Alan Stephenson-Brown, CEO, Evolve Business Group, discusses the benefits of the unique relationship with Mako Networks, the importance of end-to-end PCI certification and why tech without trust is a non-starter when it comes to working with data centres.
With a recent report finding that 87% of organisations have experienced negative outcomes resulting from low compliance maturity or reactive compliance, and fines for companies that have suffered a breach due to non-compliance with PCI standards ranging from US$5,000 to US$100,000 per month, being PCI compliant is vital for businesses weathering the current economic storm. Yet, for businesses with multiple sites, identifying and taking the steps to become or remain compliant can cause major headaches.
Evolve was created in 2005 to support multi-site brands, with guest Wi-Fi at the forefront of our offering. Today, it keeps a range of cross-sector networks – from retail, food-to-go, hospitality, transport, forecourts, construction, property and smart cities – protected and connected. As the business has grown over the past 18 years, there has been a vital element underpinning our success: trust.
Since the start of our relationship with Mako, we have rolled out to more than 9,500 sites across 11 countries over three continents. Our managed network solutions incorporate Mako technology, which has end-to-end PCI certification, to build secure, fully managed wide area networks for global enterprises around the world, keeping businesses operational, and supporting broadband connections with dynamic routing for optimised network traffic.
We are Mako’s only Platinum Partner in the world, and its only partner outside the US. But it’s probably worth explaining what this means for us, our technology and our customers. We began deploying the Mako solution back in 2012. As such, we fully understand the power of the Mako System and how to maximise its effectiveness when implementing custom solutions.
The longevity of our partnership, along with our continued performance in all aspects of sales, delivery and support, is what led to Platinum Partner status. It means we can provide customised SD-WAN solutions that benefit from PCI Level 1 certification for payment security. The peace of mind this provides has proved vital when it comes to our work with data centres.
The secret to data centre integration success
Because they house an organisation’s most critical and proprietary assets, data centres are central to the continuity of daily operations and downtime can have a costly ripple effect.
We combine SD-WAN technology with an enhanced service and support package, supporting broadband and LTE connections with dynamic routing for optimised network traffic. This enables each of our customers’ sites to connect directly to the SD-WAN kit at each third-party data centre, keeping operations smooth and secure, while cutting out any complicated routing that could slow down processes.
Adding the Mako solution to a third-party data centre means we can control the whole process and keep up to date with any actions or changes in real time, in turn allowing us to react quickly. Having such visibility ensures troubleshooting is done with ease, and we can provide advanced diagnostics for the customer.
As well as reliability, security also must be front-of-mind. This is as true in today’s world of virtual infrastructures as it was when data centres were highly controlled, physical environments. As a PCI-certified networking solution, the Mako system makes it easy for us to connect and manage thousands of global sites in a high-performance business network that is both secure and reliable.
But tech know-how aside, the reason so many third parties permit us access to their data centres is the element of trust. Evolve has worked to cultivate a reputation for superior, direct customer service, which mean we are trusted by more than 60 gateways, hosts and platforms to work directly within their data centres and have access to their most sensitive information and vital technologies.
The importance of end-to-end PCI certification
PCI compliance refers to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), a set of security standards designed to ensure that sensitive financial information is kept safe from theft, hacking and other security threats.
Data centre users or owners of the storage, processing or transmission process must meet PCI requirements annually. Even if the data centre provider has nothing to do with the data an end-user can store on their computer hardware, they are most likely involved in the physical protection of such equipment.
Although following PCI DSS requirements can be a daunting task, as Mako’s Platinum Partner, we provide customised solutions with PCI Level 1 certification for payment security. EvolveWAN uses SD-WAN technology and outstanding service to enhance network performance, reduce costs and simplify management.
Our partnership with Mako has helped us successfully bridge the gap between customers and third-party enterprises. It means we can centralise the entire process and keep up to date with any actions or changes in real time and proactively manage our customers’ extensive networks. This level of visibility ensures any troubleshooting is completed with ease and allows data centres to operate efficiently.
While allowing a managed networks provider into a data centre can be a daunting ask, combining best in class hardware with a focus on relationships can transform approaches to data centre integrations.
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