Commerce Media plans for a secure future with StoneGate
When internet business systems specialist Commerce Media needed a security solution that
would guarantee up-time and support its evolving requirements for the future, it turned to
Stonesoft’s StoneGate Platform.
Commerce Media demanded a cost-effective and reliable system that would enable it to expand
its own data centre facilities while reducing communication costs as the company grows to encompass
more sites. StoneGate was the only solution that fitted the bill.
" A business can come to us when it requires e-commerce and Internet trading capabilities, and we can provide all the services they need, from consultancy to design and hosting, to get them up-and-running on the Internet."
What really differentiates Commerce Media is its international standard ISO 27001 accreditation. The company was proud to be the first dedicated internet solutions provider to be awarded the internationally adopted standard for information security management, BS7799, in 2002 and was one of the first in the UK to upgrade to the ISO 27001 accreditation. Even today only 149 companies - including Stonesoft - enjoy this level of accreditation and, Robertson maintains, it underpins everything Commerce Media does.
As well as developing internet services, Commerce Media also works as a hosting company, delivering data centre services on behalf of clients. Robertson explains:
" This is why we required an ’always-on’ security solution. As a host we absolutely cannot let our systems fail, because unnecessary downtime would have repercussions for all the customers that trust us with their business."
Commerce Media opted for Stonesoft’s flagship product, the StoneGate Platform, a flexible security system that can scale to comprise High Availability Firewall, Multi-Link VPN, IPS and Unified Management Center elements. StoneGate appliances and software provide businesses with secured, optimized, and resilient connectivity, while preventing damage from attacks.
Over the five years we have used the solution it has been very cost-effective and has delivered excellent return on investment."
Michael Robertson, Director, Commerce Media
For Commerce Media, StoneGate now provides a primary high-availability firewall, plus load-balancing features which balances loads between multiple data feeds and includes built-in resilience.
Commerce Media previously used a third-party hosting company, but found service levels were disappointing when using this external provider and led to higher costs than they were willing to pay. Due to its commitment to customer service, Commerce Media demanded greater functionality and tighter control over its systems, plus more flexibility and ease of use, and, importantly, reduced costs. These were the factors that led Commerce Media to decide to bring hosting in-house.
" The beauty of the Stonesoft solution is that it provided everything we needed, for an affordable price, and it ticks along quite nicely! The solution is very robust so the maintenance and running costs remain low. Over the five years we have used the solution it has been very cost-effective and has delivered excellent return on investment," says Robertson. " Also, the console facility provides useful information and alerts when irregular traffic patterns do occur."
The solution was originally recommended by a specialist security consultancy that advised Commerce Media when decisions were being made to bring hosting systems in-house, and the company saw a requirement to adopt sophisticated load balancing and high-availability firewall technology. StoneGate was identified as the ideal solution to satisfy all Commerce Media´s requirements.
Due to its scalability, the StoneGate platform has grown with Commerce Media throughout periods of rapid evolution as a business. Robertson explains: " During the first few years we provided services to a large number of small businesses. A few years in we made a conscious decision to re-model our business to cater for a smaller amount of large customers, one of which is the Ministry of Defence. The flexibility of the systems has allowed Stonesoft to remain with us through this transition."
Following the company’s positive experience with the hardware, Commerce Media has now upgraded to the latest version of the StoneGate Platform, in order to implement VPN (virtual private network) technology included in the product. Robertson concludes:
" Commerce Media is growing. We now have two sites that are linked through a leased line, but this system is currently expensive and inflexible and we would like to replace it with a VPN. The VPN, once set-up, will provide further benefits as it will mean staff will no longer be tied to working from one site, and will be able to log-on from home or on the move."
About Commerce Media
Commerce Media is a dedicated provider of business system solutions based upon e-commerce
technologies. Established in 1999, CommerceMedia became the first dedicated internet solutions
provider to achieve certification toBS7799, the internationally adopted standard for information
security management, in 2002 and has recently become one of the first in the UK to achieve the new
ISO 12007 international standard.
The company operates its own secure data centre in Cumbria and has a growing list of clients in
the public and private sectors.
www.commercemedia.net.