Megaloni Grows with WatchGuard Solutions
Challenge
Sweden’s Megaloni Communications is a technology company focusing on the operation and maintenance of IT systems for small and midsize companies in the Malmö region. Often performing the functions of an in-house IT department, such great responsibility comes with a great need for reliable technology.
That’s where WatchGuard stepped in. Ola Nigård, IT technician, admits it was WatchGuard’s signature red color that drew him to the Soho 5 back in the year 2000, around the time he set up Megaloni. He adds: “It just appeared to be very easy to understand the layout and look of the actual firewall. I remember we had other firewalls, but they were much more complicated. Web configuration was simpler than with others, and it was the simplicity and the style that we were initially drawn to.”
And so began a successful relationship spanning two decades, with Megaloni’s growing customer base always being served by the robust, reliable solutions WatchGuard offers.
Solution
Nigård credits the original Soho firewalls with helping Megaloni secure one of its first big clients – SIXT car rental, which meant installing the firewalls across a network of some 28 SIXT offices across Sweden.
“Back in those days, you purchased the firewall, then the VPN license, and then connected it through the head office. It was simple, effective, and reliable – just as it remains today. And back then, incoming traffic via a firewall was still a new thing,” said the IT technician.
He added that during that time, the crucial factor was the strong support he received from WatchGuard in Sweden, and this close relationship continues to this day. “The support was always there, even though I spent a lot of time in those days learning and reading about the WatchGuard product range. The support was often more to do with new technologies coming out, and how WatchGuard would support those – rather than product issues.”
Times change, especially in the fast-paced IT sector, and today, Megaloni offers WatchGuard’s Unified Security Platform, the most comprehensive solution suite. “It’s the way forward because we need a reliable security platform that can equally support and maintain businesses from 5 to 50 people – and WatchGuard simply delivers what we need.”
AuthPoint MFA, a solution designed to enhance security for accessing various systems and applications, is also a popular choice of enhanced security product among Megaloni’s customers.
Multi-factor authentication brings a much-needed extra layer of access security, especially in light of the ever-increasing level of cyberattacks all companies face. MFA goes beyond usernames and passwords by requiring additional authentication factors, reducing the risk of unauthorized access, data breaches, and identity theft.
AuthPoint MFA brings the simplicity Nigård loves ‒ by using mobile device DNA to match an authorized user’s phone when granting access to systems and applications. So, any attacker who clones a user’s device in an attempt to access a protected system would be blocked – since the device’s DNA would differ.
“Our clients love [AuthPoint], and it requires very little maintenance, which is fantastic for us,” says Nigård, “and our clients love the simplicity and ease of it. AuthPoint has raised the profile of our company because we’ve implemented security that is very easy to understand, with a high level, advanced product.
“AuthPoint has been very, very good for the profile of Megaloni, and for me personally, as an IT technician.”
As a fast-growing company, Megaloni keeps abreast of the latest IT developments by working closely with WatchGuard. This allows them to offer the latest, most advanced products, without having to be concerned with testing, proof of concept, or reliability. WatchGuard’s trade-up program also helps Megaloni and its clients keep up to date with the newest equipment – with Nigård adding that the industry has moved so far from just providing firewalls to a scenario today where his team provides a far more comprehensive, complete security solution suite.
Nigård’s love of technology means he was among the first companies in Sweden to adopt WatchGuard’s AP technology solutions, in the form of the AP100, now replaced by the AP130. The solution is useful for the changing world of work, where people now work from multiple locations across a wide variety of devices.
The WatchGuard AP130 wireless access point delivers secure, reliable Wi-Fi connectivity for small to midsize businesses, branch offices, and distributed enterprises. As part of WatchGuard’s comprehensive lineup of access points, the AP130 focuses on delivering high-performance wireless access while maintaining strong security features. It integrates with WatchGuard’s security services, enabling the application of security policies, intrusion prevention, and protection against malware and other cyber threats directly at the access point level.
“It’s useful to keep everything under the same umbrella, and the AP130 is especially good for VPN and Office 365 and Active Directory authentication, for example,” added Nigård.
Megaloni has recently installed AuthPoint MFA at southern Sweden’s biggest bookkeeping company, helping protect sensitive financial data from attackers and thieves, and is working with some major pharmaceutical companies - another sector rife with cyberattacks.
Results
Nigård says WatchGuard’s solutions are helping grow Megaloni’s business – including sectors that have high expectations for holistic security services and reliable, robust Internet connectivity.
“Our clients love that they can simply employ an administrator to handle WatchGuard in-house without the need for deep expertise. This saves them money and time, and we are always there in the background, with a holistic overview of their operations. We appreciate not having to hand-hold very closely, and they appreciate and trust in WatchGuard,” he explains.
Another product offered by Megaloni is WatchGuard EPDR (Endpoint Protection, Detection and Response), which provides the company’s client base with endpoint (devices like laptops, desktops, servers, etc.) protection from advanced threats and potential cyberattacks.
WatchGuard EPDR works by monitoring and analyzing endpoint activities in real time, detecting suspicious behavior, potential threats, or security incidents on devices. If malicious activity is identified, the EDR solution responds by taking actions to contain and mitigate the threat, such as isolating the affected endpoint or terminating malicious processes.
Again, Nigård praises the simple, straightforward, and effective approach to managing such an important security issue. And his final words? “WatchGuard delivers everything we need in terms of security, with simplicity. It’s good security, made simple – which everybody appreciates.”