Dealership IT Services in Johns Creek, Georgia

Dealership IT Services in Johns Creek, GA: Managed Security and Compliance for Auto Dealers

Auto dealerships in Johns Creek and across Fulton County operate some of the most complex IT environments in any small-to-midsize business category. A single rooftop typically runs a dealer management system (DMS), a CRM, a desking tool, multiple F&I integrations, and a public-facing Wi-Fi network, all on the same physical premises. COMNEXIA has supported auto dealerships from its Roswell, GA headquarters since 1991, and the work is specific: segmenting dealership networks correctly, hardening DMS integrations, and keeping dealers compliant with the FTC Safeguards Rule (16 CFR Part 314).

FTC Safeguards Rule Compliance Starts with Your Network Architecture

The revised FTC Safeguards Rule (effective June 9, 2023 for dealerships) requires any financial institution, including franchised and independent auto dealers that arrange financing, to maintain a written information security program with named controls. Section 314.4 mandates a qualified individual overseeing the program, a written risk assessment, access controls, encryption of customer data in transit and at rest, multi-factor authentication, and annual penetration testing or vulnerability assessments.

COMNEXIA addresses these requirements by design, not by checkbox. For Johns Creek dealerships, that means deploying Microsoft Entra ID conditional access policies that enforce MFA for every employee reaching the DMS or F&I portal, regardless of whether they are on the showroom floor or working remotely. Endpoints running CDK Global Drive, Reynolds and Reynolds ERA or POWER, or Dealertrack DMS receive SentinelOne EDR coverage with policy rules configured to alert on lateral movement and unusual process behavior, since DMS workstations are a documented ransomware entry point.

Network Segmentation: DMZ and Dealership VLAN Architecture

One of the most common security gaps in dealerships is a flat network where the service-department technician tablet, the customer lounge Wi-Fi, and the F&I manager's workstation all share the same broadcast domain. COMNEXIA builds a segmented architecture with discrete VLANs for the DMS environment, the service lane, guest Wi-Fi, and back-office systems. Firewall ACLs enforce that DMS traffic travels only to authorized CDK or Reynolds data center endpoints, blocking lateral paths that ransomware actors use after an initial phishing compromise.

For a Johns Creek Hyundai or Toyota store using Dealertrack and a RouteOne F&I integration, this segmentation also simplifies the annual FTC Safeguards risk assessment by making the scope of systems handling nonpublic personal information (NPI) clearly bounded and documentable.

DMS and F&I Integration Security

CDK Global, Reynolds and Reynolds, and Dealertrack each publish integration partner requirements, and each exposes API or RDP-style connections that must be locked down. COMNEXIA configures application-layer firewall rules and privileged access management so that only authorized DMS workstations can initiate sessions to the CDK ServiceConnect gateway or the Reynolds ERA server. CRM integrations with platforms such as VinSolutions or Elead are treated the same way: OAuth tokens are scoped to least privilege, and connection logs are retained to satisfy the Safeguards Rule's audit and monitoring requirements under 314.4(h).

Managed IT Operations: What COMNEXIA Delivers Day to Day

Compliance architecture is only as reliable as the underlying managed IT operations supporting it. COMNEXIA runs RMM-based patch management through NinjaOne, applying OS and third-party patches on a documented weekly cycle. DMS vendor patches (CDK, Reynolds) are tested in a staged group before dealership-wide deployment because a failed DMS update during a Saturday sales push has real revenue consequences.

• Documented onboarding with a written asset inventory covering every endpoint, server, and network device at the Johns Creek store
• Help-desk ticketing with a dedicated queue so service advisors and F&I managers reach a technician who already knows the DMS environment
• Monthly reporting that maps patch compliance, endpoint health, and open vulnerabilities to the Safeguards Rule risk assessment document
• Endpoint standardization across the dealership fleet so CDK or Dealertrack workstations run consistent OS builds, antivirus policy, and SentinelOne EDR agent versions
• Microsoft 365 configuration review including Defender for Business policies and Exchange Online mail-flow rules to reduce business email compromise risk targeting F&I staff

Why Johns Creek Dealerships Work with COMNEXIA

Johns Creek sits in northern Fulton County adjacent to Alpharetta and Duluth, with a dense cluster of new-car franchises along State Bridge Road and Medlock Bridge Road. COMNEXIA's Roswell headquarters is less than ten miles from that corridor, which means on-site response does not require a two-hour dispatch window. Dealers in this market deal with the same Safeguards Rule audits, CDK service disruptions, and ransomware targeting that dealers nationally face, and the response needs to be local and knowledgeable about the specific DMS platform in the building.

If your Johns Creek dealership is approaching a Safeguards Rule compliance deadline, recovering from a CDK or Reynolds outage, or simply running on an unmanaged flat network, the right first step is a direct conversation with an MSP that has worked in this environment for 35 years.

Call COMNEXIA at (877) 600-6550 to schedule a dealership IT assessment. The assessment covers your current DMS integration security, network segmentation posture, and FTC Safeguards Rule documentation gaps, so you leave with a concrete picture of where your exposure is today.