Sysmex Europe improves its security infrastructure with a consolidated security approach

“Check Point is a provider with a solution that enables me to cover a wide range of areas with one consistent interface, and modules that are all customized to complement one other.”
– Michael Ritter, Director IT Network & Technical Infrastructure, Sysmex Europe

Overview

Sysmex Europe
Sysmex Europe, a subsidiary of the Sysmex Corporation, is located in Norderstedt near Hamburg, Germany. Headquartered in Japan, the company is an international healthcare manufacturer and provider of innovative analysis devices and diagnostic laboratory services. Sysmex Europe is considered as the European headquarters, and supports local sales, maintenance and service in EMEA.

Business challenges

Improving the security infrastructure
Sysmex Europe has been using Check Point firewalls to protect itself from external network attacks for almost 20 years. With cyber attacks currently on the rise, the company decided it was time to refresh and improve its security infrastructure. “A company has to protect all its data,” explains Michael Ritter, Director IT Network & Technical Infrastructure, Sysmex Europe. “We are a company that has grown in recent years, not only in terms of employee numbers, but also bandwidth and network throughput.” The company’s existing firewall had become outdated, causing performance limitations and a capacity bottleneck.

Additionally, Sysmex was challenged with managing the open configuration for their system, which included several vendors. Moving to a system with one single vendor for hardware and software security through a consolidated security approach was key for better security.

Solution

Resolving capacity bottleneck with 6500 Turbo
The bottleneck had caused a number of problems for Sysmex, all resolvable with an expanded security solution from Check Point. With firewall 6500 Turbo, Sysmex can now prevent and block even the most sophisticated attacks. Additionally, the Next Generation Threat Prevention package provides comprehensive protection from known and unknown threats. It also contains antivirus, anti-bot, IPS, application control, URL filtering, and identity awareness features.

“We configured two machines as a cluster to ensure stability,” explains Ritter. A Virtual Private Network (VPN), which provides remote access for employees at home or on business trips, also runs on the firewall. This suite of products from Check Point gives Sysmex Europe a complete solution from a single source. “Check Point is a provider with a solution that enables me to cover a wide range of areas with one consistent interface, and modules that are all customized to complement one other,” adds Ritter. This made installation incredibly straightforward, allowing prompt integration of the new devices with the help of a technician.

Results

Check Point delivers a reliable tool
“We decided on Check Point because being able to make the transition within the software itself made integration simple,” says Michael Ritter. The new devices were connected to the existing ones without causing downtime or interruptions. The configurations were adopted and adjusted, and the old devices were then taken out of service. As the systems were available during the transition, users were able to continue working as normal.

“The tools Check Point offers are built differently, which makes them more reliable,” says Michael Ritter. “We are currently introducing the services step by step.” Ritter is satisfied with the solution’s price-performance ratio, ease of use, and its features. “The system is easily scalable up to a certain limit, so I have the freedom to add a few more users.”