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Security Sleuths
8/25/2005
For three colleges, CDW·G is much more than a security products source-it's an end-to-end solution partner.
Until recently, network security wasn't really a priority for technologists at Barton County Community College (KS). Six years ago, the school didn't even have its network behind a firewall. More recently than that, nearly half of the school's computers lacked basic antivirus protections. However, as security problems mounted, school officials got wiser and purchased a barebones, software-based firewall from Sun Microsystems (www.sun.com). Finally, in 2003, after technologists recognized the limitations of their first firewall, they resolved to find something bigger, better, and bold enough to stop threats cold.
The only problem was the Barton technologists needed to find another solution. At first, Barton Systems Analyst Amy 'elke and Network Analyst Charles Perkins thought about researching strategies on their own. Then they considered firing off requests for proposals (RFPs) to a variety of vendors. Finally, they decided to get some guidance from CDW·G (www.cdwg.com), a wholly owned subsidiary of Vernon Hills, IL-based CDW Corp., specializing in computing solutions to educational institutions and government agencies. The company touts itself as offering expert advice, customer support, competitive pricing, and a vast product list tailored to fit the unique needs of its constituents. 'elke and Perkins felt they should give the company a try.
It was a good call: Representatives from CDW·G's Chicago office flew out immediately and interviewed 'elke and Perkins to determine the college's specific security needs. Once the team determined that the school wanted to stick with a software-based firewall, CDW·G set out to find the product that best matched Barton's needs.
"We were looking for someone who could help us navigate the complicated industry," 'elke says. "What we liked about CDW·G was that we could ask them, 'What are the products other schools are using?' and we knew we were going to get an honest answer."
Eventually, in the summer of 2004, that answer was the VPN-1 Pro from Check Point Software Technologies (www.checkpoint.com). CDW·G representatives suggested the product because it would help Barton technologists manage 14 physical and 31 virtual subnets from a single "dashboard." CDW·G team members say the product further hardened the network by performing stateful packet inspection at the network edge, scanning every bit and byte of traffic for viruses and other security threats. These solid product recommendations were more than enough for 'elke and Perkins who could then go to management to confidently make their case for funding. Within weeks, the duo had secured the funding to get their new security system into place.
Today, utilizing built-in application intelligence in the Check Point software, 'elke and Perkins can identify and block security threats in real time.
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