How Next Gen Firewalls are Increasing Your Business Profitability
Shrinking or flat IT security budgets and personnel; this is what many organizations of any size are facing daily. However, the security threats and compliance requirements continue to grow and become even more complex.
In response, many companies have implemented single security solutions on a reactive basis. For example, they might have started with a traditional firewall to protect their network, then implemented a web content filtering gateway and then added a dedicated intrusion prevention system (IPS/IDS) solution. Nevertheless, each of these solutions can come at a high cost and requires a single specialist to administer and manage; the overall total cost of ownership (TCO) goes through the roof! And these pain point solutions can leave gaping holes between them, exposing the business to potential security breaches and compliance violations, instead of helping mitigate the risks: this can’t be!
The advent of faster hardware and cores has allowed for the consolidation of once stand alone security solutions into a single appliance – Next Generation Firewalls (NGFWs). They provide dramatic improvements in protection versus traditional firewalls, particularly in dealing with today’s more sophisticated and rapidly changing threat landscape. They allow organizations of all size to do more with less and therefore save money!
In the UK, BskyB’s mobile Wi-Fi service, The Cloud, needed to upgrade the content filtering it provided, as it was becoming increasingly difficult to scale the service, and the performance was at risk. The Cloud selected SonicWall NGFW (SuperMassive 9000 series) with its content filtering service, which reduced upgrade work by 75 percent and ensured cost-effective WiFi service performance, delivering twice the capability at a quarter of the cost. Going forward, The Cloud can also use the additional NGFW security capabilities at no additional costs, and benefit from a more straightforward CapEx forecasting.
In Spain, Benetton looked to enhance store operation and productivity across the country by gaining better control of network connections between its stores and its head office. Efficiency is at the forefront of the company’s goals to deliver enhanced customer services at a lower cost.
The company chose SonicWall NGFW to connect and protect its stores and achieve its business goals. By replacing a traditional firewall with a NGFW technology, Benetton Spain ensures the complete protection of their network, while spending 39 percent less compared to their legacy solution; this is very critical to them, as they are able to fund new IT projects from the savings. Another key benefit of implementing a NGFW is in-store personnel productivity, thanks to the content filtering service and application firewall functionality; now shop assistants can access the Benetton Spain website and other sites that helps them deliver a better service to customers. At the same time, users from the marketing department have access to a full range of sites, including social media, which they need for their job, while protecting the network from potential cyber attacks. Also, as a retailer, Benetton Spain has to comply with numerous safeguards like PCI DSS to protect consumer data and credit card details. Because SonicWall NGFW provides IPsec VPN and a gateway AV service, Benetton Spain can tick the PCI DSS compliance box.
As these two particular examples demonstrate, the financial benefits of the NGFW technology are real and very much tangible, from improving employees’ productivity, to better customer service, operational cost savings and allocating budget to other IT projects, and meeting compliance requirements.
The threat landscape is changing rapidly with new types of malware, cybercriminals have become increasingly sophisticated and coordinated in their attacks. They are out to exploit every vulnerability, and if your organization is not taking advantage of the advanced protection offered by NGFWs, then you are at increased risk of a successful attack. Deploying a NGFW will provide the network protection you need, but will also help you to improve efficiency and save up some money you can re-invest into your business!
