APPAREL MANUFACTURING
Scalable IT Solutions for a Growing Apparel Manufacturer
This New York-based clothing and sports apparel manufacturer became an ingenuIT client in 2015 when its new owner acquired a small regional sports apparel company as the first step in an ambitious growth strategy. The owner's plan was to expand through acquisitions, leveraging economies of scale to create a dominant market presence. However, the existing IT infrastructure at the first acquisition was completely inadequate—data was not centralized or backed up, there was no authentication mechanism, and email relied on outdated POP accounts. The company needed a modern, scalable IT foundation to support future acquisitions and operational efficiency.
Today, we actively manage IT operations for their offices in New York, Manila, and Helena, Montana, as well as dozens of home-based sales and support representatives across the country. The company has grown to approximately 80 employees, all relying on ingenuIT’s secure, scalable, and high-performance IT solutions.
The Challenge
At the time of acquisition, the IT infrastructure was in disarray, making it impossible to scale operations efficiently. The company faced significant IT roadblocks, including:
No centralized data storage or backup, leading to major risks of data loss.
Lack of authentication and security controls, making system access unmanageable.
POP-based email, which was unreliable, difficult to manage, and lacked enterprise security.
Unreliable Wi-Fi and outdated networking hardware, causing connectivity issues in both the corporate office and production warehouse.
An aging Cisco on-prem PBX, which was expensive to maintain and lacked flexibility.
No remote access capabilities, preventing seamless collaboration between locations.
Recognizing the urgent need for a complete IT overhaul, ingenuIT worked closely with leadership to develop a strategic roadmap that addressed immediate concerns first, followed by a phased implementation to distribute costs and resources efficiently over 6 to 8 months.
The Solution
ingenuIT designed and deployed a scalable IT infrastructure, ensuring that all solutions would support the company’s long-term growth strategy. Key initiatives included:
1. Infrastructure Overhaul & Scalability Planning
Deployed a Windows Server with Hyper-V virtual machines, creating a more manageable and scalable IT environment.
Implemented centralized Active Directory (AD) with Group Policy (GPO) for enhanced security and automation.
Migrated data silos to a centralized file server, ensuring secure and organized access across departments.
2. Cloud & Remote Access Enhancements
Transitioned email from outdated POP accounts to Microsoft 365, improving reliability and security.
Implemented a business-grade firewall with site-to-site VPN, enabling secure remote connectivity and simplifying future acquisitions.
Upgraded Wi-Fi across corporate and warehouse locations using Ruckus Wireless, dramatically improving network performance and reliability.
Migrated the ERP system to a virtual machine running RemoteApp, improving application performance, remote accessibility, and management.
3. Modern Communication & Security
Replaced outdated Cisco PBX with a VoIP phone system, increasing flexibility and reducing costs.
Introduced robust disaster recovery solutions, ensuring that data and infrastructure could be restored in minutes if needed.
Implemented SSO, SIEM, MFA, Zero Trust, and least-privilege policies, creating a highly secure IT environment.
4. Continued IT Evolution & Cloud-First Strategy
2019: Assisted with ERP migration to a cloud solution, ensuring seamless, high-performance connectivity across locations.
2020 (COVID Response): Enabled remote work for all employees within hours, leveraging pre-planned disaster recovery and remote access strategies.
2021: Migrated all files from a centralized file server to OneDrive and SharePoint, improving accessibility and collaboration.
2025: Currently executing a full transition to a cloud-first strategy with Microsoft Intune and Azure, eliminating all remaining on-prem services.
The Results & Business Impact
Since implementing these critical IT upgrades, the hotel has experienced dramatic improvements in network performance, security, and guest satisfaction:
✅ High Reliability & Seamless Connectivity: Guests now enjoy fast, uninterrupted Wi-Fi throughout the entire hotel, leading to positive reviews and improved guest experiences.
✅ Enhanced Security & Compliance: The business network and guest Wi-Fi are fully isolated, preventing security breaches and protecting sensitive hotel data.
✅ Significant Reduction in IT Issues: With business-grade networking hardware and proactive IT management, the hotel has seen a 90% decrease in connectivity-related complaints.
✅ Zero Major Network Failures in Nearly 10 Years: Thanks to our proactive maintenance, high-availability firewalls, and redundant internet connections, the hotel has not experienced any major network outages since the infrastructure overhaul.
ingenuIT continues to monitor and maintain the hotel’s IT infrastructure, ensuring ongoing performance, security, and reliability. By leveraging enterprise-grade networking solutions, this Long Island City hotel has transformed its IT infrastructure—delivering superior guest experiences and future-proofing its operations
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