BTP Helps Human Rights First Complete a Network Migration and Upgrade Project for Two Office Locations.

NEW YORK & WASHINGTON -- Business Technology Partners (BTP), a premier IT consulting firm, announced today that it has successfully partnered with Human Rights First (HRF) to integrate, design and migrate HRF's technology network. Human Rights First is a non profit, international human rights organization based in New York and Washington, D.C. BTP worked closely with HRF's IT team to migrate their communications network from outsourced, hosted solutions to a new and improved technology infrastructure that is now managed internally and is more cost effective for the organization.

At the outset, BTP worked onsite at HRF offices, meeting regularly with the HRF IT team to perform a comprehensive network assessment. The assessment identified needs for more network speed and bandwidth, increased manageability and resiliency, enhanced security and remote access for telecommuters and other improvements to HRF's overall voice and data network. It was determined by the team that the most cost effective way to achieve all of this was to migrate to an internally managed network. "We selected BTP for their experience with network and email management projects and their flexibility in pricing models customized for non-profit organizations. Working with BTP allowed the HRF IT team to take an active role in all phases of the project so the HRF IT team was well-equipped to manage the network post-migration, while BTP provided both network engineering expertise and additional capacity for critical phases of the project such as migration weekends," said Lisa Besa, COO of Human Rights First.

The project incorporated a new business continuity program (BCP), wide area network (WAN) redesign linking both HRF office locations, implementation of a high-availability Internet gateway, movement of all servers and computer systems into a new Microsoft domain structure and the upgrade of the messaging environment from a hosted solution to an onsite Microsoft Exchange 2007 platform.

"To assure the highest levels of availability for critical voice and data traffic, both the local and wide area networks were redesigned utilizing best practice methodologies such as multi-homing, dynamic routing protocols and diversified backup paths for production traffic. Working in conjunction with the dedicated and enthusiastic HRF IT staff, we were able to validate and test out the multiple failover scenarios for their business continuity plan with successful results," said Nicholas Lucenko, senior engineer at BTP.

BTP recommended several technology products and solutions, including Dell servers with Microsoft software to deploy a local clustered and fully-redundant Exchange 2007 messaging environment. In addition, a Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) firewall solution and Cisco 3500 series Gigabit Ethernet switches were deployed to enhance network security, optimize network performance, and provide a state-of-the-art layer 3 switching environment. Telecommunications carrier coordination was also critical in completing the project and to thoroughly transition out the legacy WAN and messaging systems.

"Discovering an organization's needs is the first step in creating a tailored technology infrastructure that can improve their business. It was a pleasure to work with the IT-savvy team at Human Rights First to create what is truly a state-of-the-art IT infrastructure for the support of an important cause. With our help, Human Rights First is achieving faster, more secure communications for the organization's highly distributed workforce and we are proud to have been a part of this important project," said Joshua Aaron, President of Business Technology Partners.

About Business Technology Partners

Business Technology Partners (www.btp.net), located in New York, NY and Detroit, MI, is a technology consulting firm that delivers tailored solutions leveraging a broad array of expertise in IT infrastructure and applications, network management, technology maintenance, telecommunications, audiovisual and security systems. BTP's technology practice areas help organizations with design/build projects, relocations, technology upgrades and corporate consolidations. The company combines business-driven experience, industry best practices, and its own methodology to deliver projects on-time and within budget. BTP's client portfolio includes ABN AMRO, ADP, Calyon, Deutsche Bank AG, Eisner LLP, Hilton, Estee Lauder, Gibbons PC, JPMorgan Chase, AYYA Hotel, L'Oreal, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Morgan Stanley & Co., Mount Sinai Medical Center, The New York Board of Trade, PRIMEDIA, Proctor & Gamble, Reed Business, Reuters, Standard Chartered Bank, State Street Global Advisors, Time Inc., and Viacom.