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Geiger Brothers' Growth and Security Enhancement with Akibia and Check Point
Technology Category
- Cybersecurity & Privacy - Endpoint Security
- Networks & Connectivity - Gateways
Applicable Industries
- Cement
- National Security & Defense
Applicable Functions
- Sales & Marketing
Use Cases
- Remote Control
- Tamper Detection
Services
- System Integration
The Challenge
Geiger Brothers, a promotional products company, faced a significant challenge in 2005 when it acquired four companies and established four new offices. The company's 500 employees across 20 offices relied heavily on the centralized order management system and document image system, which contained 3 million documents, including all orders, sales receipts, and expense reports. The company was running a nearly entirely paperless operation, which increased the demand for secure and efficient remote access for employees. This demand was not only from executives who were frequently traveling for acquisitions and industry tradeshows but also from sales associates who wanted the flexibility to work from home or other locations. The challenge was to simplify remote access for executives and sales associates, create cost-effective, secure networks and connectivity in small office/home office (SOHO), speed up the deployment of new branch offices, and enable high availability and performance for data and voice.
About The Customer
Geiger Brothers is a family-owned business that has been operating since 1878. The company offers more than half a million products that can be personalized from a wide range of manufacturing partners. Customers can choose from the online Star Performers catalog of its most popular items, search the GeigerMall, or work with a promotional counselor to select the right promotional or motivational items. The company has 500 employees across 20 offices in the United States, all of whom rely on the company’s centralized order management system in Lewiston, Maine, and its document image system containing 3 million documents.
The Solution
To address these challenges, Geiger Brothers partnered with Check Point and Akibia, its long-time consultant for network and security solutions. Geiger securely connected all its branch offices to the Lewiston headquarters by site-to-site virtual private networks (VPNs) for both data and voice communications, using the Check Point VPN-1 Pro NGX release to provide the most fault-tolerant and secure links. With Akibia’s consultation and support, Geiger switched from frame relay to VPNs using Check Point solutions, achieving total payback on its investment in less than one year. To meet the growing employee demand for remote access, Akibia suggested SSL Network Extender, a browser-based applet that gives users access to Web and non-Web applications with all the security features provided by VPN-1 Pro. This solution required no software installation on user computers, simplifying the process and enhancing security.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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