After a long season of edge-of-your seat excitement and grueling competition, the Denver Broncos are preparing to duke it out with the Seattle Seahawks on the field this Sunday. Something they won’t have to worry about is the security and reliability of their network. This is thanks to the Dell SonicWALL firewall and remote access device, deployed through Dell partner SHI International Corp., which have truly become the Bronco IT offensive line.
While the coaches and players may have the toughest jobs on the field, the Broncos’ IT team has its own set of challenges off the field. With a very limited staff, the IT team supports more than 300 employees and partners working on the Broncos’ network. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. On game days, 25,000 fans expect reliable and secure internet access during their time at Sports Authority Stadium.
According to Broncos IT Architect, Chris Newman, the department’s previous firewall solutions were difficult to understand and provided limited visibility into the network –a change was needed. Working with SHI and Dell SonicWALL Professional Services, they deployed a Dell SonicWALL SuperMassive 9200 firewall in only two days, and the benefits were instantly clear.
To start, Chris and his team now have improved visibility into their network with real time monitoring, allowing them to quickly identify and solve network issues. SonicWALL 9000 series also perfectly meets their scalability needs — its 24 available ports will allow them to easily manage traffic for years to come.
Additionally, the Broncos deployed a SonicWALL SRA 4600 remote access device to simplify and accelerate VPN access for staff and vendors. Combined with SuperMassive, the solution can transfer VPN traffic through the firewall and offer advanced reporting capabilities. Chris and his team call out the solution’s customizable interface, ease of use, access control capabilities, two-factor identification and flexibility as key features driving value for the Broncos. All this and it only took them about one hour to deploy two customized portals for employees and vendors.
Dell SonicWALL has improved the productivity of Bronco employees and partners by providing secure and reliable access to the information they need in the office and on the go. It also keeps fans connected and engaged on game day. Ultimately, happy fans and a productive workforce and partner network add up to a big win for the entire Broncos family. Now all they need is the Vince Lombardi Trophy! Go Broncos!