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October 27, 2020

Delivering Secure Cloud Transformation utilising the Zscaler Cloud Security Platform

Background & Overview
Established in 1996 Currencies Direct was the first non-bank foreign exchange provider in Europe. Today, Currencies Direct stands out in the foreign exchange industry for its unique combination of payments technology with personalised support, offering straightforward payments solutions to businesses operating in international markets.

Currencies Direct selected Comtact Ltd. to deliver a project managed deployment of Zscaler’s Cloud Security platform, as part of a secure cloud transformation programme.

Project Requirements
Currencies Direct have grown by acquisition and have a global presence across the 4 businesses spanning multiple countries; each with different types of users, devices, location which brings its own deployment challenges.

Today’s traffic often goes straight to the cloud, bypassing traditional perimeter security, with mobile and remote workers connecting direct to the internet – using multiple devices.

As a result, the project objectives were to transform the way applications are accessed and security controls are enforced. With 1000+ users, spread over 26 sites in 8 countries globally, the project objective was to:

  • Transforming security infrastructure, with local internet breakouts
  • Secure and enabling of remote and mobile workers
  • Unification of security services, simplifying and reducing administration

The Challenges       
The majority of users were concentrated in 3 main regional headquarters, but with many small branch offices. There were also an ever-increasing number of remote workers.

Other challenges Currencies Direct were facing included:

  • Support centred in the UK.
  • Growth by acquisition
  • Global Standardisation of Security Solutions, Policies & Practices
  • Mixture of devices and IT users across the organisation.

The Solution
A mid-sized branch site was identified as a test site. The service was then incrementally and systematically rolled out over the course of a week, with several prescribed tests built around business-critical applications to measure the success of the Zscaler deployment.

As per the project plan, the successful Zscaler deployment not only ensured a smooth transformation with minimal business disruption, but also leveraged the strengths of Zscaler’s cloud security platform, delivering on the defined goals.

Benefits of Zscaler for Currencies Direct
Zscaler Internet Access has moved Currencies Direct’s entire security stack to the cloud with integrated security services that correlate data instantly for high-security protection.

  • Transform security infrastructure, with local internet breakouts:
    Enabling direct-internet connections via Zscaler delivered a fast & secure user experience, without the need to re-architect existing infrastructure.
  • Secure and enabling of remote and mobile workers: By moving the security stack to the cloud, Currencies Direct ensured all users and locations were protected, regardless of location or device, following the user wherever they go.
  • Cloud security stack: Unification of security services delivers multiple protection technologies, working in unison to stop threats while simplifying the time and complexity of administration.