Forcepoint > Case Studies > Swiss Telecommunications Company Provides Managed Security Services to Financial Institutions Through a Deep Technical Partnership with Forcepoint

Swiss Telecommunications Company Provides Managed Security Services to Financial Institutions Through a Deep Technical Partnership with Forcepoint

Customer Company Size

Large Corporate

Region

Europe

Country

Switzerland

Product

Forcepoint NGFW

Tech Stack

Next Generation Firewall

Implementation Scale

Enterprise-wide Deployment

Impact Metrics

Cost Savings
Customer Satisfaction

Technology Category

Cybersecurity & Privacy - Network Security

Applicable Industries

Telecommunications
Finance & Insurance

Applicable Functions

Business Operation

Use Cases

Cybersecurity

Services

Software Design & Engineering Services
System Integration

About The Customer

The customer is a major telecommunications and managed services provider in Switzerland with more than 20,000 employees. The company provides telecommunications and managed IT services to businesses and government agencies across Switzerland. As a leading internet and mobile services provider in Switzerland, the company's mission is to help the country’s citizens and businesses embrace the opportunities of a networked future. The company functions as an integral part of the country’s connectivity, owning most of the country’s business-critical broadband network market and more than half of its mobile networks. As broadband and mobile connectivity edge closer to commodity status throughout the world, the company has leveraged its technological prowess to take its place in the fast-growing managed IT services business, notably in security.

The Challenge

The telecommunications company, a leading internet and mobile services provider in Switzerland, is an integral part of the country’s connectivity, owning most of the country’s business-critical broadband network market and more than half of its mobile networks. As broadband and mobile connectivity edge closer to commodity status throughout the world, the company has leveraged its technological prowess to take its place in the fast-growing managed IT services business, notably in security. As companies move to cloud-based and hybrid infrastructures, digitization and new technologies are creating new avenues for cyberattack. However, a current IT talent shortage is making staff security experts hard to find. This explains why, according to an ICT Security Study 2018 by MSM Research Ltd, fully half of IT security spending in Switzerland flows into the managed services sector. Of surveyed companies, 64% want to expand their collaboration with external service providers further. The company needed airtight security with protection against malware and evasions with zero downtime to keep Switzerland’s economy—as well as the world’s—operating without a hitch. A security failure could lead to a network outage, hindering thousands of financial transactions for customer banks and costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Worse, a security breach could disrupt or even crash worldwide financial markets.

The Solution

To provide its managed firewall services, the company partnered with Forcepoint. The company’s needs required it to work closely with Forcepoint’s R&D group in Helsinki, and the input was instrumental in helping Forcepoint make Forcepoint NGFW the solution it is today. The rapid, collaborative response convinced the company that it had chosen the right partner—one that would be there to address issues whenever they occur. Forcepoint NGFW proved a stable and reliable answer to the company’s needs, with unmatched security efficacy. Based on a 2018 NGFW test from security analyst NSS Labs, Forcepoint’s next generation firewall stopped 99.7% of attacks and blocked 100% of evasions, achieving the highest security efficacy score among NGFWs tested. Its stability is also well documented. An IDC Research report showed customers that switched to Forcepoint NGFW reduced maintenance-related downtime by 70% on average, through advanced clustering and software updates that can be deployed to all NGFW devices in minutes, not hours.

Operational Impact

Stable, high-availability service to the company’s managed firewall customers, including a large portion of the country’s financial institutions.
Ongoing cooperative relationship, including regular communications with research and development.
Forcepoint NGFW continues to deliver airtight, always-on security.
Forcepoint continues to offer quick responses to any issues and meet new needs through research and development.

Quantitative Benefit

Forcepoint’s next generation firewall stopped 99.7% of attacks and blocked 100% of evasions.
Customers that switched to Forcepoint NGFW reduced maintenance-related downtime by 70% on average.