Credit: The Dempsey Group
Melbourne-based IT service provider Blue Connections has revamped the network security posture for interiors retailer The Dempsey Group.
During the seven-month project, Blue Connections deployed Fortinet’s FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall, among a host of other solutions to give the Group more visibility and centralised management of its networking security.
The 62-year-old Dempsey Group, which has the brands Bed Bath N’ Table and Domestic Textile, tapped the provider after discovering that its network router security was dated and coming up to end-of-life (EOL), leaving it vulnerable to security breaches.
Concerned that cyber attackers would target the unpatched vulnerabilities, thereby accessing business networks and customer data, the Group sought help to avoid any risks.
Lui Di Sarno, IT operations manager at The Dempsey Group, said the company tapped Blue Connections due to their existing relationship.
Due to the company's scale, 180 stores across Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore, scoping out its networking posture took around three months.
“Within The Dempsey Group’s ageing solution there were legacy problems, including routers providing basic security, that couldn’t support the throughput that was required,” said Paul Wilson, practice manager of networks, security and comms at Blue Connections. “At the same time, the network was not using the latest firewall security prevention techniques, which could put the company under threat from multiple attacks. “
Credit: Blue Connections Blue Connections decided to leverage its partnership with Fortinet, turning to its FortiGate Next Generation Firewall for use in its stores. The solution was used to replace Dempsey's existing Cisco solutions over a four-month period.
In addition, Blue Connections deployed Fortinet’s Unified Threat Protection (UTP) bundle subscription and its FortiEDR for end-point security.
“Blue Connections is proud of the project design and delivery, which was executed in a short timeframe for a project of this size and scale,” Wilson said. “The Dempsey Group has now positioned itself well for the future with a long-standing, proven technology that provides the broad, powerful, and automated protection that it needs across its environment.”
Tim Fitzgerald, channel director at Fortinet, said Blue Connections had “exceptionally handled” the project.
“Fortinet worked closely with Blue Connections in defining a repeatable and standardised approach to retail store network infrastructure while ensuring the network edge was fully secured and simple to co-manage with Dempsey’s internal team,” he added.
