Nokia has been chosen by Aga Gas, the Swedish manufacturer of industrial gas products, to enhance its worldwide corporate network security with Nokia IP network security appliances running Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ: CHKP) market-leading VPN-1®-FireWall-1® Internet security software. Aga Gas provides gas products to a variety of industries including food, healthcare, and steel manufacturing.
The Nokia solution is being installed for secure corporate connections among approximately 20,000 staff around the world. The combined solution was chosen on the grounds of regular updates and upgrades; seamless integration and Nokia's central management system, Nokia Horizon Manager.
Following the acquisition of Aga Gas by German group Linde AG, there has been a greater emphasis on corporate network security and the corporate network security was reviewed. Daniel Fornes, IT security manager, Aga Gas, confirms the importance that the parent company puts on IT security and adds,"Linde AG has its own review team who goes around each country once a year. They look at all systems, like firewalls for instance, and assess whether the people responsible for each solution have met the required standards of security."
One of the challenges faced by Aga's IT Team was the diversity of security standards across the firm's many sites. The emphasis up to now has been on point solutions with each country making its own decisions on the technologies used. In addition, security is outsourced in some countries, although this is likely to be reversed in time.
"Nokia was chosen through one of Nokia's Gold-level accredited resellers: Netsecure Sweden AB. Key decision factors included seamless integration with other security systems, central network management and Nokia's roadmap, which is continuously updated with new releases and security patches. Company IT policy demands that when choosing new security products, it is vital that they can be upgraded and smoothly integrated as required - something which Nokia automatically provides," says Daniel Fornes.
In the future, the company will build six IT centres across the world in order to bring conformity of products and consolidation. The aim will be to have these six "security access windows" all linked together. At this stage, the company will be looking for products that can be managed from one central point, and the ability to do that using Nokia appliance-based solutions was a major factor in Aga choosing Nokia.
Fornes expects remote access to the corporate network to rapidly increase in the near future, and it is the company's aim not only to improve security, but to enhance the user experience no matter where that user is based or what desktop or mobile application they use to get such remote access. The appliance-based solutions provided by Nokia will be key to achieving this aim.
"Nokia is focused on secure connectivity both in the wired world of today and mobile network environments of tomorrow. People expect secure, reliable and instantaneous access to information and as mobile devices and network speeds evolve, more corporate data is being delivered via remote access as Aga Gas have recognised. We are proud that our technology is enabling Aga Gas to build the security systems it needs for its worldwide operations both now and in the future," says Ernie Jones, Nokia Internet Communications vice president of sales, Europe, Middle-East & Africa.
About Aga Gas
Aga Gas is a well-established manufacturer of industrial gas products, serving a variety of large markets including the food, healthcare, and steel manufacturing industries. The company was recently acquired by German group Linde AG, which now aims to boost security across all its companies.
About Nokia Internet Communications
Nokia Internet Communications, headquartered in Mountain View, California, provides world-class Network Security, Virtual Private Network and Internet Traffic and Content Management solutions that ensure the security and reliability of corporate enterprise and managed service provider networks. Nokia is committed to enhancing the end user experience by bringing a new level of security and reliability to the network, enabling an Internet transaction that is personal and trusted-each and every time.
Nokia Internet security and virtual private network appliances span the spectrum of price/performance points, and secure the widest range of network environments-from the smallest branch office to the largest Internet data center. The expansive product line, backed by world-class global support and services, provides customers the ability to deploy multiple solutions from a single product to secure all elements of a distributed enterprise. For more information, please visit www.nokia.com and click on Secure Network Solutions.
About Nokia
Nokia is the leader in mobile communications. Backed by its experience, innovation, user-friendliness and secure solutions, the company has become the leading supplier of mobile phones and a leading supplier of mobile, fixed and IP networks. By adding mobility to the Internet, Nokia creates new opportunities for companies and further enriches the daily lives of people. Nokia is one of the most broadly held companies in the world, with listings on six major exchanges.
For more information (Media and Industry Analysts only please):
Nokia Internet Communications:
Americas
Amy Grenier, Interactive Public Relations for Nokia Internet Communications
Tel. +1 415 975 3354
amy@ipri.com
EMEA
Claire Backhurst
Tel. +44 7788 145460
claire.backhurst@nokia.com
APAC
Bonnie Datta
Tel. +6597389743
bonnie.datta@nokia.com
www.nokia.com