Uggerly Installation installed Paessler PRTG to save money and avoid ransomware
About Uggerly Installation
Uggerly Installation is the effective connection between technical installations and customers and partners in Jutland, Funen and Zealand. It carries out all kinds of electrical and plumbing installations as well as main and engineering contracts with a focus on providing professional solutions on time.
Uggerly Installation is a dynamic North Jutland company with proud traditions and roots in the industry, dating back more than 100 years to the Aalborgian electrical installation company Ryø, founded in 1912.
Uggerly is one of Denmark's leading suppliers of technical installations. The company, which has 310 employees, offers a variety of electrical and plumbing installations, and has solutions for both private customers and companies of all sizes. Uggerly's adaptability in digitalization and new innovations makes them a unique company in the industry.
"PRTG met all of our criteria. It's easy to configure, it's possible to monitor many devices out-of-the-box, the ability to create our own custom sensors, and it can be integrated with many different systems."
Mads Cramer Thomsen, system administrator at Uggerly Installation
Uggerly's ransomware experience
After a series of ransomware attacks around the country, including one of Mads' friends who were hit by a labelling machine, Uggerly decided to increase security. To protect themselves from such attacks, they monitor even more devices than before.
As all ports on their switches are monitored, it is possible to monitor where there is usually a high bandwidth consumption and where there is not. In one concrete example, using Paessler PRTG Network Monitor, they were able to detect high bandwidth consumption on a port where this was otherwise not the norm. Mads discovered by chance that the user in question was not even sitting at his computer at this time. Mads therefore rushed to unplug it from the Internet. The problem occurred when that user happened to click on a ransomware link.
“When I accessed the machine, I could see that there was an attempt to make a ransomware attack on the system. However, with the help of PRTG, we were able to act and pull the plug on the Internet before anything happened," says Mads, adding:" This episode helped convince us of how good an investment PRTG is."
Mads goes on to tell how PRTG has benefited the IT department on several occasions. "The work has been made easier for the IT department and has given us more time for other tasks."
PRTG has also helped the IT department to present various issues to management. Historical data from PRTG's reports has made it easier to argue about investing in new equipment.
On the other hand, PRTG can also help the management save money. Recently, the IT department looked more closely at how much uptime they actually had. This topic came to light after a server crashed. Following this incident, management wanted to know if they could still deliver the amount of uptime and response times they promise, or whether to invest in new equipment. However, the firm's PRTG reports were able to show that everything was as it should be and that they were therefore not forced to go out and make a huge investment.
"The information we received from PRTG eventually saved us up to two million kroner."
Many options for creating custom sensors
Mads also uses the opportunity to make custom sensors, among other things, to monitor their Wi-Fi. This allows Uggerly to keep track of how many users are connected, how many guests are connected, whether updates are available and which licenses are used for specific applications. This helps Mads and his staff see who is actually using their data – are they the users they expect or not? And is the system being used for what it is intended for?
One of their own sensors checks for Ubiquiti updates. This helps the IT department plan the most optimal time to make their updates. They are also able to monitor if their back-up is running properly.
"Not having to keep track of available updates even after working hours has been a big bonus for family life."
To monitor Uggerly's own websites, they use cloud sensors to integrate Google Analytics metrics into PRTG. This allows them to see how many people visit their website and why. This way, they can see how well-promoted they are with their competitors, improve their Google ranking, and evaluate whether or not the content they share is relevant.
Mads cites an example that took place six months ago. Uggerly had shared an article on their website that received an unusually high number of clicks. Their sensor was able to demonstrate that the information they had shared and did not think was relevant was actually quite interesting. Uggerly had shared an article about their new customer, the local super hospital, which attracted a lot of attention from the customers. This article gave customers the impression that if Uggerly is the right solution for a super hospital, then they are very likely to be the right solution for them as well.
PRTG dashboards catch the attention of visitors
Uggerly has two different PRTG dashboards: one of them is for the IT department, which shows the company's network with the most important systems highlighted. The second dashboard is intended for end users and customers, showing traffic lights if the system is running and finding updates if something is not working properly.
“Often when we have visitors we give them a tour where we also go past our PRTG dashboard. When we explain to them what it is and how it works, most people say it's something they just need to have.”
Conclusion
Mads describes PRTG as a good all-rounder that many more companies should know about. One of the biggest benefits of PRTG, according to Mads, is the historical data that has helped give management a solid example of how much uptime they have and have been able to show in which areas of the network needed improvement. Mads also praises the many out-of-the-box features that integrate with many different suppliers, as well as the ability to make their own sensors.
Would you recommend PRTG to a friend or colleague?
“Yes, undoubtedly. I have recommended PRTG several times, and I will continue to do so,” says Mads.
Get to know more happy PRTG customers
Customer success story Netbr & PRTG
PRTG helps Netbr to organize long-term planning and optimization actions, especially in relation to the SLAs of internet service providers. ➤ Read the complete customer success story now!
Customer success story Esri France & PRTG
A key operation of Esri France’s business is to secure the proper recording of customer transaction count logs in databases, which PRTG helps them do. ➤ Read the complete customer success story now!
Customer success story Dayton Children's Hospital & PRTG
PRTG helps Dayton Children’s Hospital to prevent failures and downtime, generating a direct correlation between system uptime and patient care. ➤ Read the complete customer success story now!
