Significantly reduce initial costs with subscription-based investment

Regarding the renewal of the remote access environment, Mr. Yamada said, "Instead of physical appliances, which take a long time to amortize, virtual versions, which can incorporate the latest technology in a short cycle and are highly scalable, are more suitable for the work style transformation that the Company are aiming for. Furthermore, since the virtual version is based on a subscription-based billing system, we were able to significantly reduce the initial introduction costs, which also had the advantage of being treated as an expense rather than an asset.”

After issuing an RFP in March 2017 and examining proposals from multiple vendors, the company selected Pulse Secure's virtual appliance "PSA-V Series" (Pulse Secure).

There are four main elements that focused on Pulse Secure. The first is the realization of terminal authentication using certificates. The second is device authentication with single sign-on (SSO) through SAML linkage. The third is to use the host checker function and anti-virus software check. And the fourth is the split tunnel function. Split tunneling is a function in which only communications addressed to a specified network host pass through the VPN tunnel, and other communications such as access to the Internet do not pass through the VPN tunnel. It optimizes the bandwidth of SSL communication and at the same time improves user convenience.

In addition, Takamitsu Isoe of the Operation Technology Department of the System Development and Service Division of Konica Minolta Information Systems Co., Ltd. says that the benchmarks for the cloud authentication infrastructure that the entire Macnica group has built in-house were extremely helpful. "the Company have been implementing cloud authentication using the ID linkage/single sign-on product 'PingFederate' and the load balancing/wide area load distribution system 'Citrix NetScaler' for user authentication. In the future, we will link these with Pulse Secure. We plan to use it for authentication with cloud services such as Office Macnica also practices cloud authentication with almost the same system configuration, so it will be a great reference as a familiar success example.''

SSO authentication through SAML linkage improves business convenience while ensuring security

Konica Minolta introduced Office 365 in September 2017, and Pulse Secure virtual appliance in October. Sales companies in Japan have started operation in advance.

Commenting on the process, Mr. Yamada said, ``In implementing Pulse Secure this time, one challenge was to implement SSO through SAML collaboration, but we were particular about creating the simplest connection method possible to avoid burdening users. It was a difficult undertaking, but Macnica 's SE ultimately simplified the process so that it could be accessed with just a few clicks.I am very grateful.''
Redundancy was implemented in February 2018, and Pulse Secure began full-scale operation in June. Currently, the target users for remote work are approximately 6,000 applicants, including Konica Minolta Group employees and employees stationed overseas, and the number of simultaneous connections is set at 1,000 users. Governance has also been strengthened by allowing only company-managed mobile PCs and smartphones to be used.

After the start of operation, safe remote access was realized, and convenience was greatly improved compared to the previous remote access environment. In addition, although direct remote access to the core system (ERP) and file server was previously prohibited, the security level was strengthened after the introduction of Pulse Secure. It is said that business has become very efficient and convenience has also improved.
Mr. Isoe says, "In the past, multiple SSL-VPN products and remote access services were distributed and operated, so the management burden was heavy. I really feel the convenience of being able to manage everything from one console.”

Mr. Yamada also says, "It is a great achievement that we chose Pulse Secure's virtual appliance and realized a secure remote access environment at low cost."

Going forward, the company plans to quickly implement the split tunnel function, which it has been focusing on since the beginning, with the aim of avoiding congestion in internal network traffic. In addition, in anticipation of BCP (Business Continuity Plan)/DR (Disaster Response) in the event of a disaster or situation where commuting is impossible, we have developed an ICE service that can instantly expand the number of users who can connect to the limit only in an emergency. The company is also considering introducing an "In Case of Emergency" license.
Mr. Yamada says that for Konica Minolta, which is promoting work style reform, there is no end to maintaining and strengthening security levels. I have high hopes for Macnica 's proposal and support capabilities."

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