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Case Study: AIT Worldwide Logistics

StoneGate Multi-Link™ Delivers Significant ROI

AIT Worldwide Logistics realized that it needed a better networking solution to ensure optimal, always-on Internet connections for its global operations to run as efficiently as possible. After evaluating several vendors, the company chose to implement the StoneGate firewall/VPN solution with Multi-Link™ technology to allow for seamless network failover in the event of Internet access outages or lost connections between firewalls and outside networks.

AIT immediately saw a return of investment (ROI) with $1,400 a month in savings per service center and $33,000 a month at its headquarters in Itasca.

AIT_Ground

StoneGate supports mission-critical network at substantial savings

AIT Worldwide Logistics is a global transportation and logistics provider specializing in heavyweight shipments, including domestic and international shipments via all modes of transit including rail, ocean, air and ground.

AIT is headquartered in Itasca, Illinois with 36 nationwide offices, more than 330 global service centers, and a network of independent contractors. AIT helps its customers transport everything from automobile parts and x-ray machines to perishable foods that must be delivered on time.

Given the mission-critical nature of maintaining efficient operations, it is extremely important that AIT’s network remains connected at all times since its locations need to closely track shipments to verify the process is working according to schedule. The company is moving freight 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. If one of AIT’s locations loses connectivity to the corporate headquarters in Itasca, the company has the potential to lose hundreds of shipments in a just a couple of hours.

A solution for maximum resilient connectivity

AIT had been using AT&T’s global services for its frame relay. Due to the month-to-month cost and issues with speed and point of failure occurrences, AIT was not able to provide the level of customer service it desired. The company decided to reevaluate its vendor relationships and find a new provider for network security and redundancy. The company had several main objectives for its search:

A cost-effective solution
Ability to centrally and remotely manage distributed network
Better redundancy to the wide area network
Eliminating single points of failure

AIT evaluated several vendors and chose the StoneGate solution primarily because of its Multi- Link technology. The AIT team found few other products on the market that offered the combined potential and value that StoneGate could provide. The solution’s full-scale stable firewall with deep packet inspection capabilities, along with the ability to aggregate multiple high-speed Internet services without routing and the capability to do site-to-site VPN across those multiple links, offered AIT the robust solution it had been looking for to implement into its network.

Regardless of the type or number of connections AIT needs to support its business, Stonesoft’s patented Multi-Link technology ensures seamless network fail-over in the event of Internet access outages or lost connections between firewalls and outside networks. As a result, it has enhanced AIT’s network with the level of granular control and the availability of applications that are mission critical to its shipping and logistics business.

Additionally, AIT rolled out the StoneGate SSL VPN to its IT department and a few contractors who needed anytime access to the network for maintenance or troubleshooting. Since StoneGate does not require a pre-installed VPN client on each machine, the AIT team can access the company network from anywhere, regardless of computing device – including home computers or while on the road. Using the SSL VPN Portal, AIT is able to set a policy allowing the department to access their desktops – which contains all the applications and connections needed to do their jobs.

AIT_Ocean

Unprecedented customer support

In addition to the best-in-class functionality of the StoneGate solution, it was the unprecedented level of customer support that ultimately sold AIT on Stonesoft. AIT instantly saw that Stonesoft provides unmatched responsiveness to resolve problems that were specific to AIT. For example, Stonesoft’s research and development worked hand-in-hand with AIT to find unique solutions to the problems that AIT was trying to alleviate, such as insufficient DSL lines and cable connections.

The Stonesoft team worked directly with AIT to recreate the problem and designed the solution to meet the company’s specific needs.

“We have been extremely pleased with how responsive Stonesoft’s support has been,” said Dan Chesler, Network Administrator for AIT Worldwide Logistics. “We feel like Stonesoft actually listens to us and takes the time to help us resolve any issues. It is one of the main reasons we chose to implement the StoneGate solution.”

Immediate ROI and reduced TCO

AIT gained an immediate ROI using the StoneGate solution. Most of its stations were paying an average of $1,500 a month to AT&T for a 256 KVCS frame line. Now most of the stations have two lines that are roughly $99 each per month. That equates to a $1,400 a month savings per station. At the headquarters in Itasca, which is the hub for the frame relay, the port PDC and ATM circuit cost savings is right around $33,000 a month.

Additionally, StoneGate protects AIT from down time since it eliminates single points of failure. It also provides flexibility for projects including centralized phone systems and call centers. For every day that the Itasca station would be down, AIT could lose up to $2 million, which Stonesoft now prevents with the reliability of its solution.

“When AIT first evaluated Stonesoft, we specifically calculated the StoneGate solution compared to other similar alternatives, such as BGP and our existing frame connection,” said Chesler.

StoneGate provided the most immediate ROI and the lowest total cost of ownership (TCO), all while addressing AIT’s needs for resilient connectivity and improving our network from a unified management system. The active load balancing, coupled with StoneGate’s bandwidth management and Quality of Service (QoS) also allowed AIT to utilize other technologies that resulted in lower costs and improved network functionality”

Dan Chesler, Network Administrator for AIT Worldwide Logistics

Taking optimum network connectivity to the next level

With the StoneGate solution, AIT has the flexibility to easily integrate with the latest technologies to provide even better customer service and further enhance communications throughout its extensive network. For instance, AIT is planning to add IP telephony to many of its remote stations and centralize its call center and customer service management in its headquarters. AIT is also ready to roll out an additional IP telephony system to its station in Pittsburgh, using the QoS that was built in to the StoneGate solution.

AIT_Air

AIT Challenges

High capital costs for insufficient bandwidth
Cumbersome solution for managing distributed network
Single point of failure occurrences
Lack of good customer support
Limited flexibility to embrace the latest technologies

Results with Stonesoft

Immediate ROI and lower TCO
Simplified management from a single console
Resilient connectivity with built-in load balancing and quality of service
Strong customer support
Optimized network with easy integration with the emerging technologies

About AIT Worldwide Logistics

Since 1979, AIT Worldwide Logistics has been providing companies the optimum in reliable and cost-effective transportation and logistics solutions. AIT Worldwide Logistics delivers more than just your cargo to domestic, international and transborder destinations.

The global transportation and logistics provider headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, dedicates itself to designing tailored transportation solutions for each customer by offering a variety of value-added services to enhance supply chain efficiencies: custom-built IT solutions, flexible worldwide service offerings by ground, air, ocean and rail, an extensive global network, competitive price structure, and unparalleled superior customer service.

In what began as a 4-person operation with little more than borrowed furniture and rented dock space, co-founders Steven Leturno and Daniel Lisowski have built a customer-focused enterprise spanning 36 nationwide locations and 330 global service centers.

AIT employs over 830 employees and services over 4,000 active worldwide accounts for a wide variety of vertical markets and industries, including perishables, printed matter and all branches of the government.

From drivers and dock employees, to the state-of-the-art perishable warehouse and in-house technology team, the people of AIT strive to exceed expectations in delivering for you, around the world. For more information about AIT, please visit www.aitworldwide.com.

About Stonesoft Corporation

Stonesoft Corporation (OMX: SFT1V) is an innovative provider of integrated network security solutions to secure the information flow of distributed organizations. Stonesoft customers include
organizations with growing needs requiring advanced network security and always-on connectivity.

StoneGate™ Secure Connectivity Solution unifies firewall, VPN, IPS and SSL VPN blending network security, end-to-end availability and award-winning load balancing into a centrally managed system in physical and virtual environments. The key benefits of StoneGate Secure Connectivity Solution include low TCO, excellent price-performance ratio and high ROI.

StoneGate Management Center provides centralized management for StoneGate Firewall with VPN, IPS and SSL VPN. StoneGate Firewall and IPS work together to provide intelligent defense throughout the organizational network while StoneGate SSL VPN provides enhanced security for mobile and remote use.

Founded in 1990, Stonesoft Corporation has corporate headquarters in Helsinki, Finland and Americas headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information, visit www.stonesoft.com.