Essex County Council is one of the largest local authorities in England, responsible for providing a range of services to citizens across Essex.
The council’s main office is the County Hall in Chelmsford, and the authority also operates out of other locations throughout the county.
The problem
As an organisation that deals with a substantial amount of confidential and sensitive data, security has always been a priority for Essex County Council. With this in mind, the council wanted to enhance the security of its endpoint devices.
In terms of specifics, the council required a proactive, end-to-end solution to cover the entire disk encryption estate – which includes over 9,000 laptops and desktops.
On top of this, the council also wanted a full best practice review and health check of its existing disk and media encryption implementation and management system.
The Solution
In developing this “Landing Zone” service, Intercity had a longstanding relationship with Essex County Council, already providing the council with Check Point VSX firewalls, coupled with support and maintenance which it won through tendering to replace their ageing Nokia IP platforms. This also introduced a 24/7 proactive monitoring service to maximise service availability and provide management information on firewall performance.
Building on this relationship, and after a competitive procurement exercise, Intercity was awarded the two year contract to provide Check Point endpoint security. As a Check Point Gold partner, Intercity’s strong relationship and first-rate capabilities across the whole Check Point portfolio was a key factor in being selected for the project.
Intercity has set about undertaking a complete review and evaluation of the entire estate. Following this it will provide Check Point licenses for all 9,000 endpoint devices. This end-to-end solution, coupled with the initial wide-ranging health check, will leave the endpoint estate in an optimum security state.
The license provision also contains a proactive element. Intercity ensures that licenses are always up to date with an automatic patch updating service, giving the council peace of mind that their end points can counter the latest security threats.Intercity also provides Essex County Council on going security support through a 24/7 service desk, with an Intercity expert available at all times to resolve any issues.
The estate-wide review and licenses are being delivered on time and on budget, with zero disruption to the council’s ability to carry out its core activities.
“Intercity’s response to the tender was detailed and bespoke, demonstrating a clear understanding of our requirements. The company really understands our needs and the issues that local authorities face on a day-to-day basis.”
Head of Service Delivery, Essex County Council
Benefits
The devices used by council staff are protected by the latest Check Point security products, allowing employees to get on with their work knowing that data and applications are secure.
The support and maintenance element ensures that any issues that do arise have minimal impact on the council, keeping everything ‘business as usual’.
“The extra level of support that Intercity provides, on top of providing the licences, allows us to concentrate on our key focus, serving our constituents.”
Head of Service Delivery, Essex County Council
Next steps
Intercity continues to work closely with the Council and it’s outsourced partners DUCL, a consortium created through the Next Generation Network (NGN) programme, to ensure a seamless and invisible service to its end customers.
