Outlook Series | Crop Quest Implements Symantec Endpoint Protection

Crop Quest Implements Symantec Endpoint Protection

February 8, 2010

Crop Quest has implemented Symantec endpoint security and data management software products to protect against malware while significantly reducing the amount of time IT staff must spend on data protection, end user tech support and laptop deployment.

Kansas-based Crop Quest provides data analysis and consulting services to farmers to help them boost their yields cost-effectively. Crop Quest maintains a database of information on clients’ crop yields, which it uses to run analyses that help agronomists recommend seed varieties, planting dates, fertilizers, pesticides, watering levels and more.

“Information is central to our business model, so data security and protection have become core business objectives for us,” says Ron O’Hanlon, president, Crop Quest. “Our 90 employees do not have time to spare managing the security and availability of critical business data, so Symantec’s information security and management software tools provide us with the peace of mind of knowing our data is secure and readily available so we can devote our time and energies to growing our business.”

Crop Quest has deployed the following Symantec software solutions company-wide:

Symantec Endpoint Protection: Crop Quest migrated from Symantec AntiVirus to Symantec Endpoint Protection, which combines Symantec AntiVirus with advanced threat prevention to deliver unmatched defense against malware for laptops, desktops and servers. It integrates essential security technologies in a single agent and management console, increasing protection and helping lower total cost of ownership. Crop Quest blocks 500 – 1,000 threats a month with no significant disruption from malicious code.

Symantec Backup Exec: Crop Quest uses Backup Exec for backup and recovery of the three servers in its data center. Although the data volume on the company’s servers is growing at a rate of about 10 percent year-over-year, nightly backups take about four hours. Backups require very little time commitment from the IT staff, and file recoveries have been 100 percent successful.

Symantec Ghost Solution Suite: Crop Quest replaces one-third of its laptops every year, and implemented Ghost Solution Suite to simplify the process. With Ghost Solution Suite, the company is able to set up one laptop with the desired software and then create an image for deployment to the others. Rather than spending hours setting up each laptop individually, IT can configure four or five machines in about a half hour.

“Installing leading-edge technology is a tremendous investment, and the Symantec solutions are paying for themselves by increasing the value we bring to our customers,” adds O’Hanlon.