Built to keep pace: how Chesapeake Containment Systems found the right-sized IT partner

About Chesapeake Containment Systems

Chesapeake Containment Systems (CCS) is an environmental construction firm based in Statesville, North Carolina, specializing in geosynthetic products and installation for the solid waste, power, and industrial markets. Since 2007, CCS crews have installed more than one billion square feet of geosynthetics, guided by four principles: People, Performance, Products, and Progress.

With 200 to 250 employees and as many as 25 crews working on job sites from Florida to Maine, CCS depends on technology that works wherever its people are. A lean internal IT team keeps the office and the field connected, and the right outside partner is essential to helping that team go further.

The Challenge

CCS was built for a mobile workforce long before remote work became common. About 30 employees work from the office, while 40 to 50 more carry laptops and phones to job sites across the eastern United States, and the field workforce grows and shrinks with the construction season. The internal team planned for that reality early, using Microsoft Intune, Windows Autopilot, and remote support tools, and rebuilt its on-premises infrastructure with redundancy so no single failure could stop the business.

As the internal team took on more of the day-to-day work, the previous provider settled into a narrow role covering backups, patching, firewall management, and after-hours monitoring. CCS outgrew that arrangement. It needed faster responses, clearer communication, and a dedicated point of contact who could advocate for CCS, and most of all a partner invested in improving the environment, not just maintaining it.

The Solution

CCS approached the search methodically, starting with every regional provider that did something close to what it needed, then narrowing to firms experienced with its core platforms, including Fortinet, Microsoft, and VMware. CCS interviewed seven to eight companies and met with ownership at each of its final four.

The right-sized partner

Size mattered as much as capability. CCS did not want to be a provider's largest client, or one of thousands at a national firm. It wanted a partner big enough to grow with. From the first conversations, CCS felt heard, and by the third or fourth meeting was talking directly with Katalyst CEO Luke Johnson and leaders from engineering and service. Katalyst also helped CCS see the value of pairing its managed services with Foresite, a dedicated managed security services provider, so each side brings deep specialization.

Ownership from day one

CCS noticed the difference almost immediately. The Katalyst team picked up every item as soon as it was raised and saw it through. Since onboarding, the teams completed a full firewall rule review together, a dedicated client success lead keeps communication open in both directions, and CCS has direct access to Katalyst leadership whenever it is needed.

The Results

The partnership has given CCS a clear, current picture of the health and security of its environment, with the reporting to share it with company leadership.

Monthly backup reports confirm when snapshots ran, how much space is in use, and which virtual machines are protected. Security logs that once came from separate, manually built alerts now come together in a single platform with on-demand reporting, and monthly automated penetration testing helped CCS find and close 35 to 40 vulnerabilities in the first two months. Real-time detection proved itself when an employee landed on a tech support scam site: within minutes the IT team had an alert and could confirm nothing was entered or downloaded. Asked how CCS's security confidence compares to a year ago, Mike Adams answered, "Light years. Light years ahead."

Key Takeaways

• Right-sized matters. CCS wanted a partner big enough to grow with, not too big to care, and found it.
• Ownership over ticket-closing. Katalyst picked up every item as raised and followed through.
• Visibility leadership can use. Monthly backup reports and centralized security logs are ready to share upward.
• Security that proves itself. 35 to 40 vulnerabilities closed in two months, and real-time alerts within minutes.