Dell locks up IP and boosts production by 75 percent for Briggs Automotive Company

Briggs Automotive Company (BAC), the award winning British high-performance sports car manufacturer, has deployed Dell SonicWALL TZ 215 Next Generation Firewall and SonicPoint Wireless Access Points to protect its intellectual property (IP) and improve efficiency through easy access and collaboration, increasing output capacity by approximately 75 percent.

 

BAC is the manufacturer of Mono, Britain’s renowned lightweight, high-performance sports car. Starting out as a small organization, the company’s existing IT infrastructure relied upon a collection of laptops with little security or corporate network. Staff used open-access internet and file-sharing platforms such as DropBox to communicate, while travelling staff connected with colleagues from public Wi-Fi access points around the world and temporary staff had unrestricted access to the company network.

 

As BAC increased in size and its new models gained critical acclaim, the requirement for a secure enterprise IT system became clear. The IT team needed to trace activities such as data transfer to external devices, ensure communication channels were secure and establish who in the company viewed specific files. BAC therefore required a significant IT overhaul in order to protect its IP.

 

Internet speeds were also a significant issues for BAC, particularly as floor staff depend on computer-aided design and the ability to communicate and share ideas quickly. Previously, with reduced internet access and bandwidth issues, manufacturing would often come to a complete halt. The company estimated that factory staff took three to four times longer to do their jobs as a result of this, posing a significant limit on output.

 

A comprehensive solution that drives connected productivity and keeps IP safe

 

Working with Dell’s partner NCS, BAC chose Dell to address these issues.

 

The company chose to implement Dell’s SonicWALL TZ 215 Next-Generation Firewall to ensure its IP was fully protected. The deployment has ensured total reliability and advanced threat protection through the combination of intrusion prevention and detection systems, anti-virus and anti-spyware as well as content and URL filtering. To optimise the security features of the TZ 215, BAC deployed the Dell SonicWALL Comprehensive Security Suite (CGSS), which includes its Content Filtering Service (CFS) and 24/7 support. These additions increased BAC’s return on investment by providing the company with an increased level of network and data protection.

 

In addition its new network security infrastructure, BAC has also deployed Dell SonicWALL Mobile Connect to provide secure access from tablets and smartphones, empowering remote workers to connect to the corporate network and securely, ensuring that CAD and other files are securely stored on the corporate network without risk of corruption. 

 

In order to improve Wi-Fi connectivity across its estate, BAC chose Dell SonicPoint ACi wireless access points. These provide the company with high-speed wireless access and enhanced signal quality and reliability from greater range, meaning BAC’s employees are never hindered by connectivity issues. The company is now able to use bandwidth-intensive mobile applications in higher density environments, without signal degradation, increasing employee productivity significantly.  

 

By combining the TZ 215 Next-Generation Firewall, CGSS, SonicPoint Access Points and Dell SonicWALL Mobile Connect BAC was able to ensure comprehensive protection for its wired and wireless networks when working both within and outside of the corporate network. With the solution in place, all wireless traffic coming into and going out of the wireless network is scanned to eliminate threats such as malware and intrusions whilst increasing data integrity and reducing the risk of data loss.