Harland and Wolff

Famous Ship Builder Boosts IT Security, Eases Management with Integrated Solution

Harland and Wolff, founded in 1861, is a renowned Irish ship builder and engineering firm with approximately 250 employees. The company recently updated its IT infrastructure by deploying Microsoft® products and technologies, but it still lacked solid IT security protection for its employees’ computers. That presented a major challenge because the firm needs to closely guard its design and engineering information. In early 2007, Harland and Wolff implemented Microsoft Forefront™ Client Security, a new software security solution that helps protect computers from spyware, viruses, and other security threats. The company can now offer its IT administrators simplified management and improved reporting capabilities. Additionally, this new solution integrates well with the organization’s Windows®-based infrastructure while providing automated administration and improved protection.

Situation

Using Forefront Client Security, I can control security on all company computers in a way I never thought was possible.  Robert McIlwaine Group IT Executive Harland and Wolff

Harland and Wolff, based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is a ship manufacturing and engineering company that was founded in 1861. The 250-person company was originally known as a builder of large seagoing vessels, and between 1909 and 1914 it built such famous ships as the RMS Titanic and Olympic. Although it continues to build ships, Harland and Wolff is now involved in many other industries, including design and structural engineering and offshore construction.

As its business grows and diversifies, the company has sought to update its IT infrastructure, which until recently had been managed by an external technology consultant. Last year, Harland and Wolff decided to move its IT operations in-house. At that time, the IT environment included a mix of outdated products and technologies. “It was a mess, frankly,” says Robert McIlwaine, Group IT Executive, Harland and Wolff. “We needed to upgrade everything.”

To make that happen, the company engaged Business & Scientific Services (BSS), a Microsoft® Gold Certified Partner based in Belfast. BSS, an IT Solutions Provider based in Ireland, supplies and supports IT hardware and solutions for medium to large enterprise customers in government. BSS assisted Harland and Wolff in deploying an IT infrastructure based on the Windows Server® 2003 Enterprise Edition operating system. BSS also helped provide Harland and Wolff with an IT infrastructure roadmap to facilitate a smooth transition from older systems to the new Microsoft infrastructure. “It is a pleasure to work with such a dynamic IT team,” says Kieran Kelly, Senior Infrastructure Consultant, BSS.

With assistance from BSS, Harland and Wolff also deployed Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and implemented the Windows® XP Professional operating system and the Microsoft Office Outlook® 2003 messaging and collaboration client for employee computers.

However, even after the upgrade, Harland and Wolff still had one major area of concern: IT security. “The previous company had used several different third-party software security solutions,” says Paul Watson, Senior Consultant, BSS.

“Improvements were needed in antivirus protection for employee computers and our server computers. We lacked the ability to manage security updates and patches, and because of the incredible workload for our IT department, we were too busy to stay on top of malware and other threats.”

Harland and Wolff repair dock.

Security is particularly important for Harland and Wolff because the company needs to protect its proprietary design and engineering knowledge. “We have a lot of technically advanced engineering information stored on our computers, such as complex ship and bridge design calculations,” says McIlwaine.

The company frequently hires contract employees who work at the company’s main offices for several months at a time, using computers that are owned and managed by Harland and Wolff. “This posed an unacceptable risk,” admits Watson. “Some files represented 30 years of company knowledge, which is extremely valuable.”

Additionally, an increasing number of Harland and Wolff employees have begun traveling throughout Europe to work on new projects. Most of these workers take company laptops on these trips, making it difficult for the company’s IT administrators to manage security. “It was hard to control what those employees were doing on those computers, especially as they were connecting through customers’ networks,” says Watson. “We had limited ways of controlling viruses and spam.”

Harland and Wolff implemented a new security software solution last year, but soon realized that the third-party product did not integrate well with its new Windows®-based IT infrastructure. “We decided to look for something else,” says McIlwaine.

Solution

Before, we didn’t have any sort of visibility into our systems. Now, using Forefront Client Security, we can find potential problems.  Robert McIlwaine Group IT Executive Harland and Wolff

In 2006, McIlwaine attended a BSS technology seminar in Belfast, where he learned about the Microsoft Forefront™ line of business security products. McIlwaine was specifically interested in Forefront Client Security, which helps guard computers and server operating systems against spyware, viruses, worms, and other types of malware.

McIlwaine was also attracted by how well Forefront Client Security integrated with the Harland and Wolff Windows-based IT environment and Active Directory® service. “We had moved over to this completely new Microsoft environment, and we were really looking for a solution that would fit in with that,” he says. “Forefront Client Security also appeared to offer things we didn’t have before, such as more centralized management capabilities and reporting features.”

Harland and Wolff decided to implement Forefront Client Security in early 2007, enlisting the help of BSS to deploy the product on more than 200 Harland and Wolff PCs and laptops. Because of the solution’s solid integration with Active Directory and the rest of the company’s IT infrastructure, deployment was simple. In fact, working with BSS, Harland and Wolff was able to deploy the product within one week.

During the implementation of Forefront Client Security, BSS also helped the company to deploy Windows Server Update Services, which gives administrators the ability to easily manage and deploy updates across the entire IT infrastructure.

Benefits

With Forefront Client Security, Harland and Wolff has a security software solution that increases IT protection while providing simplified management and improved reporting capabilities for IT administrators. The solution also integrates fully with the organization’s Windows-based infrastructure and provides automated administration of the Harland and Wolff network.

Increased Protection

Forefront Client Security helps provide Harland and Wolff with real-time protection from viruses and spyware through the use of automated security updates, client device monitoring, and deployment of signatures. “Previously, we had limited antivirus protection,” McIlwaine says. “Security updates were infrequent because it took too much time and was too much of a burden on our staff. But now, with Forefront Client Security, we have a solution that is helping us be proactive on security and stay ahead of threats.” 

With Forefront Client Security and Active Directory, policies are automatically deployed. That takes a lot of the time and effort out of the systems administration process for us.  Robert McIlwaine Group IT Executive Harland and Wolff

Simplified Management

Forefront Client Security greatly simplifies IT security management for Harland and Wolff administrators. For example, the solution gives them the tools to quickly and easily deploy new security protection signatures and updates as soon as they are released. Forefront Client Security also simplifies the process of policy administration by using a single policy that configures antivirus and antispyware technologies for all protected computers. New policies can be created with preconfigured settings, and with the solution’s security alert level settings, administrators can easily set up and manage the type and number of alerts.

“Because of the simplified management capabilities, I can see where users are going and what they’re doing much more easily,” says McIlwaine. “As a result, I now have an excellent view into overall computer security in our environment, in terms of the patch levels of all computers. Using Forefront Client Security, I can control security on all company computers in a way I never thought was possible.”

Improved Reporting

Forefront Client Security also includes an advanced reporting functionality that helps administrators easily detect vulnerabilities and configuration issues. The solution’s security state assessment feature, for example, performs regular system checks of all system data. These checks result in security reports that use special risk criteria to identify areas of potential weakness. “The reports are not only easy to read, but they also give us a new level of confidence,” says McIlwaine. “Before, we didn’t have any sort of visibility into our systems. Now, using Forefront Client Security, we can find potential problems.”

Full Integration

McIlwaine and his fellow IT employees can also take advantage of the solution’s full integration with the existing Harland and Wolff Windows-based IT environment, which includes Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and Active Directory. “The integration is very important,” says McIlwaine. “First of all, Forefront Client Security fits in very well with Active Directory, so we can easily set our policies all the way through the environment. Also, we didn’t have to train staff on new products because they were already very familiar with the Microsoft technologies we had in place.”

Automated Administration

The solution’s integration with the Harland and Wolff environment also gives the company’s IT staff fully automated administrative capabilities. Using Windows Server Update Services, administrators can easily deploy and monitor updates throughout the infrastructure. “Windows Server Update Services allows us to schedule our updates so that patches take place automatically,” says Watson. “In fact, the entire security updating process is automatic and easy now, as is the deployment of Forefront Client Security itself.”

McIlwaine says he no longer needs to spend time setting up a new employee’s computer security configurations. “With Forefront Client Security and Active Directory, policies are automatically deployed. That takes a lot of the time and effort out of the systems administration process for us,” he says.

Partner Involvement

Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Business & Scientific Services (BSS) is an IT Solutions Provider based in Ireland. BSS assisted Harland and Wolff in implementing the Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition operating system and Forefront Client Security.

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 BSS products and services, visit the Web site at:
www.bsssoftware.com

For more information about Harland and Wolff products and services, call 44 (0)28 9045 8456 or visit the Web site at:
www.harland-wolff.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 November 2007