Case Study
St. Bernard’s High School Reduced IT Overhead by 20% with ThreatDown
20%
Reduction in processor usage on endpoints
3-4 Hrs
Time cut from security management
24/7
Expanded to 24/7
managed threat
hunting coverage
Transforming the security posture of education
St. Bernard’s High School, a prestigious girls’ secondary school in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, operates in the modern educational landscape. Every staff member receives a laptop, and computers are widely used throughout the curriculum across all departments. With Microsoft 365 integration and remote access capabilities through an onsite application server, the school’s technology infrastructure supports both on-premises and remote learning scenarios.
THE CHALLENGE
Underperforming endpoint security solutions
The St. Bernard’s IT team faced a common yet critical challenge: their existing endpoint security solutions were consuming excessive system resources while failing to provide adequate threat visibility and management capabilities. With 1,024 students, 130 staff members, and approximately 500 endpoints spread across their network, the school’s two-person IT team was spending 3-4 hours weekly managing security incidents and performance issues.
The school had previously deployed both Sophos and Windows Defender across their environment, but neither solution provided the balance of protection and performance they needed. “Our previous security products were difficult to manage and caused significant performance issues on our computers,” explained Matthew Woolner, Network Manager at St. Bernard’s High School. The performance impact was particularly problematic in an educational setting where slow computers directly affect classroom performance and student engagement.
Key goals were to:
- Upgrade security solution to detect a wider range of threats
- Maintain minimal impact on endpoint performance
- Simplify management tasks with a centralized dashboard
The SOLUTION
A trusted solution for advanced protection
ThreatDown worked with the school’s long-time IT consultancy, Design and Management Systems (DMS), to provide advanced protection without unnecessary complexity. ThreatDown came onto the school’s radar through a mix of outreach and existing familiarity. Matthew had used the consumer version of Malwarebytes at home and was impressed by its threat detection and features like ransomware rollback. “That personal experience with Malwarebytes gave me confidence in ThreatDown, Malwarebytes’ enterprise-grade platform,” Matthew said.
“…personal experience with Malwarebytes gave me confidence in ThreatDown, Malwarebytes’ enterprise-grade platform…”
That brand trust carried weight with DMS as well. “The school already trusted ThreatDown, which made it an easy recommendation,” added Gavin. From a technical standpoint, ThreatDown hit the mark: advanced protection without unnecessary complexity. “It offered the right balance for St Bernard’s High School — powerful security that’s still easy to manage,” Gavin said.
Since implementation, we’ve continued to work with the St. Bernard’s team to establish a more unified security platform across the entire infrastructure:
- Security posture upgrade: Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
- Continuous monitoring and expert analysis: Managed Threat Hunting
THE RESULTS
Major improvements in security posture and IT productivity
The impact was immediately apparent across multiple dimensions of IT operations. Most notably, the performance issues that had plagued their previous security solutions were resolved. This performance improvement wasn’t marginal—it was substantial and measurable. “Processor usage on endpoints dropped by nearly 20% compared to our previous solution, improving overall device performance and reducing user complaints,” Matthew quantified.
“Processor usage on endpoints dropped by nearly 20% compared to our previous solution, improving overall device performance and reducing user complaints”
The centralized management capabilities delivered on their promise of reduced administrative overhead. “ThreatDown has saved us a lot of time in managing our security by having all the tools in one place,” Matthew explained, adding that “The time savings have been dramatic. What had previously consumed 3-4 hours weekly for our security management was reduced to minutes. The combination of automated threat response, reduced false positives, and centralised visibility eliminated most manual security management tasks.”
- Resolved performance issues: Processor usage on endpoints dropped 20% compared to previous solution, improving overall device performance and reducing user complaints
- Reduced administrative overhead: Centralized management capabilities eliminated most manual security management tasks, from 3-4 hours per day to just minutes
- Simplified compliance and audit responses: Clear reporting and improved endpoint visibility
- Enhanced student data privacy protection: Early threat detection and isolation
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