appwan regional bank alliance technology group case study netfoundry

How We Helped A Regional Bank Save $500,000 Per Year

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    Summary

    How a Regional Bank Saved $500,000 Per Year With NetFoundry & Alliance Technology Group

     

    This case study focuses on a state-chartered bank with a corporate office, two data centers, and 22 branch locations. They have been in business for over 100 years, and pride themselves on having local decision making authority and using advanced technology to be responsive and knowledgeable, while offering reliable service to their clients. They have grown to over $700 million in assets and have 150+ employees.

    Thanks to Alliance Technology Group and NetFoundry, a complex MPLS network was greatly simplified using the NetFoundry platform to connect all 22 branches, cloud disaster recovery services, and two data centers. The transformation resulted in a less-costly, more reliable corporate network with the ability to completely provision new branches within two weeks, regardless of location. To top it off, the solution outlined in this case study saves the bank over $500,000 per year.

    CLOUD DISASTER RECOVERY & BRANCH CONNECTNetFoundry & Alliance Technology Group Partner To Bring Secure, Software-Only Application-Specific Networking To Regional BanksSECURITY & AGILITY: APPLICATION-CENTRIC NETWORKINGWith digital transformation becoming the norm in the finance industry, the network has to evolve to better serve agile, distributed business-led applications. Traditional networking approaches such as MPLS, SD-WAN, and IP VPNs cannot meet the challenges of today. They are are location, hardware, and service-provider specific. Thriving in a world of constant digital transformation requires application-centric networking, where the network is an integral component of application development and operations life cycles, alongside databases and other related components.NetFoundry is a software-only solution that enables our customers and partners to instantly spin up secure, performant, application-specific, zero trust networks with public Internet reach and scale. These “AppWANs” are created and managed using secure developer-friendly web-based orchestration tools and APIs tailored to fit within application development and operation life cycles.Application teams can easily configure and operate AppWANs, which act as one-to-many discrete application-specific microsegments. Each AppWAN is a selected subset of endpoints associated to an application with which, authorized endpoints are allowed to exclusively communicate, creating a zero trust relationship. NetFoundry AppWANs enable non-expert Line-of-Business and IT project teams to quickly and independently spin up and scale out compliant, performant internet-distributed applications as easily as they spin up services inside a public or private cloud.Key BenefitsNetworking as agile as the applications and IT functions it servesFaster configuration changes and updatesHardware and service provider agnosticLower operational costPerfect for DevOpsUnmatched control & security with software-defined perimeter (SDP) & zero trustEnables secure networking across branches, clouds, and SaaS providersUntether networking from underlying infrastructure with networks that can be programmed to be fit for purposeNetworks driven by the identities, contexts, & needs of each app and set of IAM policiesNetworks are on-demand and elasticNETFOUNDRY & ALLIANCE TECHNOLOGY GROUPAlliance Technology Group offers purpose-built solutions targeted at some of the most demanding IT challenges. Alliance has developed solutions for big data, cyber security, physical security, public safety, and cloud markets. NetFoundry and Alliance came together to develop secure, agile, and resilient turnkey solutions for financial services companies focused on disaster recovery and cloud connectivity.This case study focuses on a state-chartered bank with a corporate office, two data centers, and 22 branch locations. They have been in business for over 100 years, and pride themselves on having local decision making authority and using advanced technology to be responsive and knowledgeable, while offering reliable service to their clients. They have grown to over $700 million in assets and have 150+ employees.THE CHALLENGESThe client needed to revisit their approach to disaster recovery to ensure efficient data backups and rapid restoration of business services following a disaster. With increasing scrutiny from regulatory agencies and constant, evolving cyber threats, security was paramount.In addition, the contract for the bank’s MPLS network was coming up for renewal, and the acting CFO decided to look at other cost saving options before resigning multiyear contracts with the incumbent telco.Finally, the bank wanted to become more agile in the process of opening new branches. In the past, opening new branch locations was cumbersome, limited by the time required, and the ability to procure private data circuits from local telecom companies. Due to their operating territory, many potential branch location sites existed in remote places, far from MPLS availability. These remote locations frequently required new circuits to be installed at great expense and with long lead times. This lack of affordable connectivity limited the ability of the bank to grow and service new clients in a cost effective manner.THE SOLUTIONWith the help of Alliance Technology Group and NetFoundry, the bank was able to find a solution which addressed each of their major pain points.Cost ReductionThe NetFoundry platform utilizes a redundant network mesh and eliminates the old complicated hub and spoke design, enabling each branch to communicate directly with any other branch, cloud provider, or data center located on the network. This new design results in increased network resiliency and improved performance. The bank was also able to eliminate their expensive MPLS circuits entirely, replacing them with less expensive and more ubiquitous Internet connections. NetFoundry’s software defined perimeter (SDP) architecture and overlay topology ensures more robust security than traditional MPLS connections, even over the Internet.Agile GrowthThe bank can leverage the security and resiliency of the provider-agnostic NetFoundry platform to quickly open a branch anywhere with Internet access. In fact, they can even use the NetFoundry platform to securely connect over LTE or cellular networks, enabling the flexibility to operate in very remote or temporary locations.Disaster RecoveryAlliance Technology Group used NetFoundry’s platform to securely connect the bank’s data center to the Alliance Technology backup and recovery service. In the event of a disaster, recovery and restoration could be executed very quickly. NetFoundry’s platform ensures secure, resilient networking from anywhere to anywhere, whileenabling seamless IP portability from site to site without the complexity typically associated with network changes to DNS, routing tables, IP address schemes, and other cumbersome security and network related requirements. NetFoundry AppWANs are fortified by a software defined perimeter with a military-grade, layered securityarchitecture which isolates and protects data flows, resulting in a private, dark network, microsegmented by application.THE RESULTSThanks to Alliance Technology Group and NetFoundry, a complex MPLS network has been greatly simplified using the NetFoundry platform to connect all 22 branches and two data centers. The resulting transformation has resulted in a more reliable corporate network with the ability to completely provision a new branch office within two weeks. To top it off, the solution outlined in this case study saves the bank over $500,000 per year.Annual Cost Savings: $500,000Time-To-Open: From 2 Months to 2 WeeksDisaster Recovery: From 3 days to less than 5 minutesROI: 4 months