// Case study

Perry Auto Group: multi-site network rebuild across 5 locations

Rebuilt and standardized the network across all 5 Perry Auto Group locations — firewall, DNS, switching, VoIP, endpoint and identity security, and vendor stack — and cut ISP and telecom costs by roughly 30% along the way.

Networking Director of IT — design, vendor coordination, cutover Employer: Perry Auto Group · 2024–2026

Tools / technologies

  • Firewall / DNS
  • Switching
  • VoIP (TPx / Cisco Webex)
  • MFA / IAM / endpoint protection
  • Vendor & telecom management

Problem

As Director of IT at Perry Auto Group, I inherited a 5-location footprint with the usual accumulated drift: aging firewalls, inconsistent DNS, mixed switching across sites, legacy phones, vendor relationships that had grown organically rather than deliberately, and a security baseline that no longer matched current expectations. The network was constraining the business instead of supporting it.

Constraints

  • Five locations — changes had to land cleanly across all of them without inconsistency creeping back in.
  • Limited tolerance for outage windows at any single site; cutovers had to be staged and reversible.
  • Security posture had to be brought current without breaking the workflows the dealerships relied on.
  • Vendor relationships and contracts had to be rationalized in flight, not as a separate program.

Role

End-to-end ownership of the network and infrastructure program across the footprint — design, vendor coordination, hands-on cutover, and the operational cadence that keeps things from drifting again.

What I did

  • Rebuilt firewall and DNS on a defensible, documented baseline.
  • Refreshed and standardized switching across all 5 sites for predictable performance and a clearer topology.
  • Rolled out TPx and Cisco Webex softphones to replace the legacy phone systems.
  • Tightened security posture toward NIST-aligned controls — MFA, endpoint protection, IAM, and identity hygiene.
  • Consolidated and rationalized the vendor stack — fewer partners, better-fitting contracts, sharper ISP and telecom terms.

Outcome

  • A common network baseline across all 5 locations — no more snowflake sites.
  • ~30% reduction in ISP and telecom costs from the vendor and contract rationalization.
  • A defensible audit story — current firewall, DNS, identity, and endpoint security all aligned to NIST expectations.
  • Standing capacity to absorb future VoIP, cloud, and security changes without an emergency project each time.

What it demonstrates

Comfort across the full stack of multi-site operations — firewall, DNS, switching, voice, endpoints, vendors — combined with the vendor-management discipline that turns a network rebuild into measurable cost reduction, not just a technical refresh.