BALTIMORE, Maryland — Though the holidays are over, technology wishes can still come true. Horsetail Technologies, in conjunction with Credit Union Journal, will be accepting applications for the Second Annual $100K Extreme Network Makeover starting in March.
"Our advice is don't worry if your current IT infrastructure, devices, policies and procedures aren't up to speed. That is what the Makeover is all about," said Horsetail Technologies Principal, Mark Berman. "And you aren't alone. Many IT departments were ignored or operated on a bare minimum during the economic downturn."
While the 2014 contest winner was slated to be announced this January, the new application submission start date is March 1, with the winner receiving notification in May.
"We are looking forward to it being bigger and better this year and are extending offers to additional partners currently," said Berman, adding that Dell recently signed as a "premier" sponsor of the contest. Inaugural contest sponsors included Dell, n-Able, Autotask, Powersum and OGO, among others.
What Winning Looks Like
Last year, Liberty Savings Credit Union won the 2012 Extreme Network Makeover contest and has received and implemented more than $100,000 worth of new technologies. Berman explained that the Newark, N.J.-based credit union was among more than 100 applicants.
To date, Liberty Savings Federal Credit Union has received a 15 book assessment, new servers, new firewalls, a fully implemented managed services program, full vulnerability scans and penetration testing with remediation, a bandwidth quality monitoring solution and integrated help desk support.
"Horsetail are great people to work with. I was constantly on the phone and working with Mark [Berman]," Liberty Savings FCU CEO Jim Miller Sr. told Credit Union Journal last year. "We have hired Horsetail Technologies for ongoing work."
Since the contest, Berman noted that the Liberty Savings FCU has purchased two additional servers, five enterprise level switches, three additional firewalls, security services, a compliance solution and a continued managed services program, which came from sponsoring partners.
Application Process
Credit unions interested in entering the contest will be required to complete a detailed application, which includes an essay, about their current network. Last year, Berman said applications revealed respective IT needs, imminent purchasing plans and long term goals.
When asked what made Liberty Savings FCU's application stand out, Berman replied: "The winner responded with an honest assessment of where they thought they were, but also some idea of where they'd like to be. Even if there isn't a clear path to the future, knowing what kind of IT resources you'd like to have if you could is important."
The network makeover will include a complete upgrade of the network, with the exception of the core system. This includes:
- Business Process and Technology Assessment
- Security
- Network Devices and Infrastructure
- Server Infrastructure
- Managed Services
- Peripherals
- Disaster Recovery
- Compliance Management
Though a weblink to an online application will be available starting March 1 at
"The Makeover is more than about delivering equipment. It is about delivering an IT process that is flexible and sustainable with predictable budgets well into the long term future," said Berman.
