Email Hosting Services [top]
SBT provides a highly available, secure email system for Stanislaus County
departments.
SBT's email system serves as an email backbone for County
staff to communicate with one another as well as with the rest of the
world via the Internet. SBT’s
email system has both a full-featured client that runs on Windows PCs, as
well as a browser-based interface that can be used from any
standards-compliant browser, including those shipping with modern PDA’s
and cellular phones.
SBT’s
email system can be accessed securely, via SSL, from any
Internet-connected device anywhere in the world.
SBT’s
email system scans emails for unsolicited content, both in the form of
SPAM and viruses, to protect County staff and systems.
Because SBT’s email system does not employ the same proprietary
Microsoft code as is used in Microsoft Exchange, the County’s email has
not suffered from the self-replicating, destructive payload viruses that
other public and private sector organizations’ email systems have.
SBT is
dedicated to constant systems improvement.
SBT will soon be deploying an even more reliable email platform
that employs multiple cluster servers for maximum uptime.
SBT will also be deploying a backup email system in
conjunction with SBT’s Business Continuity efforts.
Wide Area Network Support [top]
SBT
maintains the systems that allow customers to connect to countywide
applications as well as communicate with other SBT customers and
external entities such as the State of California.
These systems are from top-tier vendors such as Cisco Systems,
Checkpoint, and Symantec. SBT
has extended maintenance agreements with these vendors so that replacement
parts and vendor expertise can be applied as soon as a problem occurs.
SBT invests
heavily in Network Management systems.
SBT will provide network usage statistics monthly and can provide more detailed data about the WAN at customer request, billed separately.
SBT
realizes that downtime during business hours costs the Customer money.
Therefore SBT leverages its position as a service provider to its
many customers to procure best-of-breed backup and redundancy features
such as enterprise power backup systems, centrally-located network
management tools, and mesh network designs such that single points of
failure are minimized.
SBT employs
staff certified in Wide Area Network design, implementation, and
maintenance. Senior Systems
Engineers are on-call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to manage the
critical function.
SBT is
dedicated to constant improvement, and will be extending the reliability
of its Wide Area Network in conjunction with SBT’s Business Continuity
efforts.
Local Area Network Services [top]
Strategic Business Technology provides a Local Area Network Service on
behalf of County departments. This
service provides management of necessary network equipment such as
routers, switches, and security systems. This service also provides electronic data printing hosting
services. SBT uses best of
breed networking products from such industry leaders as Cisco Systems,
Netware, and Microsoft, as well as the best tools and systems
provided by the Open Source community, such as Linux and BIND.
SBT has
recently deployed a first-class Enterprise Data Backup Management System
for protecting customer data. SBT
engineers are on-call to support LAN servers and functions 24 hours a day,
365 days a year. SBT
engineers are certified by major manufacturers in the network equipment
and Operating Systems that they support.
SBT is
dedicated to constant improvement, and will soon be deploying a Storage
Area Network (SAN) that will allow server clustering and high-speed data
access in support of the Local Area Network Service.
SBT has deployed backup components in conjunction with its Business
Continuity efforts, and will continue to improve its ability to function
in the event of a significant event that would otherwise cut off County
staff from their critical data.
Internet Services [top]
Strategic Business Technologies provides Internet Connectivity on behalf of County Departments. Delivered over reliable fiber optics at the speed of 30 Megabits per Second (approximately 560 times faster than legacy dial-up services), county departments are afforded access to a wealth of information and collaboration tools offered on the Internet, including the ability to reach mission critical online data. Services include Internet Email and Instant Messenger to partners anywhere in the world. Secured by equipment from industry leading vendors such as Checkpoint and Cisco Systems, SBT staff continually monitors Internet Access to ensure security, reliability, and performance benchmarks are met. As an additional feature, County departments may also establish their own presence on the World Wide Web for sharing information and deploying e-government applications.
SBT maintains a best-of-breed network though the use of security systems including firewalls, Intrusion Detection Systems, e-mail virus scanners and network monitors to keep customer data and systems safe from the many threats the Internet represents.
Internet access is monitored by SBT and reports of Internet usage can be provided to County Departments. These reports can be general or specific in nature. Departments can also request that specific sites or content be blocked from viewing.
SBT is dedicated to constant improvement, and continues to monitor Internet performance, with the key element being the end user experience. Upgrades will be planned when performance levels are assessed to not be within standards for a positive user experience.
Security Services [top]
Strategic Business Technology provides a Security Service on behalf of
County departments. SBT’s Security Service provides proactive monitoring and
vulnerability assessment of network equipment, file servers and desktop
PCs. SBT also can assist
County departments in creating a plan to manage their information security
risk. SBT staff participates
with County law-enforcement and emergency response on the Core
Infrastructure Asset Group (CIAG).
SBT
employs the industry-leading OCTAVE approach developed at Carnegie-Mellon
University for determining critical data assets and creating a plan for
risk mitigation.
In
his speech of 12/03, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge
said, "After all, anywhere there is a computer.... whether in a
corporate building, a home office, or a dorm room...if that computer
isn’t secure, it represents a weak link. Because it only takes one vulnerable system to start a chain
reaction that can lead to devastating results."
SBT
understands that only a proactive, ongoing approach to security
evaluation, vulnerability mitigation, and risk assessment can hope to
succeed in minimizing breaches.
Desktop Support Services [top]
SBT technical staff provides desktop support to County departments that request our services or need advanced desktop support skills. For many departments, we are the first level of support. As first responders, we troubleshoot problems to determine if the problem is hardware, software, or network related. Work order requests for SBT desktop support are made through the SBT Help Desk, which in turn relays the requests to the SBT desktop support staff. Each request is logged and assigned appropriately. The service tech will respond and solve the problem or reassign the work order to the appropriate division within SBT. If the problem is out of our scope such as warranty repairs or non-network printer problems, we help with recommendations or in some cases work with outside vendors to resolve the problem or issue. After each request is filled, an email is sent to the customer that the work order is complete, and provides the steps taken to resolve the issue. |
