IT Solutions and Managed IT Services for the Manufacturing Industry

Highway 99 is proud to provide managed IT services to clients in all parts of the manufacturing industry. Manufacturing relies on IT for so much – highly interconnected systems, market and growth predictions, and even planning to get ahead of supply chain problems both up- and down-stream. You and your team need quick and reliable access to data to mitigate the risk of supply chain hold-ups, inaccurate inventory ordering, and other time- and money-wasting decisions. Our team can build a seamless IT solution to unify the many moving parts of your business under one roof. Highway 99 has the skills and training you need to keep everything running at peak capacity.

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What Does Highway 99 Bring to the Manufacturing Industry?

Manufacturing relies on hundreds – if not thousands – of closely interacting processes to operate. We are leaving the days of huge warehouses and real or virtual silos behind. The demands of agility have led to increased automation all the way from the production floor to the head office, and all of that tech requires a great deal of attention.

Manufacturing interests of all sizes have turned to Highway 99 to keep their systems running properly. With that peace of mind, they can turn their attention to the ‘business’ of manufacturing once again.

Our team’s regular working hours are weekdays 7am to 6pm, and we are available to handle emergencies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Would you like to see how smoothly we can get the IT side of your operations running?

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Our services include:

End-to-end support for your workstations and networks
Email management, whether hosted on-site or remotely
Networking solutions that work in the office and on the production floor
Robust cyber-security and data protection
Remote monitoring and response, night and day
Fully managed incremental backup systems
Proactive update, asset and license management
General IT consulting and emergency response

Moved to the cloud? You need specialized IT support.

Cloud services are just as vulnerable to human error, data losses and attacks as on-site systems. In fact, you may be even more vulnerable if your cloud services are inconsistently updated or incorrectly configured relative to the needs of your industry.

Highway 99 can ensure that your cloud services are configured correctly, that access is restricted to the people you intend to use the system, that all important updates are conducted in a timely manner, and that all of your data is backed up regularly. This won’t make you immune to computer problems, but it will protect you against known threats.

Now let’s talk about you.

We want to learn what you need from an IT department. How do you use technology? What are the issues with your current set of solutions? Only once we really understand your situation can we start talking about how to make it all work better.

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IT Tips for the Manufacturing Industry

Invest in Cybersecurity

There has been a spike in cybercrime recently, and that includes the manufacturing industry. Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting SCADA and other computer systems embedded in and controlling manufacturing equipment. Make sure your cybersecurity is in good hands, and minimize the risk of your operations being disrupted.

Data security is everyone’s job:

Never give out passwords or personal information without a good reason, and never to someone who hasn’t proven their identity.
Don’t leave your devices unattended or logged in – even just over lunch or a break.

And always make sure your team is responsible for:

Updating your devices and apps
Enforcing a robust, active password policy
Applying two-factor authentication (2FA)
Reducing the number of devices and applications which store sensitive data
Keeping all antivirus and anti-malware applications fully up-to-date

Production equipment running outdated software and operating systems are a big target. Ideally keep these systems off your network and off the internet. If these systems must be connected, ensure proper network isolation, firewalls and monitoring are in place.

Backup Your Data

Regular, systematic backups are the first step in a good disaster recovery program. Sooner or later, your data will be at risk, from fire, flood or simple human error. A good backup system will make even a ruined server something you can overcome.

Follow the 3-2-1 rule for data backup:

Keep three copies of your most crucial data
Use at least two different backup media (tapes, CDs, etc.)
Keep at least one copy in a secure, off-site location
Audit and test your backups regularly. Nothing is worse than having to go to your backups and discovering that you’ve been recording junk data for the last six months.

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