their budget as a boutique firm. Cognizant Microsoft Business Group was just the Microsoft partner to deliver it.
Solution
Cognizant MBG’s relationship with The Herald Group began as a managed service partnership and dovetailed into project work, when needed. The initial and most immediate need of The Herald Group staff was general IT support. From day-to-day questions, hardware updates, and troubleshooting needs, Cognizant Microsoft Business Group has been readily available to act as a back-end support so that The Herald Group has peace of mind and more time to focus on their own business and core competencies.
From there, Cognizant MBG began to help guide The Herald Group strategically, implementing advisory services and helping them to see the big picture to prepare to scale for a successful future, which included a strong focus on data security. After a suspicious email link was delivered from a vendor, The Herald Group knew that data security was vital to keep their clients’ information secure in today’s society of ongoing breeches and threats.
The Cognizant Microsoft Business Group team assessed the situation, locked down The Herald Group’s datacenter, and helped them put more powerful security measures into action, including two-factor authentication and implementation of remote VPNs to keep data secure when employees are working outside the office or visiting clients. Layered with Cisco umbrella website filtering, The Herald Group can feel more confident that their data and systems are secure.
Testimonial
"Cognizant MBG has always been there when we need them—through three office moves and the growth of our staff from four people to over two dozen. They know our business, our history, and our staff. I am comfortable asking them questions, and I always trust they’ll give us plenty of options and transparent answers."
Teresa Schofield, COO - The Herald Group
Benefits & Results
Because of their relationship with Cognizant MBG, The Herald Group is now empowered to reach their full potential. Not only do they have consistent managed services support for their everyday needs, but they also have scaled their security to meet the needs of a modern work environment and secure their and their clients’ data.
Further, Cognizant Microsoft Business Group has helped the long-term objectives and vision for The Herald Group by guiding them in next steps for IT development. Cognizant MBG tailors to The Herald Groups’ unique needs as a mid-size firm that is small, but also has the capabilities to cater to large and prominent clients. We continue to grow in understanding of The Herald Group’s requirements and roadmap the best route for them to drive transformational change as a successful modern business
