When CompUSA tapped integrator BlueVantage to
assess its network traffic flow, the computer retailer uncovered a
rather alarming trend: Peer-to-peer (P2P) applications were eating up a
sizable chunk of bandwidth as employees downloaded them for music,
audio, video and other non-work-related files.
"So many people have downloaded those types of applications into the
corporate world. All that sharing clogs up the bandwidth," said Dave
Schell, director of business development at solution provider
BlueVantage, based here.
BlueVantage's Dave Schell
says Blue Coat's Web security app was perfect for managing
CompUSA's bandwidth issues. |
P2P applications such as Kazaa turn the corporate
desktop into a server for everyone in the world wanting a certain song.
"And that's the abuse part," Schell said. "Then there's the security
risk. People are downloading an application and running it as a virtual
server on their desktop, and there are some customizable features that
can absolutely annihilate a secure network."
To solve the problem for Dallas-based CompUSA, BlueVantage deployed a
Web security appliance from Blue Coat Systems, Sunnyvale, Calif.
"I knew Blue Coat had the best answer in the marketplace to stop that
[P2P] cold," Schell said.
BlueVantage packaged Blue Coat's SG6000 appliance with a
content-filtering service. The appliance sits inside CompUSA's firewall
platform and enforces security policies on Web traffic, thus allowing
the retailer to control use of P2P and other non-work-related Web
resources.
"Blue Coat has given us the ability to filter content from the
network. ... It reduced network traffic and bandwidth utilization by 20
percent. We recouped that bandwidth," said Ken Monroe, director of WAN
and telecommunications at CompUSA. Recouping that bandwidth is allowing
the company to deploy new applications without needing to buy more
bandwidth, he said.
By calculating the number of employee hours previously spent on file
sharing and non-work Web sites, Monroe estimates that the solution is
saving the company about $20 million annually in increased productivity.
That estimate was based on saving 15 minutes a day per employee
working at an average of $20 per hour, he said. CompUSA has
approximately 15,000 employees on its network.
"It's an easy ROI to validate," Schell said. "It doesn't have a lot
of moving parts."
The ROI calculation was a key component in presenting the project to
management, Monroe said. Also, he didn't want to propose a capital
expenditure, so Schell put together a service offering. CompUSA
outsources the technology from BlueVantage, but the equipment is on
CompUSA's premises.
"The service costs just under $120,000 annually, less than 1 percent
of the $20 million CompUSA is saving with it," Monroe said.
"For something like this to work, you have to have the cooperation of
upper management, and upper management backed us 100 percent," he said.
P2P applications can be very difficult to block in the network
because they are "chameleon applications" that try to hide themselves
and seek out different ports, but Blue Coat prevents that, Schell said.
Right after the Blue Coat implementation, some employees complained
that they needed access to music or chat sites, but after three or four
weeks they settled down, Monroe said. "Users became used to the fact
that if it's inappropriate and not for business, you won't get there,"
he said, adding that the Blue Coat solution can give authorized
employees access to certain Web sites.
Schell said the security features of the Blue Coat appliance
strengthen a company's traditional security infrastructure. CompUSA
deploys it along with other security systems, including
intrusion-detection and antivirus software.
"The security features of Blue Coat, combined with a good security
policy and a good technology solution, bring you closer to the dream of
having a locked-down yet accessible information highway," Schell said.
