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Bloxx Lowers Total Cost of Ownership for Web Filtering at AAF Ltd

Background

AAF is a leading supplier of air filtration solutions around the globe. From its world headquarters in Kentucky, USA, the company maintains operations in 22 countries with more than 2,600 employees worldwide and has sales offices in 26 locations. 249 staff are located in Cramlington, Northumberland serving its UK-based customers.

The company’s clean air products and systems offer the most comprehensive clean air solutions available in the world. Its products are the industry benchmarks for quality and performance, from simple roughing filters, to air pollution control, to gas containment removal, to the highest efficiency filters used in the most stringent clean environments.

AAF Limited has been operating since 1921 and is now owned by Daikin Industries Limited based in Osaka, Japan, a diversified international manufacturing company and a global leader in air conditioning.

The Challenge

AAF provides Internet access to its employees for business purposes and needed to be sure that they were providing a safe online environment that protects staff, the IT infrastructure and the reputation of the company. The company found that its previous solution from Websense wasn’t providing the lower cost of ownership and easy-to-manage Web filtering solution that they were looking for.

Steve Porritt, Network & Database Administrator at AAF Limited said, “For a few years now we have operated an Internet Usage Policy for Web filtering by staff at the company. We found that the subscription model offered by Websense meant that the total cost of ownership for Web filtering at the company was increasing and we had to spend too much time managing our Web filtering rather than focusing on more important IT-related tasks.”

The Solution

In 2010, the company turned to Bloxx for help.

The company replaced its Websense Web Filter with the Bloxx 250W appliance, powered by Bloxx’s Tru-View Technology real-time categorisation engine and has been reaping the benefits.

Today the company is monitoring and managing the Internet browsing activity of over 150 members of staff providing superior real-time protection from offensive or productivity-draining Web content whilst limiting the risk to the network and protecting the reputation of the company.

“As a multi-national organisation, we need to deliver all the functionality our staff need when using the Internet but ensure that they are fully protected from the nasty stuff on the Web. We are delighted with the Bloxx Web Filter. We have more functionality in an appliance that is easier to maintain and cheaper to run than our previous Web Filter,” explains Porritt.

The Results

The company has been using the Bloxx Web Filter for a few months now.

Porritt adds, “We currently have about 150 users managed by the Bloxx Web Filter with more being added. We have created Internet acceptable use policies defined by job role and to aid compliance, we consult the reports and logs weekly or more frequently if required to identify any potential misuse of Internet access and speak with the individuals involved in order to keep them focused on the job in hand.”

With an appliance-based Web filtering solution, the company has even more control over the Web filtering at its facility and the Internet sites that need to be recategorised.

“Our staff know that we can quickly block sites or recategorise blocked sites so that there is no impact on the company’s business. This has cut down help desk time and the frustration felt by our staff over blocked sites,” adds Porritt.

The whole process from purchase through to installation and ongoing management has been easier and more cost-effective.

Porritt explains, “Installation went very smoothly due to the very helpful and knowledgeable Bloxx engineer. The ongoing support we have required has been minimal but any issues we have faced have been resolved very quickly by Bloxx’s excellent UK based support team.”

The company has saved money and increased Web filtering capabilities and staff protection with Bloxx Web filtering.

Porritt concludes, “We purchased a three year deal with Bloxx for the 250W appliance, which was significantly lower than the Websense subscription renewal. We have also saved man hours due to the easy configuration, management and maintenance of the Bloxx Web Filter. We have significantly lowered our total cost of ownership of Web filtering with Bloxx as well as improving Web access performance and increasing staff protection. Great job Bloxx.”