IT Services & Product Procurement

CornerStone Communications is partnered with the country’s leading technology distributors, meaning we can source most products that fall within our purview. We work with our customers to identify the right solution, operating as a customer advocate when engaging with vendors and manufacturers. Due to the nature of our business and the economies of scale we engage in, we can secure better resources and discounts for our customers across various products. We’re also always happy to research new solutions, and our customers are commonly asked to research new solutions on their behalf.

CornerStone can work with many manufacturers to deploy products globally with in-country sourcing and purchasing processes. We’re even able to process payments in local currency if requested. In-country sourcing eliminates the issues many IT and purchasing teams face when attempting to ship equipment over the border. We protect against ordinary import/export taxes/fees and often provide a financial benefit through use-based and VAT taxes qualifying for write-offs. The country’s products may be limited to particular vendors due to their global distribution agreements.

CornerStone operates as a Value Added Reseller, meaning we have agreements to source, deploy, and support our customers with the leading networking brands. We regularly work closely with Aruba, Cisco, and Fortinet by assisting our customers with scoping and architecture conversations. Depending on the customer’s preference, we can engage the chosen manufacturer(s) at this time and work collaboratively to design a bespoke solution. Once the design work is completed and our customer approves the order, CornerStone will assist with project management, engineering, and installation requirements. After installation, CornerStone will help with modifications, escalations, and environmental improvements. Our goal is to make the scoping and deployment processes as easy as possible while ensuring you have an enterprise-grade architecture.

We can work on projects large and small, global and local. Sometimes, a customer may expand their office and need a switch and a few access points. In other scenarios, we may be asked to assist with a multi-location or global SASE deployment. We’re happy to assist in any event and will help our customers each step of the way.

Brands: Aruba, Cisco, Cisco Meraki, Fortinet

CornerStone takes care to understand our customers’ environments, mainly because each technology we support is intertwined in some way. We have knowledgeable staff that will review and understand your current needs regarding routing and application flows and consider what a future state may look like for your organization. We believe these appliances impact how a customer’s environment will be designed, decided by bandwidth bottlenecks, functionality limitations, integration into other networking equipment and services, and, most importantly, security functionality.

The first intelligent appliance closest to the carrier handoff will typically be a security or routing device. SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) and SD-WAN (Software Defined Wide Area Networking) are becoming the industry standard by converting routing and security management into a simplified GUI. These appliances come in all shapes and sizes, with unique strengths and weaknesses. In some industries, security and compliance are of utmost importance, while others may be more concerned with flexibility and ease of management. CornerStone takes the time to discuss each solution’s pros and cons with our customers, ensuring the right solution is tailored to their needs.

SD-WAN (Software Defined Wide Area Networking) appliances have replaced traditional routers and Layer 3 switching. Instead of manually building out routing tables, static VPNs, and designing quality of service (Quality of Service) policies, these products will automate the tasks. In complicated multisite environments, SD-WAN solutions can buy back months of person-hours for your network administrators. They’re often easier to manage and implement, meaning high-cost consulting engagements are reduced. One of the most essential functions of these devices is the ability to prioritize your networked traffic based on simplified quality of service policies. We can prioritize or deprioritize allotted bandwidth per application level based on a series of policies designed at an organizational or business unit level. We can utilize multiple data or private network connections at the same time, sending traffic in the manner we see fit. In an internet outage, we can design policies to prioritize mission-critical traffic on a redundant connection. We’re also able to gain incredible improvements to scalability—the routing configurations are intended as templates at the organizational or business unit level. Deploying SD-WAN to a new site can be as simple as shipping the appliance and connecting it to the internet. The policies will be pulled down, and your meshed network will automatically communicate with the new site. Several other niceties, like real-time network monitoring and automated ticketing/alerting, come with many of the products on the market, too.

SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) takes advantage of many of the benefits that SD-WAN provides while combining the functionality of a Next Generation Firewall. Customers don’t have to worry about the old DMPVN configurations or custom NATs between appliances anymore—the single appliance manages the functionality that used to be provided by both a firewall and router. Of course, CornerStone recommends high-availability deployments to limit the risk of a single point of failure, but SASE is the future in our eyes. Many vendors are tying additional services into their SASE appliances, like advanced network monitoring, access control, and Zero Trust functionality. URL and DNS filtering, IPS services, improved VPN management, and real-time threat prevention solutions are all tied into the product. The SASE appliance can secure LAN (Local Area Network) traffic while monitoring and blocking suspicious external traffic, bringing what used to be multiple management vectors under a single pane of glass.

With our deep bench of knowledge, we can walk into existing customer environments and better understand what they’re doing and why they’re doing it. We can better recommend industry-leading, enterprise-grade SASE and SD-WAN solutions to our customers. We’re happy to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the many products on the market and narrow down the best choice for you. Once that decision is made, we’ll work closely with you and the chosen manufacturer to design and implement a rock-solid solution and continue to support you for many years to come!

CornerStone assists our customers with sourcing, deploying, and supporting their LAN infrastructure. We design redundant, high-availability switching backbones and wireless networks to ensure business continuity and meet throughput requirements. We work through our customers’ goals and infrastructure planning to ensure our designs meet requirements over the coming years without significant changes or redesigns.

Network switches come in various brands and models but have similar functionality. They’re simply appliances used to forward data packets between wired devices. We’ll assist our customers with building out their MDF (Main Distribution Frame) or network core, as well as their IDFs (Intermediate Distribution Frame). Whether a customer has a relatively simple/flat network or a highly complex data center, we’ll design, source, implement, and support the appropriate switching architecture based on their needs. Some remote offices may need two stacked 24-port switches, while HQ may require MC-LAGs (Mult-Chassis Link Aggregation) built out for the core, server infrastructure, and networked storage appliances. Beyond the design of the switches and LAN architecture, many security solutions will tie into the conversation. Whether it’s designing and implementing ZTNA (Zero Trust Network Access), NAC (Network Access Control), or building out a centrally managed NOC (Network Operations Center), we’ll be there to guide our support to our customers.

Wireless networks can run smoothly for years or be the bane of the service desk’s existence. We understand the critical importance of a robust and reliable WiFi connection—especially with the explosion of IP devices in our everyday lives. Whether the project is to update and replace a few APs (Access Points) at a branch office or deploy to several warehouses throughout the country, we’ll assist our customers with mapping, scoping, sourcing, and deployment. Through our many partnerships, we have great relationships with low-voltage wiring contractors who can run Cat5/6 drops and expansions for our customers. If a customer needs other solutions like improved network analytics derived from wireless connections or heat mapping products, we can also help.

There are many other products for managing and supporting networks on the market. We’re always happy to converse and find the best solutions for our customers. It could be one of the applications listed above or something else, like network monitoring applications and deep packet inspection nodes.

Workstations, Phones, Headsets, Video Conferencing Equipment, Servers and Storage

Workstations – CornerStone assists many customers with sourcing laptops, desktops, and associated workstation equipment like monitors and keyboards. We’ll negotiate on behalf of our customers to secure the best possible pricing. In tandem, we’ll help our customers identify their users’ correct processor, RAM, storage, and form factor. We can also distribute products globally depending on the product, manufacturer, and country.

Brands – Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo

Phones and Headsets: CornerStone sources a variety of household brand handsets, headsets, and conference phones for our customers. In tandem with deploying phone systems and contact centers, we can verify function compatibilities like phone-to-phone paging, Microsoft Teams readiness, or station alerting. We can also help with scoping the right conference phone for your space, paying attention to room/table size and wall material to help determine the suitable device.

Brands – Cisco, Jabra, Logitech, Poly, Sennheiser, YeaLink

Video Conferencing Equipment – CornerStone sources video conferencing equipment for many environments. Whether it’s a huddle room, an executive board room, or a lecture hall, we can help our customers find the right product that works with their

Brands – Cisco, Logitech, Poly, Yealink

Servers and Storage—On occasion, customers will request that CornerStone handle the negotiations and scoping work when engaging in server and storage projects. We’ve helped quite a few customers sort through the available vendors to find the right fit for their environment. We often function as the customer advocate and fit the project into a customer’s modernization project.

Brands – Dell, HP, Lenovo

Licensing and Subscriptions:

It feels like anything, and everything in the world of IT has some form of recurring licensing or subscription attached to it. We’ve seen many of our customers need help and juggle the complexities of which Microsoft licenses are proper for them, which equipment support contract is necessary, and how to keep track of it all. We’re constantly reminded of contractually obligated inflation adjustments and the hassles of dealing with poor customer service teams. CornerStone works to simplify the licensing and support conversation for our customers while being mindful of ongoing costs. Based on our business, we can help our customers find a fair price and streamline the continuing support and services they need.

Microsoft Licenses: CornerStone can deliver O/M365 licensing and Azure utilization to our customers, often providing significant savings. We use our buying power to secure better rates across the board, which we pass on to our customers.

• CornerStone functions as a Microsoft Cloud Service Provider. Instead of purchasing your license directly from Microsoft, you commit to the same license orders with us. The licenses are managed precisely like a Microsoft-direct customer would experience, with your administrator maintaining full privileges. CornerStone can help identify the proper licenses for your needs and act as an intermediary and escalation point to Microsoft during complex engagements. We can also pull in additional layers of support and consulting teams to address any customer needs. When engaging in the Microsoft Cloud Service Provider model, CornerStone provisions licenses at a monthly or annual commitment level. We provide pricing breakdowns for each term and license to allow for a more effortless buying experience. If you are currently a Microsoft customer and purchase your licensing directly from them, we can migrate you over to us and provide immediate savings. We can provide this service, even if you are under a 1-year term commitment on that licensing.
• CornerStone can also assist with sourcing annual/triannual/perpetual server licensing and Software Assurance packages. Please reach out with any questions or requests to begin the conversation!

Endpoint and Email Security Licensing—CornerStone partners with several industry-leading security products and providers. More now than ever, it’s important to have a trusted security solution deployed in your environment. Malicious attacks are running rampant throughout the country, and the vast majority do not reach the news.

EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response), MDR (Managed Detection and Response), and XDR (Extended Detection and Response) solutions are all available to our customers. We’re also partnered with several SOC (Security Operation Center) providers that will stand up, monitor, and respond to events in your environment based on their SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) solution. The name of the game is not to rely on point solutions in your environment but rather to bring everything under a single microscope.

Vendors – SentinelOne, Huntress, Microsoft, Mimecast, Proofpoint, Sophos

Email Security is as vital as endpoint security, as many attacks originate via phishing and bad links. We can help our customers sort through some of the leading enterprise products on the market. The name of the game is to prevent suspicious emails from getting to end users via quarantining. Once in a while, these emails will sneak through—it’s then the email security’s job to detonate any threats in their virtualized environment.

Vendors – Mimecast, Proofpoint, Sophos, Barracuda

Miscellaneous Licenses—We can always research products that our customers ask for, whether they’re delivered by one of the many vendors we engage with regularly or if they’re new to us.