Cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks said that KPIT has deployed Palo Alto Networks Security Operating Platform, including firewalls and network security management solution to bolster its security. KPIT is a technology consulting firm specializing in engineering products and services to automotive, manufacturing, energy and utilities and life sciences companies.

Headquartered in Pune, the company has 12,000 employees. For 20 years, KPIT had a security infrastructure based on a standard firewall and antivirus software. However, after revamping its strategy and introducing its “Smart Enterprise” concept for enterprise digital transformation, consisting of smart campus, smart collaboration, smart business systems, smart insights, smart infrastructure, smart workforce and smart relationships – the company needed a more flexible and automated approach to security and network management, said Palo Alto Networks.

Palo Alto Networks said that after completing a comprehensive evaluation of security vendors, KPIT chose Palo Alto Networks, deploying the PA-5020 next-generation firewall, along with Traps advanced endpoint protection, Panorama network security management, WildFire cloud-based threat analysis service, AutoFocus contextual threat intelligence service, and Magnifier behavioral analytics application.

“The biggest benefit is the simplicity of the platform approach and prevention-based technology. We didn't have to invest in everything on day one instead, we were able to evolve the platform with cloud-based subscriptions. Palo Alto Networks also provides agility, meaning our rollout cycles have decreased from six weeks to just two days,” said Mandar Marulkar, chief digital officer, KPIT.

Before deploying Palo Alto Networks platform-based technologies, many malicious attempts would have slipped through KPIT's network, claimed security firm. At the same time, the lightweight agent used by Traps advanced endpoint protection solution has eliminated any degradation of device performance.

Anil Bhasin, regional vice president, India and SAARC at Palo Alto Networks added, “The cybersecurity challenges that a large global technology company such as KPIT, with multiple clients and thousands of employees spread across the world, face on a day to day basis is immense. This has become even more critical with the “Smart Enterprise” future that it has envisaged for itself.”