Cable&Wireless

Integrated Security Solution Makes Protection Easy for Global Telecommunications Firm

Cable&Wireless is a Microsoft® Gold Certified Partner that provides telecommunications and IT solutions to companies worldwide. Because many of its customers are challenged by spam, viruses, and other threats, Cable&Wireless helps them secure their IT environments through security solutions based on Microsoft technologies. In 2006, to coincide with a migration to Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, the organization upgraded its managed services infrastructure to the new Microsoft Forefront™ Security for Exchange Server solution, which provides advanced protection against security threats. As a result, it has a security product that integrates well with its existing IT infrastructure, provides simplified IT administration, and gives solid protection as Cable&Wireless migrates its managed services from Exchange Server 2003 to Exchange Server 2007.

Situation

Cable&Wireless is an international communications company based in London, England.

Using Forefront, we’re able to easily secure our managed services infrastructure and also help our customers stay ahead of their own security challenges.  Tim Appleyard Product Manager Cable&Wireless

A Microsoft® Gold Certified Partner, Cable&Wireless operates through two separate business units: International and UK. The International unit operates integrated telecommunications companies in 33 countries and offers mobile, broadband, domestic, and international telephone services to a range of customers. The UK business unit provides IT solutions to enterprises in the United Kingdom, the United States, continental Europe, and Asia. These solutions include Internet Protocol (IP) and data services, voice mail and e-mail systems, managed hosting services, and unified communications solutions. The organization as a whole employs more than 3,000 people in offices throughout the world and has customers in 80 countries.

Security is also a key customer focus area for Cable&Wireless. The company helps customers stay ahead of security challenges by providing them with multifaceted security solutions based on Microsoft technologies. “Most of our customers are large enterprises that use a lot of integrated communications and rely on mobile devices and remote e-mail access,” says Tim Appleyard, Product Manager, Cable&Wireless. “Security is absolutely their main challenge, particularly customers in the financial services area.”

A major challenge these customers face is the threat of spam, malware, and viruses. “One of our biggest customers actually reported 90 percent of all their incoming e-mail messages as spam,” remarks Appleyard. “The problem was huge.”

To help customers protect their computers, devices, and server operating systems, Cable&Wireless offers comprehensive managed security services. These include: firewall services to protect against unauthorized access; e-mail virus protection as well as antispam and filtering services; secure remote access services; and other managed solutions and consulting services.

Like many enterprises, Cable&Wireless also has its own internal security challenges. “We’re faced with spam and virus threats as well,” says Justin Barker, Messaging Specialist, Cable&Wireless. “It’s critical that we manage those challenges, because we need to be seen as a security expert by our customers. So securing our own servers and applications is one of the ways in which we ensure good service to customers.”

The company’s IT infrastructure is based on the Windows Server® 2003 Enterprise Edition operating system. In addition, the organization uses Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 for e-mail messaging.

For the past eight years, Cable&Wireless had used Sybari Antigen security software products to protect its managed services and messaging infrastructure. The company continued to use these products after Microsoft acquired the technology and relaunched it as Microsoft Antigen for Exchange. When Microsoft announced last year that it had further revamped the products and made them a part of Microsoft Forefront™ Security for Exchange Server, Cable&Wireless was immediately interested in using this technology.

Solution

We already knew this would be a stable, secure management product that would work well for us. We had no reason to even consider another security product.  Justin Barker Messaging Specialist Cable&Wireless

Because Cable&Wireless had used Antigen security products successfully for so many years, the company was already familiar with the Microsoft Forefront Security for Exchange as the next version of Antigen.

Cable&Wireless was confident that Forefront Security for Exchange Server would easily integrate with its existing managed services IT environment, which was based on Exchange Server 2003 and other Microsoft technologies. “We had a great experience with Antigen,” says Barker. “It provided us with a stable, secure, easy-to-use security product. We had every reason to believe that Forefront would provide that as well.”

In late 2006, Cable&Wireless deployed Forefront Security for Exchange Server throughout its managed services environment. Forefront helps protect the company’s customers against viruses, spam, and other threats. It manages multiple antivirus scan engines in layers across the e-mail infrastructure, which helps prevent security threats before they can affect the Exchange Server infrastructure and user mailboxes. The software is centrally managed and integrates with the existing Cable&Wireless Active Directory® service and Group Policy.

Forefront also gives Cable&Wireless managed service administrators the ability to manage Exchange Server 2003 configuration and operation through automated antivirus updates and systems reporting. In addition, the solution contains a flexible configuration tool that administrators can use to define protection configurations and apply them to different servers automatically. This can further boost security because it helps assure administrators that policy settings for filtering and management are consistent.

Cable&Wireless also plans to implement Microsoft Forefront Security for SharePoint®, which will help the company protect its SharePoint sites by filtering documents that have malicious code or other threats.

Benefits

Forefront Security for Exchange Server integrates seamlessly with the company’s managed service infrastructure, which is based on Microsoft servers and products. The new security software solution provides Cable&Wireless with simplified IT administration and excellent protection for customers’ servers and end users during migration from Exchange Server 2003 to Exchange Server 2007. Forefront will also improve spam filtering for both Cable&Wireless and its enterprise customers.

Because we can still protect our previous version of Exchange Server during deployment of Exchange Server 2007, we have consistent protection for both the existing and new platform.  Tim Appleyard Product Manager Cable&Wireless

Seamless Integration

Forefront Security for Exchange Server integrates seamlessly with the Cable&Wireless managed services infrastructure. “Not only had we already been using Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, Active Directory, and other Microsoft technologies. Antigen integrated well with those, and Forefront fits in even better,” says Appleyard. “That’s also a selling point for our customers, most of whom use Microsoft technologies in their infrastructures.”

Also, because Cable&Wireless used Antigen to protect its customer-facing environments, it knew that upgrading to Forefront was the right choice. “We already knew this would be a stable, secure management product that would work well for us,” says Barker. “We had no reason to even consider another security product.”

Simplified Administration

Forefront provides Cable&Wireless with the ability to simplify administrative tasks, because of the product’s automated antivirus update features and configuration tools. “It’s a very straightforward product to use,” says Barker. He mentions the Forefront solution’s new automated management console, which IT administrators can use to choose which antivirus scanning engines are operating. “There’s much less monitoring involved, and that makes the entire IT management process easier.”

Protection During Migration

Forefront also gives Cable&Wireless excellent protection against security threats while their customers migrate from Exchange Server 2003 to Exchange Server 2007. During migration, Cable&Wireless can take advantage of new security features already built into Exchange Server 2007 while also protecting its previous Exchange Server 2003 system with Microsoft Antigen for Exchange. “Because we can still protect our previous version of Exchange Server during deployment of Exchange Server 2007, we have consistent protection for both the existing and new platforms,” says Appleyard. “We don’t have to worry about security during migration.”

Improved Spam Filtering

The Forefront solution will ultimately provide Cable&Wireless with improved spam filtering capabilities, which the company can also offer its customers as it helps them implement their own security solutions based on Forefront. “We need to give our customers solutions that take away their worry about spam and viruses,” says Barker. “In fact, we don’t even want them to think about security at all. Forefront allows us to provide them with that assurance, through multiple levels of security.”

Adds Appleyard, “Using Forefront, we’re able to easily secure our managed services infrastructure and also help our customers stay ahead of their own security challenges.”

For More Information

For more information about Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (877) 568-2495. Customers who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can reach Microsoft text telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234 in the United States or (905) 568-9641 in Canada. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to:
www.microsoft.com

For more information about Cable&Wireless products and services, call 44 (0) 20 7315 4000 or visit the Web site at:
www.cw.com

Microsoft Forefront Product Portfolio

The Microsoft® Forefront™ comprehensive line of business security products provides greater protection and control through integration with your existing IT infrastructure and through simplified deployment, management, and analysis. Forefront is a comprehensive solution that helps provide protection for the client operating system, application servers, and the network edge.

For more information about the Forefront product portfolio, go to:
www.microsoft.com/forefront

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Document published March 2007