Navaio and Worldstream improve both physical and digital security

A scalable IT infrastructure saves time

For Navaio, the sustainable hosting of its privacy-sensitive security systems is of great importance. This includes services such as pen testing, scanning for vulnerabilities in customer systems, and the User Security Awareness game 'Safe & Aware.' The goal of this game is to make employees of organizations aware of the biggest risk surrounding information security: yourself.

Previously, Navaio managed the infrastructure of these systems inhouse. Navaio focuses on several domains within IT security. These are governance, risk, and compliance (GRC), Identity & Access Management (IAM) and SOC services. Thanks to its flat organizational structure, employees can interact directly with each other, which translates to smooth servicing where the initial contact and the actual resolution often take place within one day. Navaio wants the underlying IT infrastructure to have the same speed as the level of service.

The IT infrastructure was hosted on self-managed servers, which was managed by a dedicated expert. Having this specialist onboard was essential for maintaining their IT infrastructure, while performing these tasks was quite time-consuming. In the case of Navaio, however, it was more important to utilize this expertise in the company's core business.

At the Security Operations Center (SOC), various methods were used to store business-critical data, which was frequently written to and retrieved from Azure. However, this resulted in high network costs due to a huge network consumption at the mentioned hyperscale provider. This made it costly to scale vertically, for instance when data analytics required intensive computing power.

To free up valuable time and improve efficiency, Navaio decided to use Worldstream's data centers in Naaldwijk and Haarlem. These data centers are owned by Worldstream and built to a Tier 3 design. The final solution combines dedicated servers with Firewall-as-a-Service, supported by network virtualization from the Worldstream Elastic Network, hosted in the Netherlands. As a result, Navaio benefits from a reliable infrastructure that matches their specific needs, such as its customers' data storage requirements.

Direct communication and personal advice

The partnership between Worldstream and Navaio offers an important advantage in the form of time saving. According to Steven van Esch, manager of sales, Navaio has benefited from fast response times, personal advice, and short communication lines. "At Worldstream there are engineers ready to assist you, every day of the year. They are available day and night and respond at lightning speed. This really makes a difference," he adds.

Rob Musquetier, CTO at Navaio, emphasizes that the choice of dedicated servers was a conscious one. This is because the security company wants to have control over data storage while outsourcing a significant part of the management of the systems. Worldstream meets their high information security requirements. Rob explains that maintaining servers, storage and network requires a lot of time and specific knowledge, and this is now safely housed at Worldstream. At the same time, Navaio retains control over the other layers of the IT infrastructure, including the underlying applications.

For a security company, compliance with regulations and legislation is essential. Navaio was therefore positively surprised that Worldstream adheres to the same ISO 27001 standard, along with other certifications such as ISO 9001 and the data security standard PCI-DSS. Furthermore, Worldstream maintains strict physical security measures, including biometric access control, electric fences, video surveillance and on-site security personnel 24/7/365.

Rob concludes that Worldstream's excellent value for money and flexible support make it an excellent match for Navaio's 24/7 services. The partnership offers a sustainable and reliable solution that perfectly aligns with their core values of IT security, reliability, and expertise. Navaio looks forward to a pleasant, long-term, and intensive cooperation with Worldstream, where the personal attention really makes the difference.

The next step for Navaio

"It's a cliché term, but our service is now much more scalable; should we want to expand, it no longer takes us two weeks of waiting time. If we want to scale up, we know that Worldstream always has dedicated servers in stock." Here, Rob is referring to the gained flexibility with which Navaio can now serve its customers.

With the outsourcing of the IT infrastructure, there has been a huge improvement internally. For instance, mediors & seniors spend less time on ancillary matters, which translates to being able to help new customers faster. Technically, the focus has also shifted to our core activities, such as phishing simulations and security monitoring are faster and easier to perform.

First and foremost, expensive server investments are now a thing of the past. And it is important that all our employees can dedicate themselves 100% to our customer-focused IT security services."