In the Transport/Logistics industry – you’re either on-time or you’re out-of-business. Powerful global and government competitors don’t make survival any easier, yet Canpar has become a world-class competitor in this take-no-prisoners industry. In business, choosing the right partners makes all the difference so, when we encountered a critical Information Technology security condition, we understood what was at stake.

Security Exposures

Decades of dynamic growth had resulted in a multitude of legacy systems, which were under constant threat of exposure and increased risk. Our goal was to mitigate the risks associated with our IT infrastructure without interruption to our business critical production systems. We knew that a boost in our on-time delivery metrics would result in smoother operations, greater efficiencies and improved reliability; consequently boosting our position within the industry. It was time for a review of our IT systems with security as a key factor.

Business Challenges

Our primary challenge was to select an IT security partner who not only had a deep understanding of security solutions but also clearly understood our business concerns. We were looking for a long-term IT partner and not just another vendor supplied solution. We had previously worked with A2N on a firewall project so we knew they were a top tier boutique player in the security space, but we never truly understood the depth of their security expertise. It became very evident, early within our selection process that A2N, was best suited to collaborate. They inspired confidence and trust right from the start. Their resource bench is deep with technical experience; they listened to our concerns, and took the time to understand our business. A2N identified Internet-based threats as one of the primary risks to our IT systems. We were deeply concerned because we did not feel adequate security measures were in place to tackle issues such as; web viruses, malware/spyware, web-encrypted traffic, offensive content and other productivity “leeches”. We felt vulnerable. An enterprise-class web security solution was needed quickly but our time and expertise was limited; and with an ever-evolving and dynamic network infrastructure, the solution had to integrate fully without affecting our daily operations.

Secure Business Solutions

We wanted a solution we could just drop into the network but knew it wasn’t going to be that simple. With our complex network, A2N did not have an easy job. We were familiar with a number of solutions at a high level, but we lacked the ability to narrow down the right solution for Canpar and we were concerned that costs could skyrocket.

The A2N project team conducted a comprehensive assessment of our network and our business needs as they related to Web usage, activity and content and quickly shortlisted several ‘best of breed’ contenders. They reviewed the options with us, clearly articulating the pros and cons of each and demonstrated how they could seamlessly deploy the solution into our environment, methodically and with no network outages. In our opinion, A2N identified a winning solution that was not only cost-effective but creatively addressed all of our web security concerns.

Hand-over was another critical matter. Our IT staff is constantly busy and we cannot afford to have them away on training every time a new solution is deployed. A2N’s ‘open door’ approach to deployments’ helped encourage our team to be a part of the installation process as much as possible to gain valuable knowledge transfer. They took the time to explain how the solution worked and how to configure and manage it with the least amount of difficulty. Just as important, their post-project support was key to assisting us with policy tuning, monitoring and reporting.

Corporate Benefits

With the new solution up and running, benefits began flowing immediately. The most immediate being a dramatic decrease in network traffic ‘overhead’ due to a substantial reduction in non-business related web usage.

The corporate risk associated with employees viewing offensive web material was quickly nullified through a controlled URL filtering policy that offered a number of categories and features. More importantly, it allowed us to monitor and control Internet usage, which we were not able to do. Our employees were still able to do their work and use the Internet for their personal needs.

Malware within our environment was rapidly identified and blocked, resulting in a considerable decrease in endpoint infections from web viruses, botnets and other malware. This also resulted in a significant decrease in administrative time used for reimaging and rebuilding compromised systems.

Ultimately, A2N led Canpar through what we considered a complex project. With their help, we mitigated multiple risks with a single solution while enhancing our business processes and saving on operational expenses. Without a doubt we made the right choice in selecting A2N as our partner.