UST Global's Transformation: From On-Premises Security to Cloud-Based Solution

UST Global is a leading digital technology organization that provides advanced services for public and private sector organizations around the world, including Fortune 500 companies across a broad spectrum of industries – banking and finance, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, technology, and more. The company has developed a unique global engagement model that combines local onsite resources with the cost and quality advantages of offshore operations. Headquartered in Southern California, UST Global has offices in Asia, South America, and Europe. The company was in the throes of rapid expansion and needed a way to centralize management for its web security, reduce spend on security appliances, and provide a more secure and consistent internet experience for users across its multiple worldwide locations.

UST Global, a leading digital technology organization, was facing challenges with its on-premises web security appliances. As the company expanded, it needed a centralized management system for its web security, a reduction in security appliance expenditure, and a more secure and consistent internet experience for users across its multiple worldwide locations. The existing approach was time-consuming and costly, with the IT team spending a significant amount of time setting up, upgrading, and managing appliances to maintain high availability. Frequent unplanned downtime resulted in performance issues that impacted employee productivity. Additionally, the company was burdened with steep hardware licensing and maintenance costs. The lack of consistency in the way branch offices handled security posed a significant challenge. Deploying security policies consistently across multiple devices was becoming increasingly difficult and expensive. The company also needed a better web security solution for its remote workforce of about 7,000 employees.

After evaluating multiple vendors, UST Global decided to adopt Zscaler Internet Access to monitor and manage all network traffic across the company. Over a two-month period, web security gateway appliances in each office location were removed, and all network traffic, including mobile, was directed to the Zscaler cloud-based security service. Zscaler Internet Access transformed UST Global’s security model with a direct-to-cloud security stack that protects users and offices across all the company’s locations. With no need for costly onsite hardware or software deployments, Zscaler applies multiple technologies, such as cloud firewall, content and URL filtering, and bandwidth control, to ensure internet security across every port and protocol. Zscaler checks all web requests and responses and logs complete transaction details. All user access to the internet is authenticated using SAML/ADFS services. The collected data is then used to create real-time reports, providing UST Global with full visibility to traffic and helping the IT team determine whether existing controls are effective and whether additional controls could be advantageous.

• The adoption of Zscaler Internet Access has significantly transformed UST Global's security model. The direct-to-cloud security stack has fortified security across all the company's locations without the need for costly onsite hardware or software deployments. The solution has also provided UST Global with full visibility to traffic, helping the IT team determine the effectiveness of existing controls and whether additional controls could be advantageous. The company now has a unified policy enforcement across global office locations, rapid and accurate threat detection and remediation, and improved protection of core IT assets from malware and cyber attacks. The solution has also resulted in significant cost savings by reducing dependence on security appliances. Furthermore, the IT team can now focus on tasks that add business value, like the recent migration to Microsoft Office 365.

• Unified policy enforcement across global office locations
• Rapid and accurate threat detection and remediation
• Reduced dependence on security appliances resulting in significant cost savings