How Big-D Construction strengthened email security for 900 employees with INKY

Staying ahead of risk in a people-driven industry

For more than 50 years, Big-D Construction has built a reputation for excellence across commercial and high-end residential projects throughout the U.S. With twelve offices stretching from California to Minnesota and nearly 900 employees, communication is constant — and increasingly complex.

As phishing threats evolved, email became one of the organization’s most persistent risk areas. Big-D had already taken steps to warn users about external messages, but over time, those protective measures lost effectiveness.

Static banners blended into the background, and the behaviors they were meant to influence didn’t change.

Beyond banners: Identifying the real gap

Big-D’s initial search for a solution wasn’t driven by a desire to overhaul email security. It was driven by a usability problem. The IT team needed a way to make warnings visible again without overwhelming employees.

That search led them to INKY, and what began as a narrow evaluation quickly expanded into something more comprehensive.

“We found INKY at first just to solve our banner problems,” said Ryan McNabb, Technology Director at Big-D Construction. “Once we started talking further with INKY, we realized they also offered AI and all of the phishing protection that comes with it. Our eyes were opened.”

INKY’s adaptive Email Assistant reframed email security from a passive warning into an active decision point, giving users context instead of static labels.

Improving security without adding friction

Rolling out a new security tool to nearly 900 employees could have introduced disruption. Instead, the implementation reinforced what Big-D was already trying to achieve: smarter security with less hands-on oversight.

The difference was apparent almost immediately.

As employees learned to interpret INKY’s visual cues and explanations, responsibility began to shift away from IT and toward end users — without sacrificing control. “It took away a lot of the workload from IT. Users started managing their own stuff, and the IT team didn’t have to sit and watch email or deal with quarantine like we used to. It’s been a real time saver,” said McNabb.

Insight that extends beyond the inbox

Email security was the entry point, but visibility became one of the most valuable long-term benefits. INKY’s dashboard gave the IT team a clearer picture of what types of threats were targeting the organization and where attention was needed next.

That visibility reinforced a broader truth Big-D was already seeing across IT. “Having INKY has helped our security initiatives, not just around email, but other places too,” said McKnabb. “Things are getting more complex, and the volume of potential threats is so high that no company’s IT staff could support it alone.”

Consistency mattered just as much. With field teams and executives frequently working on mobile devices, Big-D needed a solution that behaved the same across every inbox.

A better experience for users and customers

Security tools often create friction for employees — or worse, for customers. INKY avoided both by automatically removing visual warnings from outbound replies, keeping external communications clean.

That small detail made a noticeable difference with leadership and client-facing teams. “Employees like the fact that when they respond to an email, INKY’s Email Assistant strips the banners out as a default and customers can’t see them. Our leaders and Business Development team members are very happy about that,” said McKnabb.

The relationship itself also became part of the value. Big-D saw INKY as a partner that evolved alongside their needs, not a static product. “At INKY, they’re proactive and they reach out. They really do listen to our feedback and take it into consideration. A few of the things we wanted to see have now been implemented.”

Discovering more value than expected

What started as a visibility fix quickly reshaped how Big-D thought about email security’s role in the business. “You’ll find out that there is more to INKY than what you thought you needed,” McNabb said. “It opened our eyes to all the things we didn’t realize we needed.”

By combining real-time education, AI-driven detection, and a consistent user experience, INKY helped Big-D reduce risk without slowing work.