CASE STUDY reliable , 24 by 7 connectivity and an ability to monitor and control everything from a central location .”
With the project rollout coinciding with new government lockdown measures put in place to combat the rising global COVID-19 pandemic , the importance of centralised control was further elevated .
“ With restrictions on travel and increasing numbers of staff working remotely , the ability to push out central configuration changes and policy updates in real time proved invaluable ,” added Dawood . “ In the end , not only did we complete the rollout at a time when many projects were being postponed , but we had all 180 showrooms online within just three months .”
The combination of FortiOS and FortiGate purpose-built security processors ( SPU ) enabled comprehensive threat protection with the industry ’ s best performance as well as ultralow latency-even for secure sockets layer ( SSL ) encrypted traffic . Advanced SD-WAN features such as auto-discovery virtual private network ( ADVPN ) allow traffic to be routed directly between remote locations rather than via the HQ hub , which further simplifies management and improves application response times .
By combining the sophisticated intrusion prevention system ( IPS ) and application control of the FortiGate NGFWs with the endpoint protection provided by FortiClient , Oriental Weavers was able to lock down its OT and other traffic based on combinations of user , device and application protocol , and thus effectively eliminate a large range of potential attack vectors .
With a simple and friendly user interface , FortiClient uses SSL and Internet Protocol secure ( IPsec ) VPN to provide secure , reliable access to corporate data and applications from virtually any Internet-connected remote device . Built-in capabilities such as VPN autoconnect , always-up , Dynamic VPN Gateway Selection and split-tunnelling ensure a smooth user experience across all device types , whether connecting from home , remote branch , or public places . FortiManager provides Oriental Weavers with sophisticated centralised management and deep insight into network traffic and threats through a single pane of glass .
Dawood and his team now have full control and visibility over the entire infrastructure with FortiAnalyser for centralised logging , reporting , and analysis . The result is less time spent firefighting and more time optimising and planning . The final crucial component of any Fortinet solution is the threat intelligence delivered by FortiGuard Labs . Gathering threat information from customer networks and a global community of threat partners around the world , Fortinet ’ s analysts
Business Impact
• Enhanced customer experience through faster , smoother transaction processing
• Ensured compliance with new digital invoicing mandate from the tax authority
• Increased security and data privacy
• Reduced communications costs by up to 80 % at multiple locations
• Reduced risk of downtime from security incidents or equipment failure
• Configured 180 showrooms online within just three months
Products
• Fortinet Secure SD-WAN
• FortiGate
• FortiClient
employ the latest Machine Learning ( ML ) and Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) tools to process over 100 billion events per day . This collection , correlation and automated delivery of real-time threat intelligence back to Fortinet ’ s products provides Oriental Weavers and all Fortinet customers , with comprehensive and actionable security updates across the full range of threats encountered .
Looking to the future
In the months following completion of the SD-WAN rollout , Oriental Weavers was able to reduce their branch communications costs by up to 80 % with zero downtime in applications availability . Real-time access to critical data and applications has led to faster transaction processing , which in turn has driven greater efficiencies in stock and logistics management . The effect has transformed the overall customer experience , while further reducing operating costs .
Not content to rest on their laurels , however , Dawood and team are now considering reinforcing their resilience to network failure and cyberattack through unified event correlation and risk management . The Fortinet security information and event management solution , FortiSIEM , uses ML to detect unusual user and entity behaviour analytics ( UEBA ) without the need to create complex rules . Such an approach can help to identify both insider and inbound threats that might otherwise pass traditional defences . High-fidelity alerts then prioritise which threats require immediate attention .
“ The project so far has proven a great success . The customers are happy with the improved service , the executives are happy with the lower risk profile and
• FortiManager
• FortiAnalyser
• FortiSIEM
operating costs , and my team is happy to have more time to focus on new challenges ,” he said . p
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