Zscaler > Case Studies > Zscaler and Okta: Powering Salmat’s Cloud-First Initiative

Zscaler and Okta: Powering Salmat’s Cloud-First Initiative

Technology Category

Cybersecurity & Privacy - Cloud Security
Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)

Applicable Industries

National Security & Defense
Telecommunications

Applicable Functions

Maintenance
Sales & Marketing

Use Cases

Tamper Detection
Traffic Monitoring

Services

Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
System Integration

About The Customer

Salmat is a leading ASX listed Australian marketing services business. The company partners with its clients to help them with the constant pressure of acquiring and servicing their customers. With media, digital and customer service capabilities, Salmat has the right solutions for their clients, enabling them to Reach, Convert and Serve their customers. The company has been on a transformative journey over the past few years, with a solid track record since 1979 and more than 6,000 clients. Salmat has grown organically and by acquisition, and operates across 20 sites in Australia, New Zealand, The Philippines, and Sri Lanka, with over 3,500 users.

The Challenge

Salmat, a leading Australian marketing services company, was grappling with a complex and outdated IT infrastructure. The company had grown organically and through acquisitions, resulting in a mixed bag of systems with no real standards, unsustainable customizations, and complicated integrations. The IT team was spending most of its time on maintenance tasks such as patching web proxies and updating security software, rather than focusing on delivering client solutions. The company was also struggling with product renewals and version upgrades. The outdated enterprise resource planning (ERP) system was a particular challenge. After implementing a cloud-based ERP solution, Workday, the company saw the value of the cloud and decided to embark on a full-scale cloud conversion initiative. However, they faced a security dilemma as they were unable to implement single sign-on for Workday with the existing on-premises solution.

The Solution

Salmat chose to implement Okta Identity Cloud, a cloud-based solution, to address the security issue. Okta’s adaptive authentication capability enabled Salmat to use a variety of methods to prompt for authentication and assign two-factor policies for groups and locations where it was needed most. The successful deployment of Okta gave the team the confidence to replace its unwieldy on-premises web proxy servers with a cloud-based solution. After a successful proof of concept, Salmat selected Zscaler Internet Access, part of the Zscaler Cloud Security platform. The Zscaler rollout enabled Salmat to reduce the overhead of web proxy management and focus resources on more valuable initiatives. The service is managed centrally and maintenance is consistent, streamlined, and significantly easier. The integration of Okta and Zscaler was simple and fast, providing seamless user-centric protection.

Operational Impact

The implementation of Okta and Zscaler has transformed Salmat’s IT operations. The company now has a streamlined and consistent IT infrastructure, with reduced maintenance overhead. The IT team is now able to focus on delivering client solutions rather than just keeping the lights on. The company has also achieved increased visibility into traffic across all their locations. The seamless Zscaler and Okta solution provides the secure underpinning for Salmat’s push to the cloud, virtually eliminating maintenance and hygiene issues. The company is now focusing on customer-facing, money-generating projects. The company is also planning to move more capabilities outside of the data center to the cloud, with plans to transition to a software-defined WAN (SD-WAN).

Quantitative Benefit

Reduced time and effort spent on maintaining and upgrading on-premises web proxies
Streamlined, consistent, and flexible user policy creation and enforcement, regardless of location or device
Complete visibility into cloud traffic through a centralized console