Summit Media Embrace the Future of Network Security with Barracuda's CloudGen Firewall

 

  • Summit Media
  • Providers of Performance Marketing Services
  • Based in Hull
  • Founded in 2000

Summit Media are performance marketing specialists who have grown internationally and partnered with some of the biggest brands in retail over the last 20 years.

They pride themselves on their retail experience, their business agility, their people, and their proprietary technology - combining all of these with their performance marketing expertise to drive measurable value for their customers.

  • Moving to the cloud
  • Outdated network protections
  • Limited timescale
  • Needed a solution that would work alongside existing VPN client

  • Barracuda Cloud Generation Firewall

    • Web Filtering
    • Remote Access
    • TINA VPN 
    • Advanced Threat Protection
    • Intrusion Prevention System

Firewall replacement for the cloud

Like many modern businesses, Summit Media faced the challenge of updating their cyber security technologies following their move to the cloud, and one of their biggest pain points was their on-premise network protection. As IT leaders in the marketing industry will know, maintaining network security and data continuity while keeping infrastructure up-to-date is essential. 

That's where Summit Media's IT Manager, Thomas Hudson, faced a challenge: with a limited timescale, he needed to move the organisation's data to the cloud and modernise their outdated network protections without causing disruption to Summit's operations or end users. Fortunately, Hudson's network protection improvements were achieved - with a winning combination of Barracuda Networks technology and Altinet's support as a managed service provider.

Smooth transition for in-house IT team

With the rapid advancement of IT technologies, on-premise networks are fast becoming obsolete. Many businesses are moving their operations into the cloud where data is instantly available, easily accessed & recovered. Corporate data is constantly at risk of being stolen by cybercriminals to leverage pay-outs or disrupt business operations so it's crucial for all organisations to establish high-quality cyber security measures. Upgrading to a Barracuda Cloud Generation Firewall is an excellent first step. 

"The different services we had tested before settling on Barracuda did not meet all of our requirements," said Hudson. "We chose the Barracuda CloudGen Firewall based in Azure, as this offered us a like-for-like service to replace our on-premise Barracuda firewall and it could be hosted without our current cloud network."

Summit Media's IT team was able to transition smoothly from their previous Barracuda solution to the new CloudGen Firewall due to their familiarity with the technology. Introducing Barracuda CloudGen Firewall also addressed one of Hudson's main concerns: allowing end users to continue using their current VPN client with minimal impact on their experience, which was possible due to the secure SD-WAN features and VPN tunnelling options. The advanced configuration options of CloudGen Firewall also allowed Summit to tailor the solution to best suit their specific needs, which helped to maintain the quality of the service Summit provides to end users as well. 

"The new firewall setup in Azure has meant that we're now able to fully decommission our on-premise firewall and move all our end users to the new setup with minimal impact or support required," said Hudson. Shifting from on-premise network firewalls to cloud-based infrastructure is a must for modern businesses, as demands for remote desktop protocols and working from home enter into our normal working practices. 

Fast implementation with dedicated support

Hudson was already familiar with Barracuda's network security offerings, but worked closely with Altinet to consolidate on Barracuda CloudGen Firewall - which offers the total flexibility and scalability of cloud-based solutions, optimised data monitoring, ease of recovery, and lower operating costs. 

"The whole setup only took a day, with some follow up calls with Barracuda and Altinet afterwards to go through some extras and best practice settings," Hudson says, "Altinet had set us up with multiple calls throughout the process and after the initial set up so we could go through all of the options available to us in the new firewall."

 

Going forward, Hudson and Summit Media will be able to expand their operations quickly and easily without compromising the quality or consistency of their service. Plus, upgrading to the cloud means that they can adapt to the ever-evolving technological landscape with staff and clients able to remotely access everything they need securely. 

 

About Barracuda CloudGen Firewall

Barracuda's CloudGen Firewall is made up of physical, virtual and cloud-based appliances that protect and enhance your dispersed network infrastructure. They deliver advanced security by integrating a comprehensive set of next-generation firewall technologies, including Layer 7 application profiling, intrusion prevention, web filtering, malware and advanced threat protection, anti-spam protection, and network access control.

Key Benefits:

  • Protect your data, users, and workloads wherever they are
  • Mitigate cyber-risks with a multi-layered security approach
  • Unparalleled cost savings
  • Stay ahead of new threats with Barracuda's global threat intelligence network
  • Simplify your security deployment in the cloud
  • Connect multiple locations and clouds with built-in SD-WAN
  

Top Features:

  • Advanced Threat Protection
  • Secure SD-WAN Capabilities
  • Unified Remote Access
  • Intelligent Network Perimeters
  • Once-only Central Management
  • Analytics and Reporting

 

Enquire