Zscaler Case Studies Boston's Secure Transition to Cloud: Modernizing City Services

Edit This Case Study Record

	Boston's Secure Transition to Cloud: Modernizing City Services Zscaler

Boston's Secure Transition to Cloud: Modernizing City Services

Zscaler

Technology Category	Cybersecurity & Privacy - Application Security Cybersecurity & Privacy - Cloud Security
Applicable Industries	Cities & Municipalities National Security & Defense
Use Cases	Smart City Operations Tamper Detection
Services	Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services Cybersecurity Services
Challenge	The City of Boston, like many cities across the country, was working to reduce its data center footprint and shift its infrastructure, applications, and data to the cloud. The goal was to provide responsive, modern citizen services. However, as the city relied more on web-based applications and infrastructure, new challenges arose. The existing internet security solution was inefficient and unreliable. It was increasingly important to ensure employees could safely access web-based applications and data. The city needed a secure, scalable, cost-effective cloud access for its 5,500 users to improve workflow efficiency and reduce user frustration. The city was also looking to shift to a cloud security platform and adopt a zero trust approach. Read More
About Customer	The customer in this case study is the City of Boston, located in Massachusetts. The city government is working towards modernizing its services by reducing its data center footprint and shifting its infrastructure, applications, and data to the cloud. The city's IT team, led by Chief Information Security Officer Greg McCarthy, is responsible for this transition. The team manages services for 5,500 users and is focused on providing responsive, modern citizen services. They are adopting a 'cloud first' mindset and are looking for secure, scalable, and cost-effective solutions for cloud access. Read More
Solution	The City of Boston issued an RFP to support the continued shift from an on-premises infrastructure to cloud. After evaluation, they selected Zscaler Internet Access™ (ZIA™), a cloud security platform that includes a secure internet and web gateway solution. The deployment of ZIA reduced the opportunity for malware and other threats to get onto the internal network or move laterally across it. ZIA also provided visibility into user activity and helped keep Boston’s cyber team aware of all applications running in the environment. The Boston team also rolled out a new identity management solution and deployed a new access portal, working with SailPoint, Bing, and Radiant Logic. They plan to continue evolving cyber defenses to meet employee and mission needs. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Cybersecurity & Privacy - Application Security

Cybersecurity & Privacy - Cloud Security

Applicable Industries

Cities & Municipalities

National Security & Defense

Use Cases

Smart City Operations

Tamper Detection

Services

Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services

Cybersecurity Services

Challenge

The City of Boston, like many cities across the country, was working to reduce its data center footprint and shift its infrastructure, applications, and data to the cloud. The goal was to provide responsive, modern citizen services. However, as the city relied more on web-based applications and infrastructure, new challenges arose. The existing internet security solution was inefficient and unreliable. It was increasingly important to ensure employees could safely access web-based applications and data. The city needed a secure, scalable, cost-effective cloud access for its 5,500 users to improve workflow efficiency and reduce user frustration. The city was also looking to shift to a cloud security platform and adopt a zero trust approach.

About Customer

The customer in this case study is the City of Boston, located in Massachusetts. The city government is working towards modernizing its services by reducing its data center footprint and shifting its infrastructure, applications, and data to the cloud. The city's IT team, led by Chief Information Security Officer Greg McCarthy, is responsible for this transition. The team manages services for 5,500 users and is focused on providing responsive, modern citizen services. They are adopting a 'cloud first' mindset and are looking for secure, scalable, and cost-effective solutions for cloud access.

Solution

The City of Boston issued an RFP to support the continued shift from an on-premises infrastructure to cloud. After evaluation, they selected Zscaler Internet Access™ (ZIA™), a cloud security platform that includes a secure internet and web gateway solution. The deployment of ZIA reduced the opportunity for malware and other threats to get onto the internal network or move laterally across it. ZIA also provided visibility into user activity and helped keep Boston’s cyber team aware of all applications running in the environment. The Boston team also rolled out a new identity management solution and deployed a new access portal, working with SailPoint, Bing, and Radiant Logic. They plan to continue evolving cyber defenses to meet employee and mission needs.

Impact #1	The deployment of Zscaler Internet Access™ (ZIA™) has resulted in significant operational improvements for the City of Boston. The security team has been able to keep up with rapidly growing web traffic and has made significant strides thanks to the updated infrastructure. The consistent filtering provided by ZIA has resulted in a significant decrease in IT trouble tickets, reducing user frustration and improving workflow efficiency. The visibility provided by ZIA into user activity has also helped the cyber team stay aware of all applications running in the environment, enhancing their ability to manage and secure the city's digital infrastructure.

Impact #1

The deployment of Zscaler Internet Access™ (ZIA™) has resulted in significant operational improvements for the City of Boston. The security team has been able to keep up with rapidly growing web traffic and has made significant strides thanks to the updated infrastructure. The consistent filtering provided by ZIA has resulted in a significant decrease in IT trouble tickets, reducing user frustration and improving workflow efficiency. The visibility provided by ZIA into user activity has also helped the cyber team stay aware of all applications running in the environment, enhancing their ability to manage and secure the city's digital infrastructure.

Benefit #1	In the first quarter of 2019, the total bandwidth consumption grew 47 percent over the same period in 2018.
Benefit #2	The Zscaler cloud security platform blocked 1.2 million security threats and prevented 33.1 million web access policy violations in the first quarter of 2019.
Benefit #3	The number of IT trouble tickets related to website misclassification reduced from 10-15 per week to one or two per month.

Benefit #1

In the first quarter of 2019, the total bandwidth consumption grew 47 percent over the same period in 2018.

Benefit #2

The Zscaler cloud security platform blocked 1.2 million security threats and prevented 33.1 million web access policy violations in the first quarter of 2019.

Benefit #3

The number of IT trouble tickets related to website misclassification reduced from 10-15 per week to one or two per month.

Download PDF Version

Overview

Boston's Secure Transition to Cloud: Modernizing City Services

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit