Welcome back to our case study series! We’re always excited to share real-world examples of how PRTG Network Monitor can help businesses of all sizes. Today, we’ll dive into the fascinating story of how The Ritz London, a world-renowned luxury hotel, leverages PRTG’s power to ensure their IT infrastructure runs smoothly.
World-Class Service, World-Class IT
The Ritz London is known for its exceptional guest experience. Their IT network is no exception, demanding round-the-clock monitoring and management to deliver seamless service. The hotel’s in-house IT team, comprised of six dedicated professionals, faces the challenge of keeping a watchful eye on the hotel’s core network, critical IT systems, building infrastructure, and security cameras 24/7. This demanding task requires a robust and user-friendly IT monitoring solution, and as The Ritz London discovered, their previous solutions simply didn’t cut it.
“We weren’t getting the valuable insights we needed from our old monitoring tools,” explained Richard Isted, IT Manager at The Ritz London. “They were either cumbersome to configure, difficult to maintain, or lacked the versatility to effectively monitor our more complex systems.”
PRTG: A Breath of Fresh Air for The Ritz London
Frustrated by the limitations of their previous monitoring systems, The Ritz London team turned to PRTG Network Monitor. They were immediately impressed by its intuitive design and comprehensive features. The user-friendly interface made PRTG a breeze to set up and manage.
“PRTG is incredibly feature-rich and incredibly easy to configure,” remarked Isted. “There are tons of helpful blog articles on the Paessler website that walk you through setting up common devices. In fact, we haven’t had to open a single support ticket because everything is so straightforward. Since we rely on Windows Server, it’s a cinch for my team to learn and manage, unlike some other monitoring systems that are based on Linux and have a much steeper learning curve.”
The team also found that configuring custom SNMP sensors was a seamless experience, significantly simplifying their monitoring process. “PRTG made customizing SNMP sensors much easier than any other system I’ve worked with,” added Isted.
Keeping The Ritz London Running Smoothly
PRTG quickly became an indispensable tool for The Ritz London, providing the team with a comprehensive view of their IT infrastructure and enabling them to proactively address potential issues.
“We’ve learned that our air conditioning system fails more often than we initially thought,” explained Isted. “Before we implemented PRTG, one of our servers was damaged due to overheating. Now, we receive instant temperature alerts that are immediately escalated to our 24-hour on-site team who take immediate action to prevent any further damage.”
The ability to instantly alert the maintenance team, even when the IT team is off-site, has been a game-changer for The Ritz London. The team has incorporated PRTG into their email system and even uses the popular Telegram messenger service to send alerts directly to the maintenance team, ensuring a rapid response to any potential problems.
“We have a separate escalation group for the maintenance team. They’re available 24/7, but the IT team isn’t always on-site, so we’ve integrated PRTG with our email and Telegram to send alerts that pinpoint the exact location of the issue,” said Isted. “This ensures that problems are addressed quickly, even in the middle of the night, preventing any disruptions to the hotel’s operations.”
More Than Just Keeping the Lights On: A Proactive Approach
Beyond preventing outages, PRTG has empowered The Ritz London to take a more proactive approach to managing their IT infrastructure.
“PRTG’s alerts are a lifesaver,” Isted commented. “They give us early warnings about potential issues before they escalate into major problems.” This proactive approach has enabled The Ritz London to become less reactive and more efficient in their IT management.
“We’ve also used PRTG to analyze network traffic patterns during peak periods, helping us optimize our backup jobs to avoid any performance bottlenecks,” added Isted.
The Ritz London’s proactive approach to IT management has resulted in improved uptime and a more reliable network. “PRTG has helped us significantly improve our service uptime by highlighting critical alerts that would otherwise lead to system failures or downtime if we hadn’t taken action,” explained Isted.
Looking Towards the Future: Building a Cutting-Edge IT Network
The Ritz London’s IT team has big plans for the future, aiming to create a truly state-of-the-art IT network and system. PRTG is playing a key role in their ambitious plans.
“PRTG has been instrumental in helping us analyze our need for additional IT equipment,” stated Isted. “The data we’ve collected through PRTG provides us with valuable insights into resource utilization, which strengthens our business case for further investment in our IT infrastructure.”
The team is planning to invest in more IP cameras, physical security devices, access control systems, switches, and servers to enhance their security posture and improve efficiency.
“We’re also exploring ways to integrate our security devices, like door locks and electronic door controllers, with PRTG’s maps feature, and to improve integration with our cameras to monitor their health and usage,” said Isted. “Our goal is to create a personalized dashboard for our security team that provides them with a comprehensive view of our security equipment and allows them to react swiftly to any security issues.”
The Ritz London’s team acknowledges the vast potential of PRTG, having only tapped into a fraction of its features. “We’ve probably only scratched the surface of what PRTG can do,” said Isted. “We have a lot of ideas that we’re excited to implement in the future.”
Share Your Story!
If your company has a story about how PRTG has helped prevent IT downtime and improve efficiency, we want to hear from you! Contact us and share your experience!
Want to learn more?
👉 ENGIE Solutions: Improving Monitoring of Large IT and IoT Infrastructure with PRTG
👉 LNA Santé: Using PRTG to Monitor the IT of Healthcare Institutions
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