Connolly Consulting, Connecticut
Using Dark Fiber to Keep Big Business in the Black
No matter the size of the company, payment errors exist in every organization – but the problem is magnified in large businesses. Erroneous or duplicate payments, under-deducting discount pricing, and lost merger and acquisition efficiencies all contribute to a problem that over time can deflate profits and flatten performance.
That's where Connolly Consulting comes in.
For more than 25 years, Connolly's mission has been to recover the most money possible for its clients. Through a process called recovery auditing, the company reviews customer disbursement transactions and related data to identify and analyze the root causes of financial inefficiencies, recover overpayments, and reduce future losses.
Originally a paper-oriented business, Connolly has transformed its back office into a paperless environment that relies on experienced auditors using specialized tools, resources, and technology.
You can't spell "profit" without IT
In order to support this dynamic environment, the Information Technology department has become a major contributor in improving clients' bottom lines.
"Our primary function is to support our auditors and be as efficient as we are accurate," explains Michael Matloub, Connolly's Senior Vice President of Information Technology. "We have the processes in place and built the necessary infrastructure to support the business."
Providing adequate support for a network hosting more than 400 terabits of data, Matloub and his team embarked on a plan to build dual data centers mirroring every record and transaction of the company. "The new data center complements our existing capacity and provides business continuity capabilities in-house," states Robert Alexander, Connolly's Chief Information Officer.
To meet the company's network connectivity requirements, Matloub partnered with Fibertech for a fully scalable dark fiber ring between its two data center facilities.
The ultra-fast connectivity combined with the implementation of a high-capacity tape backup library means full off-site data backups can be made without ever having to remove a tape from a secure area. "Backing up our data directly across the fiber is a key capability for us," reports Matloub. "We are not willing to accept the risk of releasing tapes to a third party or transporting them between sites."
In the environment of backup tapes, it would have taken more than three months to back up 250 servers in the event of a catastrophic event. Now, the company is operating dual virtual offices, turning those months into seconds.
"Dark fiber affords us the capacity to scale our business for growth, while exceeding bandwidth expectations in the near-term," says Matloub. And it gives Connolly a technical advantage to ensure their clients turn more of their red ink to black.
"We can now mirror and store every customer record and transaction atmultiple sites for maximum security of our business."
Michael Matloub, Senior VP of Information Technology at Connolly Consulting.