A school in Perth had recently implemented a Fortinet Firewall Router for their school network. However, the Firewall had recently been preventing them from accessing certain websites they needed for student learning. After not hearing back from Fortinet directly, they reached out to Steadfast Solutions to help them solve the problem.
IT Administrators from Perth School Reach Out to Steadfast Solutions for Fortinet Support
We were recently contacted by a frustrated school IT administrator from Perth who was having some persistent technical difficulties. Their school relied on a Fortinet Firewall router to protect their network, but unfortunately, the Fortinet solution had been causing tedious issues making it difficult for teachers and students to get their work done. They were looking for a team of cybersecurity professionals to help them identify the issue and resolve it quickly.
As soon as we got in contact with this client, we commended them for being so proactive. Internal IT departments are invaluable to the organisations they support, and they’re incredible at solving problems and keeping systems running optimally. Often, however, they may feel hesitant to reach out for back-up when they encounter a particularly stubborn issue. We were impressed that the IT administrator from this Perth school wasted no time before reaching out for additional support. We were happy to help them get the problem solved once and for all.
Here’s the thing, strategic IT resources are invaluable to organisations of all kinds – especially in a world that is continually dominated by technology. For schools, making use of reliable and strategic IT resources can enhance the learning and administrative experience in countless ways. However, the key is, strategic IT resources need to be positioned correctly, monitored continually, and optimised fully in order to be beneficial. When IT resources aren’t operating as they should, they can actually hinder the operations and processes that they’re supposed to enhance.
Steadfast Solutions has extensive experience helping organisations of all kinds – including schools – ensure their IT resources are positioned properly and remain fully optimised. We know how important it is for IT solutions to play the supportive role they’re supposed to. That’s why, when we heard that this school in Perth was having persistent IT troubles, we immediately wanted to help them get it resolved so they could go back to taking advantage of strategic IT benefits instead of dealing with tedious IT problems.
We’re sharing our experience supporting them because we want other schools and organisations in Perth to know that they don’t have to put up with tedious IT troubles. Very often, professionals don’t have the time or resources to solve IT issues, so they settle for living with them or working around them. It doesn’t have to be that way. By reaching out to a team of IT professionals, you can put your technical troubles to rest once and for all. Keep reading to see how we made this happen for the school in Perth.
Breaking Down the Problem: What Was Going Wrong with This Perth School’s Fortinet Firewall?
First things first, let’s break down exactly what this Perth school was dealing with when it came to their Fortinet Firewall. They had implemented the Fortinet solution some time ago, and it had been working well to keep their school IT network consistently secure and protected. However, recently, the Fortinet Firewall was preventing their staff and students from accessing YouTube.
While the school did want certain websites restricted from students, YouTube was a central learning resource for teachers and students alike in today’s increasingly virtual world. They wanted to make sure the entire school community was able to access YouTube when they needed it and they wanted to know why their Fortinet Firewall was preventing access when it hadn’t been designed to do so.
Here’s the help that this Perth school was looking for from Steadfast Solutions:
- Determining the root cause of the problem – First, they wanted us to come in, assess the situation, and take a look at their entire IT infrastructure so we could determine what was causing the Fortinet to malfunction and prevent YouTube access. They didn’t want the access issue to keep reoccurring so they were hoping we could get down to the root cause of the problem.
- Clear and transparent communication – They also wanted us to keep their internal IT team consistently informed with clear and transparent communication. The IT team had issued a complaint about the issue to Fortinet three-weeks prior and had heard nothing back. They wanted to ensure we would communicate with them reliably and that we would help them feel empowered to solve similar issues in the future by sharing critical information with them.
- Resolution of the problem – Once the root cause of the problem had been identified and we had communicated things to them clearly, they wanted our help to resolve the problem effectively and efficiently. Above all, they wanted to make sure that the problem was solved for good and that resolving it caused no disruption or security threats to the school’s network functionality.
- Additional optimisation support – Finally, they were hoping that we could provide some additional network optimisation support before completing the job. Basically, they wanted us to make sure their IT network and cybersecurity resources were properly positioned and fully-optimised to avoid potential issues in the future.
At Steadfast Solutions, we pride ourselves on being strategic problem solvers. That’s why we knew we had our work cut out for us when we were approached by this school IT administrator from Perth. They had a clear problem and having it resolved was an urgent priority. We wasted no time at all and immediately got boots on the ground to determine the cause of the issue and how to solve it for good.
How Steadfast Solutions Supported This Perth School By Solving Their Fortinet Issues
When an organisation wants our support to solve a persistent IT issue, it’s best for us to get a first-hand look at the issue. By coming to understand the problem first hand, we’re in a much better position to determine what might be causing it. We’ll also be in a much better position to determine the most reliable plan to solve it.
It’s also important to note that when it comes to solving IT issues, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. It’s important to understand the network infrastructure we’re working with and all the different elements that could be contributing to the problem. In order to get to the bottom of an issue and solve it efficiently, we believe in taking an entirely holistic approach.
Here’s what we did to address the tedious technical issue this Perth school was dealing with:
Initial Consultation and Systems ReviewÂ
Before anything else, we wanted to get a lay of the land. We sent a team of our IT support specialists to this Perth school to conduct an initial consultation and closely examine the entire network. During the consultation, we gathered as much information as we could from the internal IT department. We asked them to explain any past issues and identify anything that had recently changed in their network environment.
Next, we conducted a comprehensive, end-to-end review of their IT infrastructure. Even though the problem was occurring with their Fortinet Firewall router, it was important that we developed a dynamic understanding of how all the IT components in their network worked together. This would help us determine if the problem was isolated to the Fortinet solution alone, or whether it was part of a more widespread issue.
Comprehensive Issue IdentificationÂ
Once we had a clear understanding of the network layout and had examined the problem, we got to work determining what might be at the root of the issue. We have experience working with Fortinet so we started there and then we worked our way out and across the network looking for problems.
Above all, we wanted to make sure we were examining both hardware and software and making an effort to leave no stone unturned. By finding the root of the problem we would be far better positioned to implement a solution that wasn’t just a quick fix for a larger issue. We worked carefully and tirelessly until we had determined the exact reason their access to YouTube was being blocked by their Fortinet solution.
Informative & Transparent Approach
Throughout all the work we did for this school, we kept their internal IT staff consistently and transparently informed. We incorporated them in every step of the process to ensure they knew everything we were doing and why. We relied on them as our strategic partners since they were so experienced working with the network.
We also made sure they were actively involved in the identification of the issue and the plan we developed to resolve it. Above all, we wanted this internal IT team to be armed with the information they needed to understand what had been causing the problem and determine the best means to solve it. We also wanted to make sure they were equipped to avoid similar problems in the future.
Swift Issue ResolutionÂ
Once the root of the issue had been identified and we discussed everything clearly and transparently with the school’s IT administrators, we started putting our resolution plan into action. We made sure to take a measured approach to ensure network disruption was minimised. We resolved the problem by targeting the issue at the root cause.
We also made sure to deploy our resolution plan in a way that wouldn’t threaten the layered cybersecurity that the Fortinet solution was providing for the school network. Above all, we worked to resolve the issue swiftly so the teachers, students, and administrators could get back to their daily work. Once the problem had been solved, we made sure to test things out to make sure everything was running properly and that YouTube access had been effectively restored.
Final Fortinet Review & OptimisationÂ
Finally, once we knew the problem was taken care of successfully, we helped the internal IT administrators optimise their entire network. The goal here was to identify weak spots or places for improvement and deploy concrete strategies that would mitigate further technical issues and optimise operations.
More than anything, we wanted this school to start taking advantage of the strategic benefits of fully-optimised IT resources. They had spent enough time dealing with technical difficulties and they deserved an optimised IT infrastructure that would support their noble mission of keeping students engaged and educated with strategic IT resources.
Does Your Perth School Need Fortinet Firewall Support? Steadfast Solutions is Here to Help!
Since we partnered with this Perth school to address their technical difficulties, they have reported back that their access to YouTube has remained fully operational and that they haven’t experienced any issues with their Fortinet Firewall router since we had come in to assess and solve the problem. They also explained that ever since we had worked to optimise their network, operations had been running smoother than ever before.
Is your Australian school dealing with tedious IT issues that are affecting administrative duties and student learning? Steadfast Solutions is the leading IT provider in Australia and we are always on call to provide technical support. Whether your problem is big or small, we can help you determine what the cause is and solve the problem for good. We can also help you better position and optimise your network resources to reduce the likelihood of issues and improve operations. Need technical support for an Australian school? Steadfast Solutions is a click or call away.
Give us a call anytime at 1300 739 335, drop us a line at hello@steadfastsolutions.com.au, or visit our website at www.steadfastsolutions.com.au to book an initial Fortinet support consultation.
