WGRD Watchguard Technologies

WatchGuard Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:WGRD), a leading provider of Unified Threat Management (UTM) solutions, has announced that Benelogic, LLC, a leading provider of online benefits administration, has chosen WatchGuard Firebox X appliances to secure its online environment and increase the performance of its internal network. Benelogic offers employers a web-based, rule-driven method of handling employee benefits enrollment that eliminates the error-prone and time-consuming processes associated with traditional paper enrollment. The trusted source for more than one million employees and users spread across 150 enterprises, Benelogic's service receives over 15,000 hits a day. Additionally, Benelogic's internal network supports more than 100 employees across several different US locations. To increase the security of its online portal and improve the efficiency and performance of its internal network, Benelogic has implemented a pair of redundant WatchGuard Firebox X Peak 8000 UTM appliances and a Firebox X Peak 5000 UTM appliance (for active failover and recovery purposes) at its headquarters, as well as a Firebox X Core 700 UTM appliance at its largest remote office. The company has also deployed five Firebox X Edge 5 appliances throughout its network to act as VPN endpoints. Firebox X UTM appliances offer firewall, VPN, application layer security, Gateway AV and intrusion prevention, spam blocking, web filtering, authentication and high availability capability. WatchGuard's UTM appliance models also provide an additional layer of true "Zero-Day" protection, defending against new and unknown threats, proactively blocking viruses, worms, spyware, trojans, and blended threats inherently, without the need for signature updates, through its proprietary Intelligent Layered Security architecture. Furthermore, when Firebox X Edge appliances are used in correlation with a Firebox X UTM appliance located at a central site, organizations can achieve comprehensive management and monitoring capabilities through WatchGuard System Manager (WSM). Benelogic has seen immediate results from its WatchGuard implementation. WSM and the multi-box, central management functionality have enabled Benelogic to easily and effectively manage each WatchGuard appliance from headquarters, drastically cutting down on the time and manpower normally needed to manually monitor and administer changes on individual appliances. The gigabit-capable throughput capacity of the Peak appliances enabled Benelogic to scale its network to meet fluctuating levels of traffic, eliminating the need to increase bandwidth to meet escalations in customer usage. Finally, the appliances' combined ability to support independent ports, dynamic routing and a high number of multiple VPN tunnels enabled Benelogic to further aggregate its network by increasing the number of available security zones. The company has segmented off its development team, doubled its available security zones from three to six, and, due to the fact that WatchGuard can support up to ten concurrent zones, is currently looking at other ways to increase the segmentation of its network. "All of the challenges and resource limitations we face as a growing business are augmented by the fact that our technology and business model are very much like an ASP, which means that almost every aspect of our company is perceptible to the public eye. Security and reliability are therefore tantamount for running and maintaining the performance of our system and the trust of our customer base," said Kendall Miller, CIO of Benelogic. "Segmenting our security zones, increasing the throughput capacity of our network and centralizing our technology management were three very distinct, overarching business goals, and examples of the kinds of projects we've been able to complete with WatchGuard. The knowledge that I can upgrade our portal and explore further advancements for our internal network while remaining completely operational and secure grants me the freedom to concentrate on growing the business rather than devising new ways to secure it." "Enterprises such as Benelogic are responsible for protecting highly sensitive personal information. With the rise of identity theft and attacks such as phishing and spyware, securing that data has become more difficult and critical to running a successful business," said John Stuckey, WatchGuard vice president of marketing. "WatchGuard realizes that businesses need to operate in environments that are flexible, adaptable and secure. The Firebox X family meets these requirements at a cost that makes them accessible for organizations of any size." About Benelogic, LLC Benelogic provides intuitive software applications and services designed to simplify employee benefits administration and increase profitability. By enabling the logical use of data to streamline and enhance the benefits administration process, Benelogic offers end-to-end products and services including Human Resources Portal, Employee Portal, Carrier Data Exchange, Payroll/HRIS Integration, Enrollment and Eligibility Warehousing. Benelogic serves employers in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Canada. For more information, visit www.benelogic.com About WatchGuard Technologies, Inc. WatchGuard provides network security. The company's Firebox X family of upgradeable appliances delivers the performance, functionality and security strength to meet the needs of organizations of any size. WatchGuard's Intelligent Layered Security protects against emerging threats and provides the platform to integrate additional services offered by the company. All WatchGuard products include a LiveSecurity Service subscription for vulnerability alerts, software updates, expert security instruction, as well as individualized and self-help customer care. WatchGuard is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, with offices throughout Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit www.watchguard.com. WatchGuard, LiveSecurity, Firebox, Peak and Core are either registered trademarks or trademarks of WatchGuard Technologies, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. 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