Casestudy ETEX

Global network security strategy to support rapid business growth.

ETEX is a Belgium based manufacturing company specialized in modular building solutions to enable fast, durable and affordable builds with respect to raw materials. The company is present in 42 countries with manufacturing sites ranging from South America, Africa, Europe, Middle East and Asia all the way to Australia, housing more then 13.000 employees in 101 locations. Etex’s IT department, located at Kapelle-op-den-Bos, Belgium is responsible for supporting all of the company’s sites.

Challenge

As production processes were ever expanding and becoming more demanding, Etex IT was struggling to support the versatile environment as a result from local business units investing in numerous point solutions. Often advised by local IT persons or local IT partners, the network contained a wide range of different network products and different brands, leading to a network and security environment that was out of control. Lack of control and visibility kept Etex IT chasing security incidents. Itbecame clear that a global security strategy was necessary.

Solution

Layer 9 Networks was responsible for the development of acentral network security strategy and opted for a security ecosystemthat would streamline security equipment across all Etex locations in the world.

By defining a mature security strategy, Layer 9 Networks was able to coordinate a global rollout of security standardization. The solution enhanced Etex its security posture by removing complexity and introducing a single pane of glass for networking and security.

Meanwhile, Etex has adopted a cloud-first strategy so they can leverage the agility and quick go to market capabilities. The security eco-system extends into the cloud and stretches the visibility and central management into the cloud. By introducing modern security solutions, the maturity level of the organization was able to reach the next level.

Now, Etex is looking to expand the eco-system into the OT environment leveraging the same advantages which provided their success in the IT environment.

“If we did not adopt our network security strategy, working remote for all 8000 office users would not have been so easy. Thanks to our security eco-system we were able to scale quickly and adhere to local COVID regulations in the world without any impact to our business and without compromising network security.”

-- Nicolas Minsart, Connectivity and Security Manager –

Factsheet:

Company: Etex

Founded: 1905

Location: Belgium

Industry: Manufacturing

Locations: 101

Countries: 42

Employees: 13.000

Business Impact

  • Central management and visibility
  • Simplified support
  • Quick and easy rollout with zero touch deployment
  • Increased security posture
  • Standardized security landscape
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