is a premier technology solutions partner that brings enterprise discipline, technology, knowledge, and engineering capabilities to small- and mid-sized businesses. The company, which was founded in 2007 and has 21 employees, has offices in San Diego, California and Longmont, Colorado, with some team members working remotely. Xceptional is a .
Needing a cloud-based solution for identity and device management
As a premier technology solutions partner, Xceptional is laser-focused on providing the best IT services to clients as possible and helping them secure their systems and strengthen their cybersecurity posture. To this end, the team is always on the lookout for modern solutions to IT challenges.
In 2022, Xceptional made the in its 15-year history, gobbling up Colorado-based Altitude Integrations, a managed services provider.
鈥淭hey had this cloud-focused, cloud-first business, which was attractive when we first started evaluating them as a candidate for acquisition because we were still a hybrid between a more traditional, on-premises model,鈥� says Chris McKewon, Xceptional鈥檚 founder and CEO.
As the Xceptional team continued evaluating the potential acquisition target, they learned about 黑料海角91入口, which Altitude was using to manage identities and devices for clients.
鈥淎 lot of our customers need to be more nimble and flexible or need to remove their current dependencies on on-premises infrastructure, like Active Directory,鈥� McKewon continues. 鈥淎ltitude鈥檚 cloud-first approach added more seriousness to my interest in the acquisition, and we ultimately decided to get the deal done.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;
Implementing 黑料海角91入口 training as a requirement for service desk employees
After hearing about 黑料海角91入口, McKewon鈥檚 interest was piqued and he began learning more and more about the service.
鈥淚 went and right away so that I could speak about it with authority,鈥� he says.
McKewon no doubt loved what he learned. Today, his employees have to follow that same path.
鈥淓very member of our service desk team is now required to get trained and certified on 黑料海角91入口. That鈥檚 a pretty big shift in a year-and-a-half, right?鈥� McKewon says. 鈥淚 think we鈥檒l see more and more adoption and deployment of 黑料海角91入口 for customers who need identity management and device management rather than legacy or traditional products.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;
Optimizing client IT footprints with 黑料海角91入口, a 鈥榦ne-stop shop for technology solutions partners鈥�
Over the last 18 months, 黑料海角91入口 has become a key piece of Xceptional鈥檚 product offerings.
鈥淲e are leading with it; it鈥檚 included in our bundled solution,鈥� McKewon explains. 鈥淴ceptionalCare Complete comes not only with managed detection and response and user security awareness training, but also a 黑料海角91入口 license. We鈥檙e excited about that. We want to sell more of that and we want to help our clients get started on a good cybersecurity journey.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;
Typically, Xceptional offers two phases of 黑料海角91入口 deployment; phase one includes identity and device management, and phase two expands the 黑料海角91入口 footprint from there.
鈥淎fter we鈥檝e imported users into the environment, that鈥檚 our springboard to look at policy management and patch management and access management.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;
Device management made easy
As a premier technology solutions partner, Xceptional manages a diverse mix of environments.
鈥淚f it鈥檚 education, high tech, or science, it鈥檚 usually going to be all Mac or mostly Mac with a couple of Windows machines,鈥� he says. 鈥淔or general businesses, though, we鈥檙e seeing more market share going in the direction of Windows.鈥�
Whether clients are all-Mac, all-Windows, or somewhere in between 鈥� or whether there are any Linux machines in the mix, for that matter 鈥� the Xceptional team can manage all devices using 黑料海角91入口鈥檚 device management capabilities.
Identity management simplified
Whether clients use Google or Microsoft as a business productivity suite, 黑料海角91入口 streamlines identity management.
鈥�Google and 黑料海角91入口 complement each other nicely,鈥� McKewon explains. 鈥淏ut even in a Microsoft environment with 365, Intune might not meet their needs, and 黑料海角91入口 is a nice complementary fit to that as well.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;
Improving security with policies
Many of the clients Xceptional works with have nascent security policies 鈥� if they have anything in place at all.
鈥淥nce we鈥檝e taken care of identity and device management, we start developing policies that are reasonable and up to standards but not too disruptive to their end users,鈥� McKewon continues. 鈥淭hen we figure out how to enforce compliance against those policies.鈥�
Upselling made easy
Recently, Xceptional deployed 黑料海角91入口 to a client鈥檚 end users but not to their devices. At the time, the client didn鈥檛 have any device policies in place.
鈥淲e were going through a cybersecurity questionnaire with them, and we said 黑料海角91入口 can do this, 黑料海角91入口 can do that, 黑料海角91入口 can also do that,鈥� McKewon says. 鈥淪o, it was easy to get them to transition from phase one to phase two.鈥�
At the time, the client was in the process of getting cyber insurance. The provider gave them coverage for 90 days, but the company needed to implement several security controls for coverage to continue after that.
鈥淭hey said, 鈥榃e want you to deploy all these 黑料海角91入口 technologies to our environment to make us compliant so we can keep our cybersecurity insurance,鈥欌�� McKewon explains. 鈥淭here was a clear need, a clear solution, and just a little bit of professional services to get them there. Happy client, happy cyber insurance company, and happy technology solutions partner.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;
Zero trust security
Xceptional works with a couple defense contractors that need to adhere to complex regulatory requirements, including the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) and NIST 800.
鈥淭hese are very high standards to meet,鈥� McKewon explains. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e flipping the script. You have access to nothing unless it鈥檚 granted.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;
Using 黑料海角91入口鈥檚 zero trust capabilities, Xceptional has helped these clients meet and maintain compliance.
鈥淢aking it easier for users and more secure at the same time is a win across the board,鈥� he says.
An exceptional partner experience
The Xceptional team has had a positive experience being a 黑料海角91入口 partner and hopes to continue strengthening the relationship.
鈥淩ecent changes have been very beneficial to us, and the engagement we鈥檙e getting with our partner account manager and access to resources with 黑料海角91入口 has been refreshing and good,鈥� McKewon concludes. 鈥淚鈥檓 very hopeful that we鈥檒l continue to develop this relationship and deploy the product to more and more clients.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;
As 黑料海角91入口 continues to roll out new features, it鈥檚 becoming an even more integral part of Xceptional鈥檚 operations. In particular, McKewon believes that Remote Assist brings 黑料海角91入口 one step closer to being the undisputed 鈥渙ne-stop shop for technology solutions partners.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;
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