Nagios XI Helps Rely IT Stay 5 Steps Ahead

A Case Study in Proactive IT Monitoring and Customer-Centric Service

When it comes to delivering proactive IT services, few companies walk the walk like Sweden-based Rely IT. From managing entire office networks to building custom software for industry-specific needs, Rely IT has carved out a reputation for being reliable, responsive, and forward-thinking. But like many fast-growing service providers, they eventually hit a wall with their legacy monitoring tools — tools that were too costly to scale and too rigid to adapt to evolving client expectations.

So how did they overcome these challenges and turn IT monitoring into a competitive advantage? The answer lies in a strategic shift to Nagios XI.

Who Is Rely IT?

Rely IT is a Swedish consultancy and managed IT service provider that supports businesses across Europe with a full suite of IT services. Their approach is built around one goal: letting customers focus on their business, not on IT headaches. Whether it’s building out infrastructure, providing support, or developing custom tools, their team handles it all.

But great service requires great tools behind the scenes. As customer demands increased and monitoring needs became more complex, Rely IT knew they had to make a change.

The Challenge: Outdated Tools, High Costs, and Scalability Issues

Like many growing IT providers, Rely IT started with a monitoring platform that worked fine at first — until it didn’t. The tool became a bottleneck: expensive to scale, difficult to configure, and lacking the flexibility needed for diverse client environments.

“We were using a solution that was expensive and clunky to scale,” said Kenneth Hagstrom, co-founder of Rely IT. “I’d been aware of Nagios for nearly 20 years, and we decided it was time to make the switch.”

Their search led them to a flexible, powerful solution: Nagios XI, backed by the open-source strength of Nagios Core.

The Solution: A Tailored Approach with Nagios Core and Nagios XI

One of the things that made Nagios the perfect fit for Rely IT was its scalability and modular design. Rather than forcing every customer into the same toolset, Rely IT could tailor their approach:

• For smaller clients or simple environments, Nagios Core provided lightweight, open-source monitoring with essential features and email alerts.
• For complex environments — including Rely IT’s internal infrastructure — they rolled out Nagios XI, the full-featured commercial offering.

“We use Nagios Core where customers need something basic and reliable,” Hagstrom explained. “But Nagios XI is where the real magic happens. It’s robust, flexible, and gives us everything we need to deliver high-quality service at scale.”

What Makes Nagios XI So Powerful?

Nagios XI takes the trusted foundation of Nagios Core and adds layers of usability and intelligence. For a service provider like Rely IT, this meant:

• Custom dashboards tailored to each customer’s critical systems
• Advanced reporting tools for insights, audits, and planning
• Preconfigured wizards to accelerate deployment
• Multi-tenancy support to manage multiple clients seamlessly
• Extensive plugin compatibility for custom checks
• An open API for automation and third-party integrations

These features empower Rely IT’s technicians to move faster and troubleshoot smarter. But perhaps more importantly, it gives their customers peace of mind — knowing problems will be spotted before they disrupt business.

Real-World Impact: Keeping Sweden’s Ferries Running Smoothly

One of Rely IT’s most impactful success stories involves a major Swedish ferry company that moves over 30,000 passengers per day. Rely IT uses Nagios XI to monitor every facet of the operation, including:

• Paper levels in ticketing machines
• Camera systems for license plate recognition
• Payment systems and back-end processing

“They rely on us to keep everything running from morning to night,” said Hagstrom. “And we rely on Nagios XI. With the level of visibility we get, we’ve saved them money, prevented outages, and helped their IT stay in complete control.”

Faster Deployment with the Nagios Cross-Platform Agent (NCPA)

Another game-changer for Rely IT was the Nagios Cross-Platform Agent (NCPA) — a lightweight agent that works across Windows, Linux, and macOS. It simplifies setup, enables remote checks, and allows even non-developers to create useful monitoring configurations.

“I’m not a coder, but even I can create solid plugins and examples with NCPA,” Hagstrom noted. “It’s made onboarding new clients a breeze. I wish we had adopted it earlier.”

The Results: Lower Costs, Happier Clients, and Proactive Service

Since adopting Nagios XI, Rely IT has seen improvements across the board:

• Reduced monitoring costs through automation and reusable configurations
• Faster setup times and onboarding for new clients
• Deeper reporting that helps customers make informed decisions
• Proactive service that prevents downtime before users notice issues

“We’re the ones calling the customer to say, ‘Hey, your internet is down’ — before they even realize it,” said Hagstrom. “That kind of responsiveness has become our brand, and Nagios is a huge part of that.”

Why Nagios XI Is a Smart Move for IT Providers

For IT teams and MSPs looking to deliver more value without ballooning costs, Nagios XI offers a compelling path forward. Its balance of power, flexibility, and ease of use makes it ideal for environments where uptime, insight, and client satisfaction are non-negotiable.

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Ready to Modernize Your Monitoring?

If you’re tired of rigid tools that cost too much and deliver too little, follow Rely IT’s lead.

Explore how Nagios XI can help you deliver smarter, faster, and more proactive IT services: Discover Nagios XI

To learn about more ways Nagios can solve real life problems, check out our other Nagios Success Stories