IoT Implementation in Furniture Manufacturing: A Case Study of Steelcase
Technology Category
- Cybersecurity & Privacy - Cloud Security
- Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Application Development Platforms
Applicable Industries
- Cement
- National Security & Defense
Applicable Functions
- Maintenance
- Product Research & Development
Use Cases
- Construction Management
- Tamper Detection
Services
- Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
- Training
The Customer
Steelcase
About The Customer
Steelcase is a globally recognized manufacturer of office furniture, founded in 1912. The company focuses on user-based research and design to create spaces for the world’s leading organizations. Steelcase operates globally and distributes through a network of independent and company-owned dealers, as well as selling directly to end-users. The company has always viewed technology as a key differentiator in its business and has been an early adopter of virtualization and cloud-based solutions. Recently, Steelcase introduced Workplace Advisor and Personal Assistant, a space sensing network and mobile app created to help organizations harness big data to optimize the workplace.
The Challenge
Steelcase, a renowned manufacturer of office furniture, has always viewed technology as a key differentiator in its business. The company recently introduced Workplace Advisor and Personal Assistant, a space sensing network and mobile app designed to help organizations harness big data to optimize the workplace. However, as Steelcase operates globally and distributes through a network of independent and company-owned dealers, as well as selling directly to end-users, the company faced challenges in securing its data both on-premises and in the cloud. The company had been using the Microsoft Azure platform for its web infrastructure and was developing a cloud-based e-commerce system using Amazon Web Services (AWS). However, the security controls and visibility provided with these cloud platforms were basic and not to the level of sophistication that Steelcase's policies required.
The Solution
Steelcase turned to Fortinet, a long-time partner, to supplement the gaps in the Microsoft and Amazon products. The company deployed Fortinet FortiGate next-generation firewalls (NGFWs) to secure its perimeter and for end-to-end protection. FortiAuthenticator provided Steelcase with centralized user identity management and simplified administration for authentication. FortiAnalyzer delivered a consolidated view and comprehensive reporting across all Fortinet devices in the widespread Steelcase environment. A cloud-based spam filtering service was replaced with the Fortinet FortiMail secure email gateway to provide powerful multi-vector detection and protection capabilities. As the company began ramping up its use of Azure, it leveraged the broad portfolio of Fortinet cloud-related solutions. Developers at Steelcase gained access to the Azure environment by using VPN tunnels established between on-premises FortiGate devices and a combination of the Fortinet FortiGate VM for Azure and FortiWeb VM web application firewalls (WAF) hosted in the cloud.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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