领先的全球数据分析公司改变了Aruba SD-Branch和Central的30个国家 /地区的基础设施和经验

After a brisk period of growth by acquisition, Verisk found itself with a patchwork of decentralized networking solutions that were significantly impacting business productivity and driving up costs.

"Our company operates on a federated model, which means each acquired business unit remains semi-autonomous," explains Sase Govindan, Technical Consultant for the Jersey City, New Jersey-based global analytics firm with more than 100 locations in 30+ countries. "To remain a top player in our industry, we required a unified IT ecosystem that gave each unit local control while supplying all employees with secure, streamlined connectivity."

Intelligent SD-Branch Solution Proves Compelling

Verisk evaluated various strategies for transforming its networking infrastructure, and decommissioning physical data centers, to become an all-cloud enterprise that provides consistent experiences and access to business applications ranging from legacy mainframe solutions to cloud-native options. The initiative, called One Verisk, also included supporting the waves of IoT devices entering Verisk's corporate and branch locations.

As amplifying successes is a guiding principle at Verisk, the company decided to take a closer look at solutions offered by Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company. "Due to our successful enterprise wireless partnership with Aruba, we wanted to expand on that win," Govindan says.

This led to conducting a three-month proof of concept (POC) with阿鲁巴的SD分支解决方案。"It met all of our One Verisk requirements," Govindan says. "Plus, it offered IT streamlining options we'd yet to even think about, such as virtual gateway automation and SD-WAN orchestration."

阿鲁巴中央Plays a Starring Role

Verisk的综合SD分支解决方案包括阿鲁巴's Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 access points(APs),物理7010网关within branches, virtual gateways in the cloud and2930F访问开关， 也cloud-native Central用于统一的网络操作和ClearPass for policy-based network access control（NAC）。

选择阿鲁巴岛的主要s SD-Branch offering was Central, with its robust features and intuitive management dashboard for wireless, wired, and WAN. "In the past, setting up SD-Branch topology could take weeks and sometimes required engaging a third party to assist us," says Govindan.

With Central, the solution handles the chores around configuring, applying, and managing the appropriate settings, replacing traditional complexity with points and clicks.

Supporting an autonomous business model

Central还使Verisk能够将管理仪表板安全地扩展到其每个业务部门的IT员工。

"It's imperative for our roughly two dozen business units to maintain their historical networking autonomy, without sacrificing the enterprise controls required for assuring a consistent Wi-Fi experience across our corporate footprint," Govindan says.

Using Central, Verisk groups offices according to their corresponding business unit and applies role-based access to each organization's IT staff.

"Aruba's solution is unique in its ability to support our business model simply and elegantly," says Govindan. "The tools are easy for everyone in IT to use, including engineers who are new to the technology."

建立全球劳动力办公室3.0用于快速的云连接

Verisk的另一个大优势是将公共云与Aruba的SD分支集成在一起，以增强应用程序交付并优化交通速度，因为该公司致力于建立其“ Verisk Global Workserforce Office 3.0”。

In addition to branch connectivity, the larger IT initiative includes transitioning from a physical data center to a cloud-based platform. It leverages亚马逊网络服务（AWS）虚拟私人数据中心（VPCS）和基础架构的运输网关网络ZscalerPrivate Access (ZPA) for zero-trust.

"Aruba's tight integration with other tier one solutions is critical to help us reach our global infrastructure goals," Govindan says, referring to how Aruba's virtual gateways connect the Verisk network to AWS Transit Gateways in each region.

中央管理公共云网关的整个生命周期，包括在全球6个AWS地区发现Aruba虚拟网关，监视SD-WAN Health，GRE隧道和其他操作方面，Verisk享有任务自动化功能，可帮助减少几天到几分钟的部署时间。

"The entire process is intuitive and easy," says Govindan. "It's been a significant contributor to our transformation."

单击一键，隧道进行了编排，并在云和分支之间自动扩展路线，从而大规模地之间，创建灵活且安全的覆盖拓扑，可将Verisk Branch的位置牢固地连接到AWS VPC和ZSCALER。

在技​​术方面，Aruba的解决方案使Verisk能够从全面的分支部署跳到完成较小的SD分支作为零接触远程实现，从而加快了推出并减少相关成本。

Securing user and device access with ClearPass

On a user and device level, Aruba's ClearPass, accessed via Central's dashboard, unifies Verisk's wired and wireless NAC using advanced, customizable role-based access.

"Although we previously had another solution for wired NAC, it made sense to consolidate onto one tool for both," Govindan says. "It permits profiling and securing access for all types devices, including IoT options like IP phones, conference room equipment, and digital signage."

For known equipment, such as corporate-issued laptops, ClearPass automatically ensures devices comply with application, update, and upgrade policies each time a user connects. Personal and unrecognized devices are automatically assigned to the guest network.

Customer-Focused Innovation Delivers Powerful, Holistic Platform

Today, Verisk is realizing multiple rewards from its new SD-branch solution, starting with Aruba's "Customer First, Customer Last" philosophy.

"From the start, Aruba demonstrated it values our mid-sized enterprise equally with larger companies by supplying us with opportunities to meet with various Aruba executives and technologists," says Govindan. "This made us feel confident that Aruba will evolve the platform for businesses of all sizes, including ours."

他补充说，在整个恋爱关系中，Verisk都赞赏Aruba的出色端到端支持。“很明显，整个公司都面向为客户服务。”

使远程部署成为快点

在技​​术方面，Aruba的解决方案使Verisk能够从全面的分支部署跳到完成较小的SD分支作为零接触远程实现，从而加快了推出并减少相关成本。

"We've gone from onsite, multi-day deployments to getting smaller offices done in just less than a business day," reports Govindan. "As we gain experience with Central, we expect to reduce similar branch deployments to within four to six hours."

伙伴hips help maximize the benefits

阿鲁巴's deep roster of IT integration partners has also been a plus, such as for maximizing ClearPass. "ClearPass offers so many customization options, we wanted to configure it in the most advantageous way," Govindan says.

“我们转向了阿鲁巴的伴侣Optivfor help with architecting the solution, which improved upon the inherent ease of managing ClearPass as well as the initial deployment," he adds.

Lowering TCO by consolidating technologies, enhancing productivity, increasing speed to market and reducing costs

By eliminating various legacy technologies and standardizing on Aruba's SD-Branch platform, Verisk is already experiencing a variety of business and IT efficiencies, leading to increased productivity, improved speed to market, and reduced costs.

"Due to the many ways Central streamlines implementation and management, we're able to keep our IT staff lean," says Govindan. "That's significant for a worldwide deployment."

In addition, Verisk is benefiting from economies of scale. "By consolidating onto a single Aruba platform, we expect to significantly lower our total cost of ownership," Govindan says.

Revving Up with SD-WAN Orchestrator and SaaS Express

Next up for Verisk is incorporating more of Central's automation capabilities, including SD-WAN Orchestrator and SaaS Express.

借助Web-native SD-WAN编排器，Verisk可以实现高度可扩展的多租户隧道和路线编排，自动化IPSEC隧道的建立，并将交通路线分配到所有网关。

This creates a sustainable and elastic environment, allowing Verisk to apply Dynamic Routing Policies across a hybrid WAN comprised of MPLS and Internet to optimize communications in real time, including during black-out and brown-out conditions.

"We're excited to collaborate with our Aruba team on ways our solutions can help us improve our performance, capability, and efficiency," Govindan says.

在提高安全性的同时，灵活减少交通拥堵

SaaS Express上的分层将使Central能够确定SaaS应用程序的最佳路径和动态转向流量以优化用户体验。将这样的应用 - 实用性与基于策略的路由相结合提供了出色的灵活性，并在提高安全性的同时削减了拥堵。

"We'll be working with Aruba to leverage more of the intelligence built into the platform by elevating the technologies and processes we've implemented thus far," says Govindan.

Smart Infrastructure That's Future-Ready

As the type and density of devices continues to escalate throughout its multiple business units, Verisk is confident their intelligent SD-Branch platform will support new and evolving needs as they arise.

"We've gained a nimble, infinitely scalable platform that contributes significantly to our company's agility," Govindan says. "Each of the many automation features within the platform drive out complexity, improve performance and, at the end of the day, boost our bottom line."

Perhaps best of all, the company is achieving its One Verisk user experience goals. "Overall, we wanted a secured and consistent user experience platform built on simplicity and as streamlined as walking into a local branch of a global coffeehouse. With Aruba's SD-Branch innovations, we're well on the way to achieving just that."