BeyondTrust Case Studies Off shore Call Center Locks Down Thousands of Linux Desktops

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	Off shore Call Center Locks Down Thousands of Linux Desktops BeyondTrust

Off shore Call Center Locks Down Thousands of Linux Desktops

BeyondTrust

Technology Category	Application Infrastructure & Middleware - API Integration & Management
Applicable Industries	Finance & Insurance
Applicable Functions	Human Resources Business Operation
Services	System Integration Software Design & Engineering Services
Challenge	The customer service division’s offshore call center had grown to over 5,000 Linux desktops that needed to be better managed and secured. Because authentication was being handled locally on the Linux machines, there was no easy way for the IT department to verify that any security policies were being followed. The company lacked the kind of central user account management for its Linux fleet that Active Directory typically provides for a Windows shop. In addition, the management of new hires, departures, and changing job roles had become a challenge. High turnover rates at the call center just made the problem worse. Read More
About Customer	The company is a leading global financial services firm operating with more than 150,000 employees in over 50 countries. The Customer Service division operates some 15,000 desktop workstations. The company was operating a customer service call center in India. The desktop workstations ran SUSE Enterprise Linux, which the company found to be a cost-effective choice for supporting its call center workers. As the size of the operation grew to more than 5,000 desktops, it became difficult to manage users and security on that many Linux machines. Read More
Solution	The company decided to implement PowerBroker Identity Services across its whole call center. The company now uses PBIS to manage all 5,000 of its call center Linux machines. Each machine has the PBIS agent installed, which allows it to be joined to Active Directory and managed from there. Now the call center IT group uses Active Directory tools, augmented by PowerBroker extensions, to manage user identities and establish group policies much as if they were managing Windows machines. User roles and group access rights are now centrally created and controlled. New users with specific sets of access rights are created quickly and easily within Active Directory and the PowerBroker Identity Services. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Application Infrastructure & Middleware - API Integration & Management

Applicable Industries

Finance & Insurance

Applicable Functions

Human Resources

Business Operation

Services

System Integration

Software Design & Engineering Services

Challenge

The customer service division’s offshore call center had grown to over 5,000 Linux desktops that needed to be better managed and secured. Because authentication was being handled locally on the Linux machines, there was no easy way for the IT department to verify that any security policies were being followed. The company lacked the kind of central user account management for its Linux fleet that Active Directory typically provides for a Windows shop. In addition, the management of new hires, departures, and changing job roles had become a challenge. High turnover rates at the call center just made the problem worse.

About Customer

The company is a leading global financial services firm operating with more than 150,000 employees in over 50 countries. The Customer Service division operates some 15,000 desktop workstations. The company was operating a customer service call center in India. The desktop workstations ran SUSE Enterprise Linux, which the company found to be a cost-effective choice for supporting its call center workers. As the size of the operation grew to more than 5,000 desktops, it became difficult to manage users and security on that many Linux machines.

Solution

The company decided to implement PowerBroker Identity Services across its whole call center. The company now uses PBIS to manage all 5,000 of its call center Linux machines. Each machine has the PBIS agent installed, which allows it to be joined to Active Directory and managed from there. Now the call center IT group uses Active Directory tools, augmented by PowerBroker extensions, to manage user identities and establish group policies much as if they were managing Windows machines. User roles and group access rights are now centrally created and controlled. New users with specific sets of access rights are created quickly and easily within Active Directory and the PowerBroker Identity Services.

Impact #1	The company was able to lock down all call center desktops and centrally enforce uniform security policies.
Impact #2	The company not only established and enforced single usernames, strong passwords, locking screensavers and other security policies for its call center, but it also significantly streamlined administrative processes.
Impact #3	User roles and group access rights are now centrally created and controlled.

Impact #1

The company was able to lock down all call center desktops and centrally enforce uniform security policies.

Impact #2

The company not only established and enforced single usernames, strong passwords, locking screensavers and other security policies for its call center, but it also significantly streamlined administrative processes.

Impact #3

User roles and group access rights are now centrally created and controlled.

Benefit #1	The company was able to manage and secure over 5,000 Linux desktops.
Benefit #2	The company was able to streamline administrative processes and improve productivity.

Benefit #1

The company was able to manage and secure over 5,000 Linux desktops.

Benefit #2

The company was able to streamline administrative processes and improve productivity.

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Overview

Off shore Call Center Locks Down Thousands of Linux Desktops

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit