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San Diego school chooses Avast Business for advanced threat detection

Avast Business Team , 30 April 2019

Calvary Christian Academy saves hours each month using cloud-based console and achieves 100% improvement in threat detection caused by human error

The school

Founded in 1987 as a ministry of Calvary Chapel San Diego, Calvary Christian Academy (CCA) is a private Christian school located in Chula Vista, California. With a mission to educate and instill Christian values in children from preschool through 12th grade, CCA teaches liberal arts from a biblical worldview.

The school’s curriculum is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges as well as the Association of Christian Schools International. Its upper courses are approved by the University of California “A-G” subject requirements, and the school offers Advanced Placement (AP) classes.

The Challenge

Systems Administrator Greg Ambroselli has managed CCA’s IT and security services for the past five years and proclaims, “On any given day, I’m handling practically everything that has a power switch — servers, desktops, laptops, Chromebooks, firewalls, projectors, TVs, copiers, printers, and even pencil sharpeners.”  

According to Greg, his top priority is ensuring the school’s IT environment is stable and secure to support 150 workstations and 9 servers, used by a faculty staff of 78 and a student population of 400.  “As a one-person IT department, staying ahead of security issues caused by human error has been my biggest challenge,” he admits.

The Solution

Greg chose Avast Business Antivirus and its cloud-based management console after completing a review of competitive antivirus providers that also included Bitdefender, Sophos, and Trend Micro.

"We had been using the Avast Free for Education solution for a number of years. When it was discontinued, I did significant research on top competitors to find the most competitive, cost-effective solution,” Greg explains. “With my previous experience with the Avast antivirus product, along with Avast’s past track record of free service, Avast Business was already at the top of my list.”  

Using Avast Business Antivirus, Greg can now deliver more comprehensive protection for faculty and students. Among the new features, the software now includes a stronger, four-shield defense with behavior, web, email, and file scanning technologies that ensure websites, email inboxes, and files launched on PCs are all free of malicious software.

For Greg, the new security software and console have retained the usability of Avast’s free version while also offering more comprehensive business-grade protection and a greater range of data security features. “The console’s dashboard and notifications are my favorite features,” he shares. “The new console notifications and email summaries make it very easy for me to see the security status of the network and quickly determine what needs attention. At a glance, I can determine whether I need to immediately deal with something or whether it’s just an item to review later. I receive instant notification of even minor issues and can resolve these easily through the console.”

The Results

Greg’s move to Avast Business Antivirus and the management console has already benefited the school in many ways, including:

  • A higher level of proactive security without significantly higher costs
  • 100% improvement in threat detection caused by human error
  • Time savings of an estimated 10 hours per month

Avast Business allows Greg to protect the school with stronger security, while also making his job easier with smart efficiencies like email alerts. Greg notes that he is definitely saving time that was previously used to investigate and resolve new threats or unexpected security issues.

He comments, “Avast Business Antivirus and the cloud management console are critical in my security line of defense for our Academy. I don’t know of any other security software product that can provide this level of protection and usability so cost-effectively.”

Summing up his experience, he adds, “I am saving much more time, and this also gives me the peace of mind that I’m providing a safe and secure computing environment for students and faculty members.”

If you’d like to experience efficiencies and savings similar to Greg’s, check out Managed Antivirus by Avast. Let our global cybersecurity engine protect your networks while also providing the tools your IT business needs for success.

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